A Tornado Destroyed Greensburg So They Rebuilt as America’s Greenest Town 

Bob Dixson: People, if they don't have strong roots, have nothing to stand on, and the wind will topple you. People that stayed here have deep roots. It mattered not that what was above the ground was destroyed. The new growth of those roots came back. 

Kate Tucker: I'm Kate Tucker, and this is Hope Is My Middle Name, a podcast from Consensus Digital Media. Today, I am thrilled to share my conversation with this guy.

Bob Dixson: I'm Bob Dixson, former mayor of Greensburg, Kansas.

Kate Tucker: In case you don't know, Greensburg was absolutely leveled by an EF5 tornado in 2007.

Bob Dixson: And so we in this community are known for our resilience and our determination in building back after the devastation that we had on that evening of May the 4th.

Kate Tucker: Bob and his neighbors lost everything, but all that destruction gave them a rare opportunity, the opportunity to come together and rebuild in a way that has ultimately served as a model for the rest of the country. I saw Bob Dixon's TED Talk and I couldn't stop thinking about how this small town community in the middle of Kansas made the bold move to build a green city over 17 years ago, well before sustainability had become a buzzword.

Today, Greensburg is considered one of the greenest cities in the United States, powered 100 percent by renewable energy. Every Greensburg building is LEED Platinum certified, and it was the first city in the nation to go fully LED with their street lights. 

As you'll hear, getting to that point required so much listening and so much respect. Respect for each other as citizens, respect for the wisdom of their ancestors, respect for the land, and respect for the awesome responsibility they had to work toward a safe, sustainable future for all.

Kate Tucker: Hello, Bob.

Bob Dixson: Good morning, Kate. How are you today?

Kate Tucker: You know, I'm doing great. How are you?

Bob Dixson: I'm raring to go!

Kate Tucker: All right! Well, let's jump right in then. I want to go way back to Atwood, to the hometown you grew up in. What was it like growing up in Kansas?

Bob Dixson: We were born and raised out on the farm about 17, 18 miles from town.And I don't remember growing up going to town much at all, maybe riding with dad when he went to get maybe some parts in town or supplies. But we just pretty much stayed out on the farm and we always had a big garden and mother canned and baked. And we were just pretty self sustainable in our own way out there.

We raised our own meat. Our beef, chickens, and pork, and processed them ourselves, so we were just very much like all of rural America in agriculture, you just stayed out there and you worked. Part of our guiding principles always were from my granddad and neighbors and my parents is, if you took care of the land, it would take care of you.

And we were always taught, leave it better than you found it. Because farmers and ranchers know if they don't plan down the road, if they use up all their resources in one year, they have nothing to buy seed or fertilizer with for the next year. They know they don't use any more chemicals or anything than they actually need to because basically it's a financial situation.

Kate Tucker: That good old Midwest pragmatism. Okay, so on the farm growing up, what kind of things were you growing? And I'm curious if you remember any seasons where it got tough or moments where you really had to innovate to survive, you know, and make it work.

Bob Dixson: Yes, we raised beef cattle and we also raised wheat on the farm ground. And in the midst of that in the mid late 50s there was a big drought that came through and the wheat was not good at all. And I look back I was well into my 20s when I realized how tough mom and dad had it in those days, but we didn't know any different.

We didn't know life could be any better because we had food on the table and clothes on our back. We knew we were loved and cared for. And so even in tough times, it's how you approach this. You can have a sense of hope or you can have a sense of hopelessness. There's good years and there's bad years in the crops and in the cattle. And you just learn to flow with that. And that goes back to that part of those values that we were raised with, taking care of what we had because we don't know what next year's going to be.

Kate Tucker: And those values were passed down for generations. I mean, you've mentioned before your pioneering ancestors, and you've called them the original environmentalists. Tell me about that.

Bob Dixson: When our pioneering ancestors settled out here in the Midwest and on the prairies, they looked, number one, first for water to be close to a creek or stream or be able to drill a water well so they had life sustaining water for them and their families and their livestock, and they built homes and planted trees and made sure that all those things were in tune with the local environment. So we grew up without air conditioning, but we had trees planted all around the house. We had awnings over the windows to protect the sun from beating down on the windows. 

