GEORGETOWN — Williamson County residents devastated by tornadoes in March and earlier this month just got a little more help.
During a presentation at Tuesday’s Williamson County Commissioners Court meeting, the Williamson County Rural Relief Fund received a $35,000 boost from Austin Samsung Semiconductors and the Williamson County Farm Bureau.
“We were proud to do that,” said Bob Avant, president of the Farm Bureau. “That’s the largest single contribution of funds that Williamson County Farm Bureau has ever done.”
Added Michele Glaze, a Samsung spokeswoman, “We know that we’re a new corporate citizen to Williamson County, and we just wanted to make a small gift to demonstrate ... we’re a family.”
Samsung is building a $17 billion chip-fabrication facility in Taylor.
The donations follow in the wake of extensive damages by two tornado systems that ripped through eastern Williamson County a month apart.
On March 21, a twister touched down in Round Rock at Interstate 35 and Texas 45, causing widespread destruction, then barreled northeast through parts of Hutto, north Taylor and into Granger.
Estimates put more than 1,000 homes and property damaged at a cost of millions of dollars, in addition to scores of lives upended by the disaster, officials said.
A second tornado April 12 hit Jarrell, Salado and other communities on the Williamson-Bell counties’ line.
“There were lots of people impacted, particularly in rural Williamson County,” said Precinct 4 Commissioner Boles during the meeting.
On March 21, Boles saw farms with destroyed sheds, storage facilities that fell over onto farm equipment and implements tossed by the tornado.
“In discussing all the damage that happened in rural Williamson County, they (Farm Bureau) said, ‘Hey we’re going to try to raise some money and help some of these individual people in rural Williamson County,’” Boles added.
The Farm Bureau has about 4,000 members in the county, Avant added.
“About half of those are in the ... rural areas that had some pretty dramatic affects that we’ve all seen,” Avant said. “Some of them are Farm Bureau members, some of them are not, but we need to help them all. And, we intend to do that.”
Boles said Samsung officials also reached out not long after the tornadoes struck the area.
Samsung contributed $10,000 to the relief fund, with an additional $25,000 from the Farm Bureau, officials said.
With the contribution from Samsung, the fund has raised about $50,000. Avant hopes the total can reach $100,000.
The Farm Bureau board also contributed $5,000 to a Granger fundraiser to help property owners who saw at least 45 homes and belongings mangled by high winds March 21.
Boles said the Farm Bureau is dedicated to helping others.
“It’s a local board,” Boles added. “It’s a board you’ve assembled and it represents Taylor. It represents Jarrell. It represents Granger. It represents rural. It’s local people making local decisions with these monies.”
Avant thanked everyone, including Samsung, for offering financial assistance.
“Busy people step up to the bar and do important things,” he said. “Every single one of these people are busy people.”
