Withstanding Hurricane Dorian
The Bahamian community has endured and demonstrated incredible resilience in the face of adversity. And so have our grills.
2019’s Hurricane Dorian hit the Bahamas on September 1, 2019. It was the most powerful storm to hit the Bahamas in recorded history. The suffering experienced by the locals has been unimaginable, but they have demonstrated a remarkable amount of resilience in the face of this adversity.
Bill Verity, CEO and founder of Crown Verity, calls many of the islanders friends. Naturally, he travelled down upon hearing about the devastation to see how the community had been impacted, and whether there was anything he could do to help with the recovery.
Together, Bill and some other members of the community spent a few days pulling lost items and fragments out of the rubble and straight out of the Atlantic ocean. Some of these items were none other than Crown Verity grills that belonged to some of the local restaurants and businesses—and they were in amazing shape.
Eight Crown Verity grills had been thrown around in the heavy winds and rain, toppled over, and even submerged in ocean water. When Bill and the volunteers found most of them, the strong, stainless steel bodies of the BBQs were in remarkably great shape.
“The island’s salt water and salt air make for a tough environment for BBQs,” Bill says, “but our stainless steel grills can handle it.”
The grill belonging to Sea Spray Resort was fully submerged in ocean water and marsh. It only needed a few extra parts, which Bill was able to ship over, and with a little bit of TLC the grill was back in great working condition after just an hour or so.
After hooking up some new propane tanks, the other grills were back in great working condition after just an hour or so, too. The community was able to use the grills to serve hundreds of out-of-country workers and volunteers each day. Obviously a small event in the midst of the devastation, being able to provide food for the community still offered a bit of light and joy in the suffering.
“The community was able to use the grills to serve hundreds of out-of-country workers and volunteers each day.” - Bill Verity
There’s never been a clearer depiction of the world-class durability, strength, and ruggedness of Crown Verity grills. To this day, there hasn’t been a need to replace these recovered grills with new ones; they’re working beautifully, continuing to produce the incredible creations they were built to.
The determination and work ethic of those in the community is certainly inspiring—a glimmer of hope in the midst of such unbelievable tragedy. The town is still very much feeling the aftermath of the hurricane, but pushing forward toward recovery. Power and electricity were restored to the town in September 2020, rebuilding of homes, schools, and hospitals is underway, and the locals are continuing to model durability and strength.
