Emergency Management BIO

Rebekah and Jonathan were initiated into the Emergency Management world while sitting, side by side, in a chow hall in Baghdad, Iraq. It was the end of an 18-month deployment for the 256th Infantry Brigade of the Louisiana Army National Guard. They watched the news as hurricane Katrina destroyed their homes and lost contact with their families in the mass evacuations. They flew home in full battle-rattle and ready to deploy to the streets of New Orleans. Soon after, hurricane Rita struck further devastating the area. During their 12 years in the Louisiana Army National Guard, Beka and Jon deployed in support of nearly every disaster in the state including the BP oil spill. 

After completing their service in the National Guard, Beka and Jon finished graduate school at the University of New Orleans and immediately moved to the US Virgin Islands for a gap year. Instead of a vacation, they found a home and started veterans’ non-profit, VI4Vets, Inc. The purpose of the organization was to provide recreational therapies and peer-support for veterans in the local community. Then in 2017, hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated the USVI and Puerto Rico. 

Veterans being veterans, they went to work helping their neighbors. VI4Vets already had the organization in place. So, Beka went to work raising funds to assist the community with basic disaster response needs like debris removal, tarping, and food distribution. Jon went to work organizing the veterans and coordinating with community leaders to more effectively provide emergency response services in the local community. Several of the veterans were placed in positions with the FEMA/USACE disaster response mission and continued under those contracts for the duration of the recovery, a few still work in the program.

  Beka and Jon continued working in Emergency Management and Disaster recovery. Rebekah built a 3-year, territory-wide disaster relief program with the Emergency Disaster Services division of The Salvation Army “Houses to Homes” program. The program provided case management and home goods for the economically disadvantaged (ex. beds for orphans, refrigerators for insulin, etc.).  Rebekah, literally, wrote the book for this program and managed it for the duration.  Jon went on to support the FEMA/USACE Power Mission holding several positions including Deployment Coordinator, Safety Coordinator, HAZMAT Oversight, Mechanical Branch Lead, and Commodities Distribution Manager. 

 VI4Vets continued providing services to local veterans after the storms. They continued holding events throughout the year like their Art Auction (art therapy) and Veteran’s Day Boat Trip (peer-support). VI4Vets expanded its’ operations to include a not-for-profit charter company, Charlie Mike “Continue Mission” Charters. The revenues received from tourists’ fishing and snorkeling charters helped to fund free trips for veterans and their families, as well as the largest free-dive spearfishing tournament in the Caribbean, free to veterans and first responders.  

After nearly a decade in the Caribbean, Beka and Jon moved to Florida, followed soon after by hurricanes Helene and Milton. Beka’s Supply Company, LLC was born.