More Charlotte hurricane heroes revealed on first day of session
Published: March 9, 2005
As Gov. Jeb Bush delivered his well-received seventh State of the State address to a joint session of the Florida House and Senate, nobody in the packed chamber was surprised as the chief executive praised the efforts of some individuals for their acts of heroism in the aftermath of the four 2004 hurricanes striking the state.
But nobody was more surprised than John Agwunobi, the state’s top health official, when the governor recounted an episode he personally witnessed in Port Charlotte less than 24 hours after Hurricane Charley.
The governor’s address included recognition of several Floridians, citing their efforts as typical examples of the unsung heroism and dedication to duty exhibited by first-responders across the state in the storms’ aftermath.
Among those singled out were a National Guard lieutenant, a fire chief, a meteorologist and an emergency operations manager.
“State workers also found ways to meet the emergency needs of the people they serve,” the governor then said. “I watched Dr. John Agwunobi lead thousands of workers as Secretary of the Department of Health, and personally save a life in a Port Charlotte shelter the day after Charley hit that community with a vengeance.”
After the governor’s address, Agwunobi paused for a few minutes from the hectic activities of the first day of the Legislative Session to marvel at the governor’s reference to him — one that Bush’s Communications Director Alia Faraj confirmed came without any warning whatsoever to the civil servant.
“I’m deeply honored that he would mention an incident we both shared,” said Agwunobi, clearly amazed and a bit overwhelmed at the recognition. “But I have to point out that it was nothing compared to the thousands and thousands who did so much more.”
Agwunobi said he had been part of a large contingent of state officials accompanying the governor arriving that awful Aug. 14 morning to inspect Charley’s handiwork and assess immediate needs in the storm’s strike zone. One of their first stops was the Cultural Center of Charlotte County, which had served as a shelter to some 800 local residents.
“It was just about dawn, and I remember there were tree trunks and debris scattered about and large amounts of water everywhere,” said Agwunobi, who was appointed to his post by Bush in October of 2001. “Everyone who was healthy had left already to see if their homes were still intact, and the only people remaining were the sick and injured.”
Inside the battered, electricity-deprived center, he recalled, it was dark, hot and quiet, with little talking among the stunned storm victims and volunteers — and no media.
“You could barely see anything, and you could only hear some shuffling sounds and some muffled moaning,” he said. “I remember noticing it was not really set up for critical care or treatment. It wasn’t meant to be a medical shelter. Then we heard the governor’s voice from some dark distant corner of the room call out, ‘Over here!’”
Agwunobi and the others in the party found Bush cradling and fanning the face of an elderly man — in his late 80s or early 90s, Agwunobi estimates — who was turning blue and drifting in and out of consciousness.
The man needed to be cooled off, and he needed oxygen fast, said the doctor.
“I was running all over searching for an oxygen can while the governor tried to keep him cool and make him comfortable, and once I finally found one I managed to get it on him and working properly,” he said, adding that he also treated an older woman with a bad leg wound and a younger woman recovering from a seizure while at the center.
“I came there as a state official expecting to speak to local officials,” he said. “But for those next two hours or so, I was being a doctor and the governor was being a leader. Attorney General (Charlie) Crist was using his cell phone to track down an ambulance. Everybody was pitching in. Of all my experiences in all four hurricanes, those hours in Port Charlotte were the most powerful, memorable hours for me, and I don’t think any of us will forget it.”
Rep. Michael Grant, R-Port Charlotte, who lauded the governor’s address and the administration’s ongoing efforts to help the state’s hurricane-torn communities recover, said Agwunobi is but the latest entry in an honor roll of out-of-town heroes whose stories of unselfishness are only now coming to light.
“I was just talking to Rep. Joe Negron about his recent tour of Pensacola to inspect the hurricane damage there,” Grant said. “I was trying to get him to come to Charlotte for a similar tour, and he said, ‘I’ve already seen it.’ ”
It turned out the Stuart, Fla. resident, who chairs the powerful House Fiscal Council and will have one of the biggest say-sos in where the state’s hurricane budget gets spent, had come to Charlotte County in the weeks after the storm with a volunteer church group and spent several days cutting downed trees and helping clean up.
“That’s the kind of people we all have working on our behalf,” said Grant, adding that a formal visit of the Charley damage zone by the legislative budget boss is likely. “He didn’t tell anybody he was going and he didn’t mention it while he was here. He just went and did it. … That’s just one of the reasons why I have confidence the president, the governor, the legislators in Tallahassee and the members of Congress will all do their part and get us the money and everything else we need for our recovery.”
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