Help Denise & Rory After A Devastating Tornado

Hi, my name is Damany Daniel and for the past 12 years, I've had the privilege of knowing and loving two of the most incredible people on Earth (I'm biased, but I'm still right), Denise and Rory Wilmoth - my mother and father-in-law. Today, I'm asking for your help as they work to rebuild a life after a devastating tornado tore through the small town of Perryton, TX and their business of 30 years came to a sudden end.

On Thursday, June 15, shortly after 5:00 PM, just as people were beginning to close up for the day, an EF3 tornado suddenly touched down, snaking its way quickly through several neighborhoods and the heart of Main St. and leaving 1.5 miles of death, chaos, and destruction in its wake before it, just as quickly, disappeared. Right at the corner of Main and 2nd St. sits Expressions Flowers-n-Accents, a hallmark of the community for almost 30 years, and a place that's been a part of more celebrations, registries, Valentine's days, birthdays, weddings, memorials, and special moments than I could even try to count. At the heart of all of this were Denise and Rory. This is the place where they raised their kids. It's where they taught their daughters how to be florists, merchandisers, business owners, and stylists, and where they instilled the values of kindness, hospitality, and hard work. This is the place where their grandkids spent summers and played after school, and where the corners were just as likely to be filled with giggling children in superhero and princess beanbags as the latest designer purse. It's where new loves were celebrated, and where families came to honor those they'd lost. Expressions was home.

In the span of 10 minutes, all of the work of 30 years came crashing to a halt. There was no warning, there was no time to prepare and no way they could have been ready for something like this. Thankfully and most importantly, everyone is safe. I'm asking that, if you can, please help Denise, Rory, Whitney, Clair, and Adlee recover. The city has declared their buildings total losses and, due to heavy rain and snow damage during the pandemic, their insurance company refused to insure their almost 100-year-old building. After their insurance company refused to insure them, they were also unable to retain merchandise insurance for any of their inventory, meaning that hundreds of thousands of dollars of products are potentially completely lost with no possibility of recouping anything.

UPDATE: As of 6/30/23, FEMA and other government agencies have come to Perryton and come to the conclusion that no outside funding will be provided to help Perryton rebuild, meaning that people are effectively on their own to rebuild.

We don't know what the future holds. We don't fully know how much damage has been done and are only now starting to dig out of the wreckage of the buildings and our hearts. What we do know is that we covet your prayers, need your support, and welcome any financial contribution you can make. One of Denise and Rory's utmost desires is to continue paying their employees for as long as possible while they try to figure out the next steps for themselves, their family, and their business. They've also discovered that they have damage to their personal home from the storm that they haven't even begun to look into yet. Perryton is a small community and one that has shown up for these two in so many significant ways. We're asking you to join this community in supporting Denise and Rory in any way you can and that you tell their story, and the story of Perryton to anyone you can.

So many memories were held in those walls for my family and so many families literally across the world. Expressions is where I learned about small-town America and where I got to experience the love of this community firsthand when staring in the face of triumph and tragedy. Expressions and Perryton have a long road of recovery ahead of them. Thank you, in advance, for any part you can play in making that recovery a little easier. You have no idea how much it means.

Here's a little peek into the "before times"

Thank you