JAMESTOWN, Mo. - As Thomas Shands watched the disaster recovery images from Hurricane Harvey, the American Red Cross volunteer said, "I want to be there."
He will head to the Houston area soon with the Central and Northern Missouri Chapter, which is sending four emergency response vehicles to help in the recovery.
"I have a lot of respect for the volunteers who are down there, even those in their boats who don't belong to any organization - it's just people helping people," he said.
Shands, who first volunteered with the Red Cross in 1975 as a CPR/first aid trainer, specializes in sheltering. However, he is prepared to do whatever the situation needs during his deployment, which could last up to three weeks.
Although the Jamestown ranch owner has responded to many disaster relief events in his 42 years with the Red Cross, this will be his first time working such a large-scale event.
Shands took his volunteer efforts to a new level after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
When he could not join the military again - after 20 years in the Missouri National Guard, plus serving in Vietnam with the U.S. naval construction battalions (Seabees) - Shands said he decided he could do other things to help.
That's when he got involved with sheltering operations, eventually becoming a sheltering instructor for the Red Cross after retiring from ABB in 2009.
During the 1993 flood, he was deployed with the Guard for flood relief and worked alongside Red Cross volunteers, getting a taste for the work, he said.
Locally, he has helped set up storm shelters and aided victims after storms or fires. Recently, he helped residents of Prairie Home after a straight-line wind damaged homes and the school, and at Jamestown after a tornado.
"It's a good feeling to be able to help your neighbors," he said.
After the Joplin tornado in 2011, Shands said he was assigned to help HAM radio operators keep communications open for emergency personnel and for families to reunite.
"It's very rewarding to be able to help people who are down and out, who can't see tomorrow," he said. "We help them move forward. It's a blessing to talk with them, to hear their stories and let them talk through their disaster."
Shands' bags are packed for four days. As he waits for the call to deploy to Texas this week, Shands' wife of 34 years, Judy, is no stranger to taking on more home responsibilities while he's away.
"She's been through a lot; she know what happens when I get deployed," he said. "She's a fine ranch hand."
While in the Guard, he deployed to Panama, Honduras and Germany, as well as events from Kentucky to Colorado. With the Red Cross, he has responded across the state and to North Carolina.
Shands is back on his feet after breaking his leg in April.
"Volunteers who have spouses couldn't do the job without their spouses at home taking care of business."