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Ft Myers Beach - Good Neighbor
ST INS CARES-FMB STRONG-Rebuilding After Ian
The unexpected heroes of disaster recovery often emerge from the most unlikely places. When Hurricane Ian devastated Fort Myers Beach in 2022, a local golf cart shop transformed overnight into a lifeline for an entire community.
Heidi shares the remarkable origin story of FMB Strong, which began when business owners Tim Ryan and Dan Allers found their building relatively undamaged after the hurricane. As donations began pouring in, what started as a chaotic collection point quickly evolved into an organized distribution center providing generators, tools, water, and essential supplies to devastated residents. The outpouring of support was overwhelming – semi trucks arriving from Wisconsin, donations flooding in from across Florida, and strangers stepping up to help strangers in their darkest hours.
But FMB Strong's impact goes far beyond material aid. The organization became a beacon of hope for the community's most vulnerable members, including those struggling with addiction, homelessness, and elderly residents unable to navigate complex relief systems. Their case manager Patty Benson, herself nearly 30 years in recovery from substance abuse, has helped numerous individuals overcome addiction and rebuild their lives from scratch. As Heidi puts it, "These are the things that we've done... We've really helped people that needed help."
The organization's innovative fundraising approach – an annual "Mrs. Roper" themed event that started with a modest goal of 100 tickets – has exploded into a community-wide celebration attracting 700+ participants and becoming "the biggest day of the year" for many local businesses. Despite facing challenges like donor fatigue and diminishing grants as other disasters command attention, FMB Strong continues providing critical services while adapting to evolving community needs. Their story stands as powerful testament to what becomes possible when everyday people refuse to stand by in the face of catastrophe.
State Insurance USA
4450 Camino Real Way
Ft Myers, FL 33966
239-567-9992
100 Lovers Ln 3rd Floor
Ft Myers Beach, FL 33931
(239) 690-6300
office@StateInsuranceUSA.com
stateinsuranceusa.com
FMB Strong
820 Buttonwood Dr
33931, Fort Myers Beach
(802) 239-1962
info@fmbstrong.org
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Welcome to State Insurance USA Cares podcast, where we celebrate the heart of our communities. Each episode, we highlight local charities and nonprofits who are bringing hope, help and healing to those who need it most. Get ready to be inspired by the amazing stories of people making a difference, because together we care.
Speaker 2:Well, hi, it's Gail Langner with State Insurance USA and State Insurance Cares. Our podcast is dedicated to the people that we have helped with State Insurance Cares via donations, and here today is Heidi with FMB Strong. Heidi, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy day to be on the podcast today.
Speaker 3:Well, Gail, thank you for having us and thank you for being such a great supporter of FMB Strong.
Speaker 2:Well, we definitely want to do that. I'm actually the chair of the board of the Fort Myers Beach Chamber, so I also like to bring things out to the beach as often as I can. I remember, actually right about Ian time I remember Jacki LisZak at the chamber was talking about I think it was 820 Buttonwood, 820 Buttonwood and everybody's going what are you talking? What do you mean? What are you talking about? And come to find out it was you. So tell us how F&B Strong, how it even came about. How did that happen?
Speaker 3:So Tim Ryan, who owns other businesses, like the FMB Bikes, he owns the Island Carts and now the Cart Check, where they sell golf carts him and Dan Ehlers do, yeah, and they're business partners and our building only took on about a foot of water and at that time there was people calling email whatever they could do.
Speaker 3:You know, what do you need, what can we help with? And all of a sudden people just started showing up with stuff. So at that time Tim and Dan kind of pivoted their business building for us and they turned around and got all the golf carts out of there and they got a crew in there to clean the building and we started accepting donations. And this had started probably about two or three days and all of a sudden Tim calls me and he says this is chaos, I need someone to get in here and organize this. So that's where I got involved with that. So from there we were open at the beginning like seven days a week, six days a week, early, 7 am to 7 pm, pretty much to help the community. And we had semi donations from Wisconsin. The other coast brought in stuff. It's unbelievable. North of us I mean Tampa area we just had a ton, ton of stuff and we all said how are we going to get rid of all this stuff? Right, and we did.