And so if you travel through the Midwest, look at the structures that have survived for years and generations, how were they built? How did they take advantage of natural resources? But yet take advantage of the new technologies that are out there to control your consumption of electricity, of fuel, of water. I really think that is the key in sustainability, not mandating anything. It's at the local level and individual level of controlling your consumptions. And if we all control our consumption, it will make a tremendous impact on the whole, quote, big picture.

Kate Tucker: Mm, yes. Let's talk a little bit more about those early technologies that the pioneers had and how they continue to manifest today. Like, for instance, I have a root cellar in my basement in my hundred year old home that stays cool all summer in the hot weather of northeast Ohio. What else did you see growing up that you're now seeing people adopt as almost like new technologies?

Bob Dixson: Well, Kate, you're talking about root cellars, and we also use them as storm shelters underground, so they were two-fold. But what I really see is a technology now with ground sourced heat pumps. You get about six foot underground out here, and the temperature of the ground is around 60 degrees. Well, you start running that through your heat pump, you can cool your house at that temperature. In the winter, you can also heat it up to that temperature. We have residents that have their own geothermal wells. We have a school, a courthouse, a hospital, all kinds of buildings, municipal, that have geothermal wells. And out here we found that that is one of the most efficient cost savings returns on your investment than wind or solar.

Kate Tucker: Hmm. But speaking of wind, y'all have a lot of wind out there. And I mean, I remember, I feel like even in the Wizard of Oz, there's a wind turbine in the opening scene. That's also a really old technology.

Bob Dixson: Oh, yes. Windmills were pumping water out of the ground because up until the 30s we didn't have rural electrification, so you needed to be able to pump that water using the wind. Some of our older ancestors would take a generator off of an old car and mount it on a windmill and generate enough six-volt electricity to charge a battery just like in a vehicle. And then at night they could take the headlight off and take it in the house and hook it up to the battery and have enough light to be able to read. And so all I'm saying is there's been innovation for generations that we just have the ability now to used more advanced technology than they had, but the base is all pretty much the same. It's just, how do we enhance it?

Kate Tucker: There's nothing new under the sun, as it says in Ecclesiastes.

Bob Dixson: Exactly. Amen to that.

Kate Tucker: I want to talk about your life of public service. You have a rich history of serving the public. And I want to know, you know, what do you think it was that set you on that path? What is it that has driven you to serve in such a way throughout your lifetime?

Bob Dixson: Well, I think it all started clear back on the farm. And part of that was we being that far from town, we were depending upon our neighbors and they were depending upon us. We had the country church. We had the country school. It all centered around things like that when I was a kid. So when I was very young, we saw people cooperating and doing things together.

And then I remember my dad, he served on school boards, church boards, farmer co-op boards. And I said, Dad, You know, if you weren't always going to meetings, we could get more done out here on the farm. And he said, Bob, in our society, we have to be participants. We have to be in public service because that's how our system operates in this constitutional republic.

Kate Tucker: You know, you talk about your dad in all of these roles and growing up and seeing your dad go to these meetings, and then you follow closely in his footsteps, you join the church board and the school board and you become a postman. And I'm curious before you step into the role as mayor, you've had a lot of experience seeing what works and what doesn't and bringing people together. Tell me a little bit about what you observed about building bridges and bringing people together.

Bob Dixson: The first thing you have to do is listen. Listen, listen, listen. Every one of us thinks we have great ideas. But you know there's people that have a lot of great ideas. And if you don't listen to them, you can't blend that together. And this has to be a cooperative endeavor. 

It's just like after the tornado. We were all homeless in a matter of just hardly any time at all. None of us had vehicles. The houses were destroyed. 95 percent of the buildings gone, including church, hospital, school, downtown, everything. And so we all had a common interest. There was not the haves and the have-nots. Nobody had any place to go because home wasn't there. I just think that part of that whole process is if you aren't part of a solution, you're part of the problem. And so you have to make sure that you hear every voice. Doesn't mean that you just hear the loudest voice. It's usually the quiet voice you rarely hear is the one you really need to pay attention to because they're not microphone grabbers to get a sound bite. They've thought through a process. And when you involve them and have a great city council and county commissioners and everybody was pulling together in the same wagon, that makes a tremendous difference.

