The holidays: A time for hope and disaster relief

It has been just more than two months since Hurricane Helene tore through the Gulf states like a runaway freight train, leaving a path of death and destruction in its wake. 

This includes my hometown of Valdosta, Ga., the place I have called home my entire life, a community in which I have proudly served as mayor-pro tem, a city councilman, a paramedic, and now a state representative. It’s where my wife and I raised our four children. Everyone here is a neighbor and a friend.

As I drive down litter-strewn streets...