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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

Last weekend’s weather events were some of the most mind blowing and unreal scenes I have ever seen in my life. Having to work through the damage throughout the area on Sunday morning and talking to people who just lost everything was the most emotionally challenging thing I have done in my journalism career. The overall goal for the coverage from Thursday to Monday was to inform our readers of the dangers of the incoming weather, and afterwards showcase positive stories of survival, and I hope that our coverage came off like that.

I was very careful with the wording and tone of the tornado coverage stories. Like other stories with touchy subjects, it is important to me that readers perceive my stories in the correct tone. My goal with the coverage of the tornado damage was to inform readers, and showcase the instincts of residents with no deaths occurring in Chilton County despite the millions of dollars in damages. The goal of the stories was not to showcase damage to get our hits or highlight unreal scenes, so I hope the overall perception of the stories were taken the correct way as they were intended to.

When I reflect on things further, the other big thing I hope our coverage did was help people. From posting on Saturday night about the various tornado warnings that were coming through the county, to Sunday morning posting about road closures and places where food and water was available. Everything that was posted and covered was meant to help our readers.

If there was only one person on Saturday night that saw our warning posts and took shelter, or if only one person saw our posts Sunday morning on Facebook and visited a place to get a meal, then it was all worth it. If our staff’s efforts helped just one person in Chilton County through those dire times, then everything was worth it and then some.

I hope I never have to cover something so sad and devastating again as long as I am the Managing Editor here. However, every so often those types of things happen, and it is our duty to cover them as we did this week. If there is anything The Clanton Advertiser can do to continue to help the residents affected by the tornado, please let us know, and I will personally do whatever we can to assist. Every time something devastating happens in a city, it is always followed by but (insert city here) Strong. But Chilton County is really Chilton Strong, together. And that was evident in the tornado aftermath.

Together. Chilton Strong.