Kate Tucker: I want to talk about May 4th, 2007, the day of the tornado. And I'd like for you, as much as you feel comfortable, to take us back to that day and sort of set the stage for our listeners. Because most of us, thankfully, have no idea what it's like to live through a tornado, and what it would feel like to quite literally lose everything.

Can you describe first what Greensburg was like before the tornado, and then take us through that day?

Bob Dixson: We had a population of around 1,400 people before the tornado. Tree-lined community on the plains out here. The Kansas Forestry Service said we had about a 70 percent canopy of trees in town.

Kate Tucker: Oh, wow.

Bob Dixson: And so just a beautiful old farming community. It was just home for all of us. And so anyway, the tornado was on a Friday and we were hearing in the early afternoon on the radio and the TV that there's a chance of some really severe weather maybe this evening. And as the day went on, the air felt funny, kind of eerie in a way.

And I noticed, and a lot of other people as we talked through the years, that our pets were acting strange. They were even sensing something. And so, by early evening, there was starting to be more notification that there was extreme possibility of tornadic activity. At about nine o'clock, the sirens went off in town and people took it seriously and they went to shelter.

My wife and I went down to our basement. It hit at 9:40 and the first thing I remember hearing is it sounded like bowling balls hitting the house. We lived in a big old three story Victorian that was built in 1912. And that noise I realized later was debris hitting the house and then that started breaking windows out and the eye of the tornado just basically sucks the roof right off the top of you. We were taught always to go to the southwest corner of the basement because of the rotation counterclockwise of a tornado. That's the best place to go. But if it wasn't for the National Weather Service and all those media outlets, our death toll would have been significantly higher. We heard people telling stories they felt led to be where they ended up being. Regardless of one's faith, we know we were taken care of, and the hand of God was over the top of us.

Kate Tucker: Wow. And that's a testament to your faith that that's the way that you experienced it. And it's been, what, 17 years?

Bob Dixson: Right.

Kate Tucker: How quickly did it happen? And what do you remember feeling? I mean, if it's, if it's okay to, to share that, what do you remember feeling in that moment that you were down there with your wife in the corner?

Bob Dixson: There was no concern about our property and our belongings. The concern was, Hey, the elderly couple across the street, I wonder if they're okay.

Kate Tucker: Yeah.

Bob Dixson: And that was happening all over town. It just gives you a renewed faith in the human spirit. when you see people caring about other people instead of their possessions in a time of a disaster.

Kate Tucker: And so that happened at night. And then what did you do from there, like that night, where did you go?

Bob Dixson: Well, basically we were still looking for neighbors for hours and hours, two towns, east and west of us sent school buses over Red Cross and Salvation Army from the east and the west came to each side of town and there were triage places. And as word spread, we were asked to walk down there and check in so we could start accounting for everybody. So we just kept looking for people. And then finally, we have some good friends that live about eight miles out of town. He said, Hey, my pickups over there at the edge of town, go get it and go out to the house and get cleaned up and everything. Remember, we only had the clothes that were on our back. And so they were able to loan us some sweatpants and some t-shirts and stuff. And then we were back in town at sunrise. We were evacuated out of town for the rest of the weekend. because there were still several people that were still unaccounted for. And the search and rescue dogs were picking up too many scents because there were people on their property bawling around.

Kate Tucker: Mm hmm.

Bob Dixson: And so, we came back at noon on Monday and just started the cleanup process.

Kate Tucker: And there were 11 lives lost in the tornado.

Bob Dixson: Here in Greensburg, yes, 12 total. There was one out in the country.

Kate Tucker: And do you remember that process of how long it took for them to discover and were you in the community to comfort each other as you learned that? I mean, how did that all happen?

Bob Dixson: So, emergency management people and EMS came from all over the state and were going street by street searching to make sure everybody was accounted for. And so I'm sure that some of those were found during the day on Saturday. There were also numerous widow ladies that ended up in the basement of a church. And the church was severely destroyed, but they were fine in the basement, but they couldn't get out. And so they found them. And then there were people that just got in their vehicles and left town when they said the tornado was going to hit. And so it just took the weekend to connect all the dots and make sure everybody was safe.

