Understanding is everything

Photo By John Daves | Lisa Baldwin performs valuable administrative support duties for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers debris removal and disposal team in Joplin, Mo., June 13.  

JOPLIN, MO, UNITED STATES

06.13.2011

Story by John Daves 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District

JOPLIN, Mo. - In most cases experience is invaluable, disaster response is no different, especially if you know what it’s like to lose everything to a tornado. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Kansas City District’s Lisa Baldwin survived a tornado when she was 12 years old which destroyed her home in Pleasant Hill, Mo., May 1977. Baldwin said the only thing that was left where her home once stood was her parents’ bed. Baldwin remembers finding her dog Bridget alive afterwards and said Bridget would always hide under the bed when she was scared or in trouble.

Baldwin was at school when the tornado struck. Her younger sister was at the babysitter’s home next door and her mother was at work. She remembers her mom saying she tried to call the babysitter to tell them the storm was headed their way, but wasn’t able to get through. Her mom was frightened that the worst had happened, said Baldwin. The tornado destroyed their home but left the babysitter’s house next door standing.

Baldwin deployed to Joplin, Mo., June 1 to assist in the Corps’ response to the tornado which struck the city May 22. Baldwin provides administrative support to the Corps’ debris planning and response team.

“Lisa is a critical component for making the mission appear seamless,” said Ron McDonald, quality assurance supervisor for the Corps’ debris removal mission in Joplin. “Her work accomplishes critical details behind the scenes and insures the quality assurance inspectors who are out in the field everyday are not tasked with the administrative requirements. She’s an information source that adds great value to the mission.”

Baldwin has ties to the Joplin area. Her grandparents lived in Neosho and she traveled through Joplin to visit them. Baldwin’s first response to the tornado came when a local church contacted her husband about hauling supplies to Joplin. Baldwin and her husband Kevin own a trucking company and used one of their company trucks to deliver 17 pallets of supplies to Joplin on May 28. Once they arrived to the area and saw the devastation Baldwin told her husband she would have to stay and help.

“Having gone through a similar situation, I know what its like,” Baldwin explained. “I have an understanding of what they are going through. Even if I am not out in the field, I am definitely a part of the team that will help these communities through this recovery process.”

Baldwin said, she remembered helping an elderly man who had lost his entire home. He was sifting through the debris that used to be his home, trying to find personal items such as a coin collection he had spent his entire life working on. Baldwin said they helped him find many of the missing coins and other miscellaneous items.

Baldwin first worked as a summer hire at Whiteman Air Force Base in 1990. She returned in 1995 as a temporary employee until the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hired her permanently in 1999. Baldwin currently serves as an administrative assistant and says her typical duties include: budget, personnel, training, travel, timekeeping and property. Baldwin lives in Concordia with her husband of 27 years, Kevin, and their two sons.

• Date Taken: 06.13.2011
• Date Posted: 06.27.2011 18:27
• Story ID: 72853
• Location: JOPLIN, MO, US