Service King Collision Repair Centers, and its family of Dallas-Fort Worth teammates, spent Jan. 9th serving hot meals and extending a friendly helping hand to residents of Rowlett, Texas as the community continues to recover from December’s devastating tornado.
With its home office in nearby Richardson, a group of more than 100 Service King teammates joined Rowlett’s Church in the City at its Relief Center Community Family Fun Day working alongside families impacted by the storm and fellow volunteers. Throughout the early morning and afternoon, the group was able to cook a full lunch of hot dogs and hamburgers followed by a dinner featuring grilled beef and chicken fajitas.
“The resolve of the Rowlett community is truly inspiring,” said Jeff McFadden, Service King president, who was on-site for Saturday’s event. “The Dallas area has been our home for 40 years. In the aftermath of December’s storms our teammates immediately looked for opportunities to lend a helping hand. Today was an opportunity for our family to connect with the victims and their families while offering support as we continue to look for opportunities to help this community fully recover.”
As part of the effort, Service King teammates served 1,200 hot dogs and hamburgers and 600 pounds of fajita meat throughout the day. The Church in the City’s event also featured volunteer efforts from Taco Casa, Holy Smokes Barbeque, State Farm, Rockstar Energy, World Vision, Advocare and the Dallas Sidekicks Soccer Club.
The city of Rowlett and nearby Garland, Texas continue to rebuild from the devastation left in the wake of a tornado that ripped through the area on the night of Dec. 26th. The violent storm produced a large tornado causing damage later confirmed at EF4 levels in Garland and EF3 levels in neighboring Rowlett.
According to the National Weather Service, the tornado was on the ground for approximately 13 miles in Dallas and Rockwall counties. In all, nine confirmed tornadoes touched down in the region on Dec. 26th, resulting in 11 fatalities.