Speaker 2:How are we going to get rid of all this stuff? Right, and we did. Yeah, I know I remember generators and water and people were people donating generators to you, heidi People donated.
Speaker 3:Yes, Groups got together and purchased generators. Kathy and John Nash got a group of friends together and they bought a bunch of generators. Bruce oh, what's Bruce's last name? I've drawn a blank on Bruce's last name, Bruce.
Speaker 2:He had a group. He understands, I'm sure. Yes, he's from You'll think of it tomorrow.
Speaker 3:Yeah, he had a group of people that donated generators. I mean the Women's Club had money they raised that was given to them, that they gave us money for generators and tools and power washers and shop vacs and we had lists a mile long of people who needed those items for cleanup.
Speaker 2:I can't even imagine how you organized that. That must have been. The logistics of that must have been crazy.
Speaker 3:It was. At first we had like maybe 10 shelving units. We were calling out for anybody who had. You know, what do you need? We need a table, we need something to set this stuff on and we just, you know, we kind of just threw everything where we could at the time. And Brian, abby and his wife and now Angela, they took up a donation. They're from Cape Coral. Never met them before in my life. They were there helping. They took up a donation on their venmo from just friends and went to home depot or lowes and bought a bunch of shelving units and I mean, everyone just really stepped up and was amazing, that's incredible are you?
Speaker 2:do you live on the beach? Are you? Are you?
Speaker 3:I live just off the. I'm still in the beach zip code, but I live on the other side of the bridge.
Speaker 2:Right. Well, how was your house Were? You damaged much.
Speaker 3:At that time we just rented and our home was an entire loss.
Speaker 2:My sister lived in. Oh, and she's not. Here we go. Whatever Bruce's last name is is where my in Indian Indian.
Speaker 3:Creek, okay, and we were in Bayside Estates, which is just across the street, yep.
Speaker 2:So she her daughter lives in Fort Myers and convinced her that it would be a good idea for her to drive thank goodness she did to her home and stay there, and she ended up with like the shorts and tops that she had on and a nightgown and, and you know, maybe another shorts and top you know and that's what. That's what she ended up to her name.
Speaker 3:I stayed past her three days, so that's what we did, yeah right, right, exactly three days, yeah, so right.
Speaker 2:Three days, yeah, right, but she's at that time was, you know, 90 years old. She's 20 years older than me and, yeah, I lost everything. So well, anyway. So back to back to you. So, so the building itself already had the golf carts and things in it when you first started. Is that how it?
Speaker 3:Yes, okay, so Tim Ryan had owned the building Right that we operate out of, and so he obviously. For a year, if not longer, there was no need for any golf carts. You were lucky you could get down the street.
Speaker 3:Okay exactly Walk, yeah, any golf carts. You were lucky you could get down the street. Okay, exactly yeah. And so he pivoted and he started the nonprofit right away Incredible, and because people were like, you know, we want to send money for supplies and this and that and we're like, until we're nonprofit, we can't, we can't do that. So we had other nonprofits kind of help us out until we got our status, which was in October.
Speaker 2:Okay, what do you do now? I mean, do you continue to be a food pantry? What's your role now?
Speaker 3:So right now, our food pantry will be open until September 10th, okay, and then our role is going to change. We've helped so many people, right it just I mean I can't list the amount of, off the top of my head, amount of success stories that we've had. Yeah, and you know, and some of these success stories come from people who were actually homeless before ian. Um, we've helped them get off of drugs and alcohol severe drugs and we're not talking, you know, marijuana, we're talking heroin, fentanyl were severe drugs. Um, couldn't hold a job, didn't have a place to live. Those people, people are now one gentleman. Matter of fact, he lived on Fort Myers Beach and he's now in Orlando. It's been three, two and a half, it'll be two and a half, almost three years coming up Alcohol-free, drug-free, has his own apartment, has a wonderful job. I mean, these are the things that we've done and we have a lot of those success stories.