Kate Tucker: And when you came back, I mean, do you remember coming back? What did you see, what was left of your house? What did you and your wife personally lose in that experience?

Bob Dixson: Well, we lost everything. It was in a pile of rubble. Remember, we had a day and a half there to do some thinking, and we were out at the friend's couple's house. And so we were just talking, what are we going to do? Is this where we want to retire? And we just finally said, this is our home. This is where we raised our family. This is our community. We're going to rebuild. And so by the time we got back into town on that Monday, we were ready to clean up and get started rebuilding back.

Kate Tucker: What was your role at that time? You weren't the mayor yet. What were you doing?

Bob Dixson: Just a community member, just all working to help anybody that needed help and ourselves. That summer, we had a big circus tent put up after some debris was cleaned off of one of our parks in town. And that's where we did everything. We cried together, we hugged together, we laughed together, we worked on our sustainable master plan, all under the big tent. People were just very interested in rebuilding the community, and they wanted to be part of the planning process. So that's what we were all doing as a community.

Kate Tucker: And so, what was the planning process? I mean, like, what were the questions you had to answer, you know, just to even begin to lay the foundation for rebuilding?

Bob Dixson: Well, Kate, it's about hope, number one. There was a businessmen's meeting, and they said, Hey, how many businesses are going to come back? And the agriculture dealership said, we're coming, we're going to build back. Some of the businesses downtown say, well, if we had a building, yeah, we're coming back. So that became infectious. And then people got to talking about building back their new homes. And one of the county commissioners led by example, and he was one of the first one to have a home built back.

We had to also decide, because all the infrastructure above ground was gone, all the electrical distribution system, plus there were issues with the sewer system, the stormwater management system, of debris being washed into that system. And so we needed to clean those things out. We needed to make sure all water meters were shut off. We had almost a year's worth of rain in the six weeks after the tornado. That system just hung around. Well, we didn't need basements filling with water and then washing into the sewer system. And then the planning process started with, okay, the electrical distribution system. We need a plan as people are going to start rebuilding that they know they're going to have electricity and water and sewer available that's functional. And that all started from day one. We were blessed to have a great city administrator at that time. And city employees all vested in what we were doing.

Kate Tucker: I'm curious, who originally, you know, raised this idea of building back green? Or was it a group of people? Like, how did that even begin?

Bob Dixson: Well, there's so many conflicting stories on that. There was the county commissioners, the some city council members, state and federal people, the representative of our governor's office, and the conversation according to what I can ascertain is just said, Hey, yes, we're going to rebuild, but we want to rebuild in a right, prudent, and responsible manner. I think that the governor's office said, Oh, you're going to, since it's Greensburg, you're going to build back green. Well, that idea came from somewhere in that meeting and then it just grew.

Kate Tucker: Okay. This is fascinating because it's 2007 and we are still having arguments to this day about whether we want to be green, we need to be green, whether green is political or not. I mean, like how did you build consensus around that idea? What were their naysayers? Like, how was it received?

Bob Dixson: Well, you get away from green. You get to sustainability and you get to where you're talking about your consumption. And when I first started hearing the talk of, quote, going green after the tornado, I kind of cringed a little because I was thinking about when I was in high school and that had been in the late 60s, people talking about the environment and I thought that was people in tie-dyed shirts with hair down to the middle of their back and possibly on mind-altering chemicals hugging a tree. And I thought, you know, that that just isn't gonna fly here. What is gonna fly is how do we control our consumption? How do we become more cognizant and aware of what we're looking at for the future to make our community sustainable for future generations? Remember, a lot of these houses that were destroyed were 60, 80-year old homes. Building technology in the construction business is way better than it was in the 30s or the 40s.

Kate Tucker: Mm hmm.

Bob Dixson: So the educational process that we went through, and we had some entities that were just great, The National Renewable Energy Lab out of Golden, Colorado, there with the Department of Energy. They were here for, oh my, almost two years just assisting people. You have to leverage everything. We'd never been through this before. We couldn't do it ourselves and we had to admit that.

