God Bless the State of Tennessee

We at Payne Chevrolet would like to extend our prayers to people of Nashville, Clarksville, Franklin, Lebanon, and every town in Tennessee that felt the effects of the recent flood. Our thoughts are with you all.

We've had folks here at Payne who have been touched by this disaster, too, and we want everyone to know that while our business has not been damaged, our hearts have been.

So many lost their cars, their homes, and in more tragic cases, their loved ones. A lot of residents didn't have flood insurance, so rebuilding will be a difficult process.

Also, many of us saw the waters of the mighty Cumberland wash through the landmarks of Nashville, a city we all hold so dear. To see the Grand Ole Opry house drenched underwater, unable to continue its 85th anniversary celebration this year, was just a heart breaking experience.

And yet, we do not dispair - God still provides. This tragedy could have been a lot worse - Gov. Bredesen recently pointed out that New Orleans lost thousands of lives in Hurricane Katrina, and we have been lucky enough to not have lost a fraction of that much. The State of Tennessee is here, in one piece, and we have the ability to rebuild!

And most importantly, we are Volunteers. Those who are in need are already getting help from their neighbors, and more relief will come.

Currently, Volunteers all across the state are getting involved. Here are some links if you want to help out!

Hands On Nashville - If you want to volunteer your time, this is the place.

Red Cross of Middle Tennessee - If you want to volunteer money, this is a good place.

The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee - If you want to volunteer money, this is another good place. It currently has a partnership with the Mayor's Office of Emergency Management.

Additionally, keep your eyes and ears open for local events that are popping up all over Middle TN that will support flood victims. Facebook, blogs, local news, The Tennessean, and The Nashville Scene will undoubtedly have plenty of information concerning fundraisers and benefits.

Patten Fuqua, a Nashville Predators blogger who wrote about the flood recently, wrote that the reason the national news hasn't given us more than 15 minutes of airtime was because we have handled it so marvelously - there hasn't been looting in the streets, those without places to go have often been taken in by friendly neighbors, there's been no politicizing a disaster that didn't need to be politicized - no bad behavior WHATSOEVER. We have been HELPING each other, and working together to deal with this on our own.

Keep those words in mind, Tennessee. It's something to be proud of.



**image courtesy of CMT.com**