Speaker 3:We've really helped people that needed help, a lot of people that you know were struggling before the storm, struggling after the storm. You know, all the way through, you know get people didn't know how to get their social security. Some of the elderly, they they're not, they don't work with computers, how to get food stamps, just you know somebody to talk to, like this what do I do, where do I go, how do I get help? And so we imploded other resources to. We found, I should say, other resources to get these people help, and Patty Benson that works with us. She's our little case manager and she's amazing. She can relate to some of these people and I know she won't mind if I share her story. Um, but she was. She's been clean from um heroin and cocaine for almost 30 years now maybe 35 so she could relate to those people um as to how to help them.
Speaker 3:And she's done an amazing job and they see the success that she's had and they've learned from that. So, and a funny story I'll say is how I met Patty. It was maybe two weeks after the hurricane and I saw her limping down Buttonwood. I didn't know her before that from Adam. I saw her limping down Buttonwood. I didn't know her before that from Adam. I saw her limping down Buttonwood. She had a boot on her foot, she had broken her leg during the hurricane. And I said hey, little lady. I said can I help you? What do you need? And she's like, oh. And I said come on, let me help you.
Speaker 3:And she came through the door and we had just gotten in some work boots. They were giving away work boots. Cassie Nash grabbed her and said you need to get a higher shoe on your other foot so you're not so lopsided. And we got her a pair of work boots and we helped her. And she'll literally, when she tells her story, it's very hard to hear, but she's like we saved her life. Oh, heidi tells her story. It's very hard to hear, but she's like we saved her life, oh you know, and she then became a part of us through that. So, um, after about a year that we were there was it a year, I can't remember how long, maybe not quite a year, but we partnered with um and actually jackie from the chamber had told us about CareerSource.
Speaker 2:Yes, we've used them. Have you as well.
Speaker 3:We used them. We had a great staff of like six people. Yeah, we could get that. We used them and we used them until we could not use them anymore Anymore. Yeah, and that truly truly helped us get to where it was today, because you can't run an entire what we do on a volunteer basis, Volunteers no.
Speaker 2:Well, those grants really helped. I don't know how Jackie found them originally Like I said, I'm on her board but it really helped us at the chamber when we were stuck too, we didn't have any income.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so they really, really helped and with that it let us help a lot of people. And since that, of course, we've partnered with United Way, Red Cross and they've done great things for us and we'll still be partners with them. Right, However, and as you know, funding is an issue. It is and I've been calling it donor fatigue. Right, For three years, people have been opening their pocketbooks to help and help, and help and it's just to the point where you can't do it anymore. Right, you know it just gets to that point. And you know, even some of like the Red Cross they had grants, but then things happened in northern Florida. So all that money that they thought the grants would come to us here in southwest Florida, the Red Cross ended up taking and putting that money north. They needed it, yeah, they needed it. You know we kind of have to fend for yourself and we have some great monthly supporters and it's just not enough.
Speaker 2:Well, and your fundraisers? Oh my gosh, tell for those people that don't know. Tell them about Mrs Ropers, that is.
Speaker 3:So Eliza, that used to be with us, she actually still is with us. She does all of our and you know Eliza, Gail oh yeah, we're still Facebook friends. Yes, she does all of our Facebook stuff, like that. She one day, how she came up with it, she told me the story I can't remember and I'm like she's crazy, this is never going to work.
Speaker 2:Well, she is crazy anyway. Yes.
Speaker 3:But we love her and I thought this is never going to work and I'm like, okay, we're going to do this, we've got to try something. And I'm like, okay, if we can get 100 tickets sold you know, that was our goal was like 100 tickets. And we sold out all 300 tickets the first year. And boy did we learn a lot after that first year of what to do, what not to do, right.
Speaker 2:And for those that don't know and don't remember, Three's Company Mrs Roper was on Three's Company and she dressed in caftans and she had crazy hair and yeah.
Speaker 3:Big sunglasses.
