Horizon West resident flies to North Carolina, delivers essential items

Sept. 27. That’s the day Hurricane Helene reached Western North Carolina.

The storm had made landfall as a Category 4 behemoth near Perry, Florida, but at that time, no one could have guessed the devastation that was to come.

As it made its way inland, the storm caused millions to lose power, and hundreds of homes and scores of roads were damaged or destroyed. The storm dumped inches of rain on communities that already had seen multiple inches of rain that week. 

The storm has left a death toll that continues to rise, with more than 100 reported in North Carolina alone.

The carnage was a wake-up call for Horizon West residents Corbin and Stephanie Clouser, who moved to the area in 2018 after living in Asheville, North Carolina, for six years.

Asheville is where the couple started their family, where they had their first home and where Corbin Clouser began his career as an air traffic controller.

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He couldn’t sit idle and watch his former home suffer. So, on Oct. 3, Corbin Clouser flew himself from Apopka to the Asheville Control Tower, where he previously worked, to deliver supplies to those in need impacted by the storm.

The 12-hour endeavor, with more than eight hours of flight, was filled with overpowering emotions for the Clouser family. 

“It had only been a matter of days, but our friends there said it felt like weeks,” Corbin Clouser said. “Everything was just really dragging people down. The morale was really low at the tower. People were sad, emotional and scared. When I first flew in, I about lost it. You see helicopters and medevacs flying out everywhere. It was really hard, and it felt like a war zone.”

HOMETOWN HERO

The news of the storm’s impact quickly spread across the country.

“I feel like it didn’t really sink in right away, and then after a couple of days just seeing pictures and videos pop up of places that we used to spend time and hangout, it was really upsetting,” Stephanie Clouser said. “These places we loved looked nothing like how we remembered them.”

At first, the couple were at a loss for how to help, but they knew they felt compelled to do something.

“It was hard,” Corbin Clouser said. “It felt personal for us, because it will always be our first home.”

The pair reached out to friends in North Carolina to check in and see how they were doing, but with spotty reception even to this day, it was hard not to worry.

“A lot of the FEMA aid is going to the smaller communities, so we didn’t know the resources they even had,” Stephanie Clouser said. “They didn’t have power or cell phone service. People were having to boil water to make sure it was safe to use. We found out they didn’t have gas, they didn’t have food, and there were no stores to get supplies from. As an aircraft controller, Corbin’s friends had to be at the airport, and they were working overtime. They couldn’t leave. We were concerned about basic things, like how they were showering at night, if they were sleeping, and how they were taking care of their family and their home. We wanted to help out — even if it was just a little bit.”

That’s when Corbin Clouser got the idea to fly into the airport he previously worked to deliver necessary supplies to those in need. 

“I started asking people what they needed,” he said. “Not what the community needed as a whole, but what our friends needed and wanted as individuals. A lot of them wanted flashlights and batteries, as well as foods like fresh fruit and bread. It made me sad hearing these people we knew asking for things like dog food or a half-gallon of milk, because being here in Orlando right now, those aren’t things we needed to worry about.”

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Corbin and Stephanie Clouser collected more than $1,000 in supplies. Essential items included food, water, baby food, dog food, batteries, flashlights and trash bags.

The couple made calls around the Carolinas to see what may be open as possible opportunities for refueling and hot food to deliver. Corbin Clouser also had to be cleared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be able to land at the North Carolina airport. 

It took about two hectic days to organize a plan, collect what was needed and secure the supplies. Corbin Clouser only had about a day off work to make the trip, and the weather in the area posed a possible threat. 

The couple’s biggest helpers were their two children: Madison, 9, and Brady, 7.

Although the family wanted to go with Corbin Clouser, weight on the plane was a huge concern. They wanted to pack as many supplies, plus gas needed, on the plane as possible. 

“We have little kids,” Stephanie Clouser said. “They didn’t really understand the impact the storm had, but they’ve seen the impact it had on us as their parents and watched everything we have been doing to help. They’re very compassionate, and they’ve helped us out the whole way.”

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TRIUMPHANT TRIP

Corbin Clouser took off from Apopka in a rented plane.

Along the way, he began to call around to local restaurants to see if anybody would be willing to deliver hot food items he could bring to his friends and their families.

A local Chick-fil-A in Aiken, South Carolina, said it would deliver a catering order to the airport. Corbin Clouser bought as many chicken sandwiches as the minimum amount for catering required, as he knew they would come pre-wrapped in foil, which would help in maintaining heat. 

When he arrived at the airport, he was thrilled to see the restaurant had plugged a warming cooler into the wall to keep the sandwiches as hot as possible. He also was able to fill up on gas. 

Reaching the North Carolina airport was an emotional moment for Corbin Clouser.

However, the trip went without a hitch, and his friends in North Carolina were incredibly grateful. 

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Throughout the trip, Corbin Clouser’s family was able to track his progress in the air. 

He arrived back home the night of Oct. 3 to two delighted children waving a sweet sign reading “Welcome back, Dad! You are awesome!”

Corbin Clouser, who has been flying since he was 14 years old, said he always had an interest in charity flying, where he could use his skills for a good purpose, and he saw the recent opportunity as a way to get started.

“The support from our local community here was amazing,” Stephanie Clouser said. “It was overwhelming, especially because a lot of our friends knew that North Carolina was a place that we called home. A lot of people were grateful, because they wanted to help but didn’t know how. If we decided to do this again, we already have tons of people who have expressed support. … Our son has an interest in aviation, and I know this small act of kindness made an impact on our children that I hope they always will remember. We were just so glad we could help.”