Fund-raising efforts in Jacksonville will send $90,000 to Jaguars center Brad Meester’s hometown of Parkersburg, Iowa, which was devastated by an F-5 tornado on May 25.
“I’m very excited about that. That’s due to this whole Jacksonville community. I have to say thanks to them for helping out; to the players, coaches and Mr. Weaver. Having people step up and help out has meant a lot,” said Meester, who returned to his hometown this past weekend for the first time since it was devastated by the tornado.
“I got there Saturday afternoon. It was tough to see; a place I had grown up in was, in a matter of seconds, completely changed. It was completely flattened. In its place were piles of debris, piles of metal. Some of the walls are still falling in on the high school,” Meester said.
The home of the parents of Meester’s wife, Jamie, was one of the tornado’s targets. Jamie’s family is living with Brad’s family during this recovery period.
“My in-laws are waiting for house plans. As soon as they get the house plans, they want to start building. My folks are going to help them build the house,” Meester said.
The $90,000 check Meester is to receive from the Jaguars includes a check for $32,000 from Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver and the team’s partners. Twenty-four thousand dollars will be awarded to Aplington-Parker High School, Meester’s alma mater, and $66,000 will be given to the Parkersburg Relief Fund.
The sale of hats on jaguars.com and other outlets – more than 2,000 hats were sold – was part of the fund-raising project. Jaguars coaches wore the “tornado relief” hats during the team’s final days of spring practices.
Meester, his wife and their children made the 22-hour drive to Parkersburg late last week. He attended a fund-raiser in Parkersburg on Sunday that raised another $100,000 for relief aid.
“When you come over the hill into town, just that initial sight, all the homes are gone. There’s nothing there any more,” Meester said.
The NFL matched each player or coach contribution up to $5,000 for the Aplington-Parkersburg High School football program through the NFL Youth Football Fund. The funds will be used to replace damaged or lost equipment and to repair the football field and weight room facilities. The Parkersburg Relief Fund was set up for funds to go directly toward rebuilding homes and providing basic necessities to Iowa residents.
Meester is one of four current NFL players who are Aplington-Parkersburg High School graduates. The other three are Jared DeVries of the Detroit Lions, Casey Wiegmann of the Denver Broncos and Aaron Kampman of the Green Bay Packers.