PANAMA CITY, Fla. — Early Wednesday morning, one local company decided to give back in more ways than one.
Since Hurricane Michael destroyed most of the area’s trees, it’s time to start re-planting and re-imagining our landscape to help for years to come.
With lines all the way to the road early Wednesday morning, the Dawson Company held a tree donation event at Harvey Dee Mathis Park in hopes to rebuild Bay County one tree at a time.
General Manager of the Dawson Group, Mike Gelsleichter said being a helping a hand is what their company is all about.
“This is Dawson’s way of trying to give back to the community.“ said Gelsleichter.
With a goal of planting 100,000 new trees by the year 2025, the Dawson Company said these trees symbolize a new beginning as the community rebuilds together.
Sheila Twole, a Panama City resident, said she’s grateful a company is taking this initiative and helping out.
“I think its good you know, it sticks with us, being 8-5-0 strong.“ said Twole.
Starting at 9 AM, Dawson employees were out early giving out 500 trees to residents allowing two per household– only requiring proof that they live in the area.
It was come first serve, and these trees didn’t last long. With five different types of trees available, Dawson employee Dan Willis said the turnout at this event was unlike any he’s seen before.
“It’s quite a bit different, that it’s not just a nice to have thing, it’s a need to have- to get this community back on its feet.“ said Willis.
By 9:30 AM all the trees are gone! Dawson LLC does hope to continue to do projects like this in the future to help Panama City to rebuild after the storm.
