After Marion County collected donations from its residents and employees at multiple sites, the donated items were packed into a truck on Monday morning for delivery to those who were impacted by Hurricane Ian in South Florida.
The donation drive was a community effort throughout Marion County, with support from Tri-Eagle Sales, the Florida Horse Park, Larsen Hay, the College of Central Florida, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Ocala Police Department, Ocala Fire Rescue, Marion County Fire Rescue, R+L Carriers, and the Ocala/Marion County Chamber & Economic Partnership.
At the conclusion of the donation drive, Marion County Facilities Management and Marion County Fire Rescue employees helped load a trailer with the various donations, which were then delivered to the Tri-Eagle Sales warehouse located on SW 17th Street in Ocala.
The donations arrived at the Tri-Eagle Sales warehouse and were loaded into a truck by Randy Richardson, a Tri-Eagle Sales employee and forklift operator who came in on his day off to lend a hand.
Once the truck was filled with the donated items, it departed from the Tri-Eagle Sales warehouse and began its trip to South Florida.
On its Facebook webpage, Marion County thanked everyone who made a donation at one of the drop-off locations. “You are an amazing community filled with people who are willing to come together in times of need,” stated Marion County in the social media post.
Marion County ended the social media post by stating, “The road to recovery for our Florida neighbors will be a long one and our community will continue to offer support to help those in need because when we all come together we are Florida Strong.”