Kate Tucker: You've talked about this idea, owners and renters, when it comes to being part of a community and, and having a sense of ownership in the community. I think it's an interesting perspective because it's not what first comes to mind when we hear the words owners and renters. Could you explain what you mean by that and, and how that played into the rebuilding process for Greensburg?

Bob Dixson: You have a choice in your community, in your life to be owners. And when I say renters, I don't mean renting a house. What I mean is, if you're an owner, you're the one that picks up trash when it's blowing down the street. You're the one that buys Girl Scout cookies. You go to socials in town, to soup suppers, and you donate money there. You're vested. You're informed, involved, and engaged in your community. You're owning your community. If you're just renting your community, you expect everyone else just to take care of it for you.

And that is why we recovered so well. People have vested themselves in the community, and that's what makes the community sustainable. You can't rely on tax dollars and county commissioners and city councils to take care of you. Because invariably, at some point in time, they'll disappoint the heck out of you. Now, were mistakes made? Sure. We'd never been through this before. But you can't focus on the mistakes. You could just say, Hey, let's identify and be humble enough to say, That wasn't quite the best decision. How can we modify it? Instead of just busting our heads against a brick wall saying, That wasn't it. Hey, we made that decision. We're going to make it work. No, humility goes a long ways to be able to say we made a mistake and we need to rectify that or modify it. One or the other.

Kate Tucker: So you were coming in as a community member and showing up to these meetings under this big circus tent and then you, the next year, run for mayor. Had you planned to run for mayor prior to the tornado?

Bob Dixson: Oh, not at all. I was here to rebuild my property and help other people rebuild their homes. The mayor at the time of the tornado resigned just a few weeks afterwards, and the president of the city council then moved up to the mayor's position. Anyway, I had people from all over the community and family members that said, Bob, when are you going to listen? There's people asking you to run for mayor. And I said, you don't understand. I just retired and I've got time on my hands and I, I was being selfish at that point. Well, I finally said, okay. And so I decided that I'd go ahead and file for mayor because of the encouragement I had from people in the community and other council members.

Kate Tucker: Hmm. Were there other people running? Like, how did the campaign go?

Bob Dixson: There was nobody running originally, except myself and the president of the city council who became mayor, filed at the last minute. He'd been a good friend all along and still is. I didn't want to run against him.

Kate Tucker: Oh, no.

Bob Dixson: If I'd have known he was going to file, I wouldn't have.

Kate Tucker: And you, in that process, you're focused on sustainability. You are obviously bringing the community together as a community, and then you start to implement a lot of this through the help of public private partnerships. Tell me a little bit about how that came into play.

Bob Dixson: Well, I think that the one thing that's very important to remember in all this is we could not have done it totally by ourselves. We had to develop those public-private partnerships and leverage every resource available. FEMA covers 75 percent of the loss of municipal buildings, of tax funded entities. Well, you have a building that was destroyed, a city hall that was worth 100,000, FEMA would pay 75,000 back to you, but you still had your insurance money, too, of that 100,000, so you had 175,000 available, but the new building's gonna cost you 300,000, so there's tremendous funding gap there.

And so we were fortunate that prior city councils and the city administrator were very, very conscientious of spending and still providing services, but in the past had developed a really good capital outlay fund. And so we did have some nice reserves to fall back on. The other thing is we had donations from corporate America on numerous things around town, to the school, to the hospital, to the city, whether cash donations or product. And those all helped with that funding gap.

Kate Tucker: It's striking that you were able to rebuild in a time when America's small towns are struggling. I mean, we're losing population and it's so significant that you were able to pull this off, I think. I'm curious, what was it that gave you enough wisdom and insight to navigate all of that as a new mayor?

Bob Dixson: Well, Kate, please understand, it isn't me. It's a collaboration of a whole lot of people, and I think that more than anything, how are we going to make our community a better place to live and work for everybody? We've had young families that have moved back to the community. Prior to the tornado, rural America's biggest export hasn't been agriculture products. It's been our youth. And we're finding out now that with being able to rebuild a community that has top notch telecommunications infrastructure, we have fiber throughout the community, we have young couples that have moved back. And so they could move back here, lower their cost of living, know their students' classmates and the classmates' families. And they just feel a sense of community. 

