Residents who call western North Carolina home still are recovering from Hurricane Helene that ravaged towns and communities in late September.
Homes, businesses, roadways and lives have been disrupted.
Amethyst Albert has seen the devastation, notably in the tourist town of Saluda, which is about 38 miles south of Asheville and near the South Carolina state line.
“I feel like when I know someone is in need or there’s an issue and I can help facilitate the solution, that’s what I need to do,” says Albert, 39, a sales agent for Keller Williams Realty in Fayetteville, which is a part of the Keller Williams Realty international franchise, circa 1983, with headquarters in Austin, Texas.
Albert will tell you that agents sell homes, but a significant part of the franchise co-founded by Gary W. Keller and Joe Williams is the KW Cares nonprofit that reaches out to those facing dire struggles in life, be it someone with health issues to those who are victims of disasters to include tornadoes, hurricanes or wildfires. Keller Williams also is always there for its employees in crisis, too.
Albert is passionate about KW Cares, a passion she learned from her father when helping an elderly neighbor while she was growing up as a teenager in her hometown of Baltimore.
“I was out of town in Maryland at my high school reunion that weekend that it hit,” Albert said about Hurricane Helene and its path of destruction. “So, I didn’t quite know the extent” of Helene’s wrath.
KW Cares agents from across the country, Albert says, already were at work bringing supplies to the North Carolina mountains. Tractor trailers, she said, already were en route from Florida and Texas with generators and other supplies, and once home, Albert would be doing her part collecting whatever was needed.
She learned there was a need for generators, fuel cans, chainsaws, shovels, nonperishable food, clothing, all-weather blankets and bottled water by the cases.
“On my drive home, I was talking to my family, and I said, ‘You know, we’ve got to find these items,’” Albert said about the drive from Baltimore to Fayetteville with husband Justin Albert and 13-year-old son Rylan. “My son’s saying, like, OK. He jumped in and he really wanted to put something together. So, that’s really where our project started.”
Fellow sales agents, she says, “pitched in” with gas cans and bottles of water by the cases. Albert says she reached out on social media for financial donations, and within 24 hours the effort brought in $10,000.
Amethyst Albert was heartened by the generosity of those she had reached out to, and those who reached back.
“I said, ‘Obviously, we can make this happen,’” she said.
Albert says her home in Linden became something of a ground zero for the supplies in anticipation of traveling to the mountains.
“My house was a warehouse,” she said. “It was stacked to the ceiling. Diapers, wipes, tons of food, mud boots, cases upon cases. Over 200 all-weather woobie blankets, baby products, some clothes, underwear in packages, socks, T-shirts, shovels, bleach, lots of bug spray and tons of bottled water. We had tons of sanitizers for your crawl space, tons of paper towels, peanut butter and 1,200 pounds of dog and cat food. We donated six chainsaws. We donated a log splitter to a church.”
A bridge to cross
Albert was part of a convoy of nine trucks and trailers, which would deliver supplies on Oct. 5-6 to Saluda. Among those in the convoy were active and retired military veterans who wanted to be part of helping, too.
Access to the town would present an unforeseen challenge.
“All the trees were knocked over as we got close to Saluda,” Albert said. “It looked like the remnants of a bad storm.”
And a bridge leading to town was quite the challenge.
“We didn’t show up with the intention of using our manpower and supplies to restore a bridge,” Albert said. “It was washed out on both sides. No way in or out. It was a two-lane road. You have to go down a winding road. Half the road was gone.”
Her team of volunteers began clearing the roadway bridge.
“They started in the afternoon,” Albert said. “They were back out there later in the day,” with more help from volunteers who arrived from Atlanta. “It went for miles. People in Saluda were bringing their chainsaws. They walked five miles. They cleared the debris with their hands and chainsaws.”
Once in Saluda, Albert and her team helped out at Tom and Bri Haas’ Green River Barbeque restaurant, a popular eatery with Saluda townsfolk.
“Their barbecue restaurant completely gave way,” Albert said about mudslides from the mountains.
There would be more trips for Albert and her team.
“In the Newland area, they were trying to reopen one of the elementary schools,” she said, “so these children could have, like, some sense of normalcy.”
Albert was there just before Christmas.
“We did a Secret Santa project, where folks could adopt a family,” she said. “We helped 58 families and gave 1,000 Christmas presents.”
‘Huge humanitarian heart’
Amethyst Albert found herself last week at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas for what is described as the Keller Williams Family Reunion, the annual gathering of about 10,000 executives, sales managers and agents.
“I’m really excited because I get to present the 2025 Kathy Neu Philanthropy Award,” said Alexia Rodriguez, chief executive officer of KW Cares. “This award is presented to somebody that not only uplifts the KW Cares mission to its highest level, but also works within their communities and the world at large that made the world a better place for all of us.
“Last fall, when Hurricane Helene hit her home state of North Carolina, she immediately mobilized a massive relief effort and collected and distributed over $200,000 worth of relief supplies that she personally delivered with her husband and her 13-year-old son, weekends on end to the victims, of her being in the lead in North Carolina.”
Rodriguez had more to say.
“But that’s not all,” she said. “That’s right, but that’s not all. When she found out there was a community of 65 families at Green River Cove in the valley that were cut off from town because the only way to access this remote community was over a bridge that got washed out because of the hurricane, she again jumped into action, mobilized another group of volunteers and she, along with these volunteers, stepped into this rural community and rebuilt that bridge in less than 24 hours so those 65 families could get emergency medical services and relief services they desperately need. So, it is because of this huge humanitarian heart and these incredible acts of service that I am so very proud on behalf of our board and our staff and KW Cares, we’re thrilled to announce that the 2025 Kathy Neu Philanthropy Award goes to Amethyst Albert.”
Kathryn Smith Neu worked as a real estate agent for 30 years with Keller Williams and was executive director of KW Cares. She died at age 74 on March 15, 2023, at her Austin, Texas, home.
The award came as no surprise to Trisha Taris, who is chief operating officer for Keller Williams in Fayetteville.
“I have always said Amethyst is one of the most generous human beings you would ever want to meet,” said Taris, who was among many who nominated Albert for the award. “She has the biggest heart. This is just one of Amethyst’s efforts. If there is a need, Amethyst meets it. She is one of our top givers in North Carolina.”
Epilogue
Albert says she will never forget the moment when Rodriguez called her name out of 200 other nominees.
“I was pretty surprised,” she said Monday.
But the honor, Albert says, is one to be shared.
“My parents have always instilled hard work and being kind to others,” she said. “It makes me feel good to be of service to others. My biggest sense of satisfaction is how many people came together toward a common goal. What brings me joy is that every single person who gave is now intertwined with my life. We can build a platform for a greater impact together. I’m doing what I love to do. Real estate is the vehicle to do what I want to do, and to be and do for my community. I want this to be a better place for generations to come.”
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
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