HAMILTON, Ga., Aug. 31, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Nov. 16, 2011, Harris County High School located in Hamilton, Ga., experienced the devastating effects of an EF-2 tornado with peak winds reaching 125 mph, according to the National Weather Service. Today, nine months later, the 1,200-person school celebrates its recovery and restored facility, thanks to the effective and fast work of ServiceMaster Recovery Management.
One day after disaster struck, ServiceMaster Recovery Management arrived on school property with 100 crew members to begin cleaning up the debris, assessing the damage and addressing the immediate safety concerns.
"When we arrived at the high school, the scene really touched us ... as parents and as a member of the community," said Steve Morgan, ServiceMaster Recovery Management franchise owner. "ServiceMaster Recovery Management specializes in getting people back to work, business or life fast, but this situation took on a whole new meaning. We've worked so hard to return back to the students and faculty a better-than-new facility."
An estimated 10 buildings incurred severe damages and required ServiceMaster Recovery Management disaster restoration services. The high school structure suffered extensive damage in some areas including sections of the roof, skylights shattered and metal siding ripped by wind from the gym. The football, baseball and softball field houses were structurally damaged or totally destroyed along with the 80-foot tall concrete light poles twisted and requiring replacement. Nearby, the school's central office and Carver Resource Center sustained extensive roof damage and water damage.
Harris County Superintendent Dr. Craig Dowling recalls his first reaction to the damage, "Early the morning after the tornado struck I was at the high school to get a better look at the damage. I could not believe the amount of debris on the campus. The first thing that caught my attention was the number of people from ServiceMaster Recovery Management working to clean up the mess. I knew that buildings could be repaired rather quickly, but I was doubtful that we would be able to return to school a week later when students were supposed to return from Thanksgiving break. ServiceMaster assured us that we would be ready for school on that Monday morning a week later, and they worked nearly around the clock to make it happen."
Over the course of the next nine months, ServiceMaster Recovery Management began its intensive journey to restoring the facility including relocation of personnel from the Carver Resource Center to the middle school; inspection and testing of all electronics and computers; and demolishing and rebuilding most of the athletic facilities.
Since that time, the community, high school officials and ServiceMaster Recovery Management have united to enhance the facility. Notable enhancements include an upgraded roof for the Carver Resource Center, a new IT center relocated to the Carver Resource Center, artificial turf was applied to the football field, and the track field was upgraded.
To commemorate the journey, Harris County High School and ServiceMaster Recovery Management will have a special ceremony held prior to the first football game of the year on Friday, August 31, at the high school. The presentation will begin at 7 p.m. featuring Principal Roger Couch, Superintendent Dr. Craig Dowling and School Board Chairwoman, Karen Hopkins. In addition, ServiceMaster Recovery Management franchise owner Steve Morgan, who oversaw the restoration process, will be on site.
ServiceMaster Recovery Management is not only prepared to respond to disasters when Mother Nature strikes, but also is ready to help when there's a fire, water leak or other mechanical malfunction. With disaster restoration experts nationwide, ServiceMaster Recovery Management and ServiceMaster Clean are equipped to respond 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling 800-SRM-6710.
About ServiceMaster Recovery Management
With more than 4,000 franchised and licensed locations around the world, ServiceMaster Clean serves customers through a global network of franchises that provide cleaning and restoration resulting from damage caused by water or fire, janitorial services, commercial carpet cleaning, hard surface floor care and residential carpet and upholstery cleaning. ServiceMaster Recovery Management (SRM) is the large scale catastrophic disaster restoration unit of the ServiceMaster Company, the leading commercial and residential disaster restoration company in the specializes world. SRM in minimizing business interruption in disaster impacted areas so that companies may rapidly return to pre-loss conditions. With management team experience in 27 different countries on countless disasters, including clean-up after Hurricane Katrina and the Pentagon after September 11, 2001, ServiceMaster Recovery Management is one of the largest large commercial disaster recovery companies. More information can be found at www.servicemasterrecoverymanagement.com.
About ServiceMaster
With a global network of more than 6,900 company-owned, franchised and licensed locations, Memphis-based ServiceMaster is one of the world's largest residential and commercial service networks. The company's high-profile brands are Terminix, TruGreen, American Home Shield, ServiceMaster Clean, Merry Maids, Furniture Medic and AmeriSpec. Through approximately 21,000 corporate associates and a franchise network that independently employs over 31,000 additional people, the ServiceMaster family of brands provided services and products to approximately 8.4 million customers during the last twelve months. Our market-leading brands provide a range of residential and commercial services including termite and pest control; lawn, tree and shrub care; home warranties and preventative maintenance contracts; furniture repair; home inspections; home cleaning; janitorial services; and disaster restoration. Go to www.servicemaster.com for more information about ServiceMaster or follow us at twitter.com/ServiceMaster or facebook.com/TheServiceMasterCo.
Gina Kamler
ServiceMaster Clean
(901) 597-1380
Jeff Branham
Harris County School District
(706) 628-4206 ext 1217
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