Speaker 2:Sunglasses. Yeah, yeah, so, and everybody dressed. You know, we were just talking a second ago, even Alex King was like dressed like Mrs Roper, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:So we did that and we thought, you know, our focus was kind of on 100 people and it exploded. And then last year was year two and that we thought, ok, we're going to get 500 tickets. Well, 500 tickets sold out and there were still people that didn't have a ticket, that didn't care and were still joining in. I lost count after people were calling and checking in late. It was right around 700 people. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 3:What a huge success it was huge and there are some spots on the island that say it's their biggest day of the year.
Speaker 2:Yep, exactly. Well, it helps everybody. It's a win-win for the entire beach.
Speaker 3:Yeah whether it be parking, restaurants and everything. Yeah, you know, there's people that fly in just for that.
Speaker 2:Hotels, restaurants, I know Crazy Well like I said, it is a win-win, that's for sure. Yes, well, if somebody wanted to help you, what do you need more than anything? Money, right, obviously, yes, Right, help you. What do you need more than anything? Money, right, obviously, yes, right. Um, anything else? Is there anything people that they say, well, I could donate? Or how about volunteer? Do you need volunteers, or are you okay in that?
Speaker 3:we're okay in that aspect right now. All right, um, but yes, money is a huge, huge portion of it?
Speaker 2:And what's your website? Is it fmbstrong? Fmbstrongorg? Yep, okay, yeah, I'm sure there's a donate button there, right.
Speaker 3:Yes, there is. There is a donate button there. Yes, absolutely, and we will be doing the Roper fundraiser again this year. It will be February 7th.
Speaker 2:February. Okay, we'll mark our calendars for that.
Speaker 3:Yep, so we're hoping to start selling tickets around October 1st. We're trying to wait until we hopefully get through the worst of September with everything that happens. I know we've unsubscribed this year, so we're hoping we have no issues.
Speaker 2:Done with that. I know, working for state insurance me it was. It was heartbreaking for us to because we're actually we're the liaison between our clients and the insurance carriers, right, yeah, and so it was.
Speaker 3:You know, all hands on deck and yeah, it was heartbreaking, you know just to hear everybody's story and then, oh and, like you said, you're the middleman, there's not much you can right and the thing is too, not to you know.
Speaker 2:I know so many people were so upset with the insurance carriers. But you think with uh, with our agency here in southwest florida, we had our clients. Had we maybe had about six or seven thousand of our clients that had claims, about 200 people lost everything. But think about the insurance carriers that had. If we had six or 7,000 of our clients that had claims, about 200 people lost everything. But think about the insurance carriers that had if we had six or 7,000, just think. And so people would say about their desk adjuster. They'd say, well, they're gone, I got a new one. They were quitting, it's just they couldn't take the stress.
Speaker 2:You know it was yeah yeah, so anyway, people had to start all over Right. And not that all of them were fabulous the carriers Maybe they weren't, we know the stories, but in their defense it was. They're human beings too. Exactly so whenever I would talk to them, I'd say thank you for what you do, and sometimes they would just start to cry and say thank you for saying that.
Speaker 3:Because we're, we're completely overwhelmed, you know. So, yeah, when people get upset, they get mean exactly right, it's a nature you know. They want, yeah, mostly people want to be heard right, right, exactly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, heidi, thank you so much for taking time out of your day to be on this podcast.
Speaker 1:I really, really appreciate it.
Speaker 2:I'll make sure that, when all said and done and we get a link and you can have it to put on your Facebook page or your website or whatever, and so people can hear your story, because it needs to be heard. It needs to be heard. So, thank you so much and we hope you have a great day, you too.
Speaker 1:Thank you for joining us on State Insurance USA Cares. We hope today's story uplifted and inspired you. If you'd like to support or learn more about the incredible work happening in your community, visit stateinsuranceusa. com or call 239-567-9992. You can also visit cabowabojim. com. Until next time, be sure to let your sun shine and keep sharing good and positive vibes wherever the waves take you.