Statement of A-B Tech President John Gossett
Buncombe County Media Briefing
October 11, 2024
First, I want to thank our community, state and federal partners for the work you are doing to help our region recover from the impacts of Hurricane Helene. The last time I was here, I discussed how A-B Tech is working with many of you to host shelters, staging areas, and whatever else may be needed to assist with our region’s recovery. I want to reiterate that we are here for you for the duration.
I’m here today to report on where A-B Tech operations currently stand. As we all now know, Hurricane Helene is the worst storm Western North Carolina has experienced in 100 years, or 1000 years, depending on the source. The devastation is unimaginable and has affected every student, employee and community in our service area of Buncombe and Madison counties. We are concerned, first and foremost, with the safety and well-being of our employees and students. Everything else is secondary.
We are continuing to conduct surveys and welfare checks of students and employees to find out how they are and how we can support them. We know of employees and students who lost everything, and we know of several people who are currently missing. I want to reiterate that our A-B Tech family is our top priority.
Clearly, we cannot reopen next Monday, which was our original target date. We are now looking at a tentative date of October 28 for employees and most students to return, except for our Emergency Services, Allied Health and Nursing programs, which will begin earlier.
We are basing this decision on the availability of water, the timelines of shelters and other services operating from our campuses, and the challenges confronting our students and employees.
Detailed plans for our various types of classes, including curriculum, continuing education and adult education, may be found on our website at abtech.edu under Helene Recovery. Because our employees and students have various capabilities to access the internet, we also will stay in touch with text alerts, email and our social media channels.
As we move forward, we know this recovery is going to take years, not months. We will need a great deal of support and understanding from the NC Community College System, the NC General Assembly, state and federal governments, and more as we work through the various phases of recovery.
If you would like to help our A-B Tech students and employees who need emergency assistance, you can donate at abtech.edu/giving. We are beyond grateful for your support.