What Grew After The Storm

By: Kristin Coulter, TEMA Communications Director

The first tomato was growing out of the riverbank. 

That’s the part I still think about. 

Not the rain that afternoon, though I remember that too. Not the ride into the woods on the side-by-side. Not even the piles of debris that were still feet high in places. 

It was the tomato.

Bright red. Unexpected. Growing in a place where it didn’t seem like anything should have been growing at all. 

In September 2025, I was one of the handful of people from the Tennessee Emergency Management Authority who traveled to Northeast Tennessee to spend time with communities still recovering from Tropical Storm Helene one year later. We sang songs with our Tennessee neighbors. We sat with them. We listened to their stories. We remembered. 

Helene had taken so much from these communities. Families were still grieving. People were still rebuilding. There were still missing pieces, both physical and emotional, that could not simply be cleaned up and hauled away. 

As part of that weekend, we traveled to Washington County to visit a place known as Jackson Island. It was a rainy afternoon, and we were taken into the woods to see some of the debris that remained after the storm. 

There were tires. Washing machines. Pieces of furniture. Pieces of homes. More single shoes than I could count. 

And then there were tomatoes.

At first, we thought the one on the riverbank had to be a fluke. But then we saw more. Tomatoes growing in and around the debris. 

When we mentioned it, Brandon Chambers, Special Operations Lt. with Washington County/Johnson City Emergency Services, who took us to see Jackson Island, told us a tomato farm had been washed away down the road a bit. His best guess was that the floodwaters had carried the seeds and left them there. 

I’m not going to lie. It felt like a sign. 

Our Deputy Commissioner of Recovery, Craig Hanrahan, is a bit of a farmer. Around here, we lovingly call him Farmer Craig. Commissioner Sheehan brought one of those tomatoes back to him, and over the past season, Craig saved the seeds, planted them, tended them, and is looking forward to harvesting the tomatoes from that one fruit found on Jackson Island. 

There is something about that story that feels bigger than a tomato. 

In the middle of wreckage, something was still growing. 

Not because the conditions were perfect. Not because the path there was easy. Not because the storm was gentle. 

But because life can be stubborn. Hope can be stubborn. Communities can be stubborn. 

That is resilience. 

Resilience is not pretending something hard did not happen. It isn’t rushing people through grief or trying to make tragedy easier to explain. Resilience is what happens when people keep showing up for each other after the worst has happened. 

It’s neighbors checking on neighbors. It’s local responders working around the clock. It’s volunteers, churches, nonprofits, emergency managers, utility crews, public works teams, and families doing what they can with what they have. 

It’s being ready together. 

That’s the theme for the final week of Tennessee’s Preparedness Month campaign: Ready Together. And as we recognize the anniversary of Tropical Storm Helene, that theme feels especially meaningful. 

Preparedness is often talked about in practical terms, and those things matter. Make a plan. Build a kit. Know how to receive alerts. Talk with your children about what to do before, during, and after an emergency. 

But preparedness is also about connection. 

It’s knowing who you can call. It’s checking on the people around you. It’s teaching children that being prepared isn’t about being afraid. It’s about knowing how to help, how to listen, how to care. 

So this week, in honor of Ready Together, I’m taking some tomatoes in honor of farmer Craig’s Jackson Island tomatoes and making Margherita pizza with my kids. 

It’s a simple recipe. Tomatoes, basil, cheese, crust, and a little time together in the kitchen. 

But to me, it’s more than dinner. 

It’s a way to talk with my kids about storms and helpers. About how communities take care of one another. About how something good can still grow after something hard. About how being a preparedness hero doesn’t always mean doing something big or dramatic. 

Sometimes it starts at home. 

Sometimes it starts with a conversation. 

Sometimes it starts with a tomato. 

Jackson Island Tomato Margherita Pizza

A Ready Together Recipe for Families

Preparedness Hero Family Conversation

While the pizza bakes, talk together:

• Who are the helpers in our community after a storm?
• What is one thing our family can do this week to be more prepared?
• Who is someone we could check on before or after bad weather?
• What does it mean to be “ready together”?

Small Step Challenge

After dinner, choose one preparedness step as a family:

• Update your emergency contacts.
• Check your weather alerts.
• Add one item to your emergency kit.
• Pick a family meeting place.
• Talk about who you would check on after a storm.