And it used to be as a kid, people were front porch people. They went out and they sat on the front porch and they watched the kids play stick ball in the street. And they had a conversation with their neighbor just across the hedge as they all sat out there on a summer evening. And over the years, after World War II, we came back to our houses and we pulled a vehicle in the garage and we closed it and we went in the backyard and locked the front door and didn't want to be bothered. And I feel that we as a community have got back to where we're front porch people. We're having conversations. And when you develop a relationship and have conversations, then you can agree to disagree. You're able to work together because you have those relationships and those communication skills of front porch people.

Kate Tucker: I love that. So, say I had the good fortune to fly a thousand miles and come and see you, and we were walking down Main Street. You know, what would we see? What would we hear? What's the picture like in Greensburg?

Bob Dixson: Well, the first thing I would take you is just in a little ride down Main Street or a walk, and you'll see our new streetscape, you'll see trees planted back, you'll see storefronts, and some of them resemble even those old brick storefronts that were built in the late 1800s, early 1900s.

And then we drive through residential communities and you'd easily see the resilience and the determination of all of us that chose to stay and those that are coming back. A retired couple from Texas had great jobs down there but were born and raised in this community and they're my age in the 70s and they came back to their hometown and they have become so involved in the community.

And it's things like that that are so rewarding. People, if they don't have strong roots, have nothing to stand on, and the wind will topple you. And people that stayed here have deep roots. It mattered not that what was above the ground was destroyed. The new growth of those roots came back. And one thing a community needs to do that you would see as we're looking through it, Kate, is you can see that we addressed who we are, not some plan that was presented to us that says this is the way you have to do it. We were able to implement our morals, our values, who we are, and our roots back in the community in the rebuilding process.

Kate Tucker: And a huge part of that is the sustainability factors that informed all of those decisions. Tell me what we would see that reflects the incredible sustainability measures y'all took.

Bob Dixson: Kate, I can build the most off grid, sustainable building in the world, but if I can't afford to live in it, it's not sustainable. So, we need to decide in this process, how do we be environmentally sustainable? And at the same time, be fiscally sustainable, and that is the big overarching issue in this discussion for 40, 50, 60 years.

When we talk about the environment, my opinion is we've played political football with it, and it's never been about the environment, or we would change things. There are success stories around, I remember 30, 40 years ago, a guy was telling me in Washington, D. C., you couldn't see Capitol Hill from the White House because of the air quality. And it's improved. Quality of our water is improved. Yes, there's pockets of places that, you know, like Flint, Michigan, and I hurt for those people that that happened, but that doesn't say anything about all those municipal water systems around the United States that have improved over the years. So we need to celebrate some successes and address those suboptimal situations in an expedient, prudent manner.

Kate Tucker: And this solutions-based approach to what you're really talking about, the triple bottom line, right, is like, what are some successes that you would celebrate in Greensburg? You know, renewable energy, water conservation, tell me a little bit about that.

Bob Dixson: One of the quickest things that we saw, the amount of kilowatts per residence dropped tremendously in the consumption. And part of that was because of new construction. Part of that was because people were using advanced lighting systems. And the other part was they were more cognizant and aware of their utility bills. We also saw in the rebuilding processes, people were landscaping. They planted more trees that were indigenous to our area. Going back to our native buffalo grass for their lawns instead of Kentucky bluegrass that you didn't have to mow as much, so you weren't consuming as much fossil fuel. And we were saving water. The biggest issue we're going to have in this country is our water. The old saying back in the 1880s, 1870s, in the West, and that pitted farmers against ranchers for water rights, ‘Whiskeys for drinking, and waters to die for.’ And so this is what we're going to have to really think about.

Kate Tucker: Mm hmm.

Bob Dixson: The economy is going to drive the decision on wind, solar, electricity, but they're not going to drive water. We can live without electricity if we had to. They used to burn candles. We cannot live without water or there would be life on Mars.

Kate Tucker: Some people are trying.

Bob Dixson: They got more money than brains. Oops, you might want to edit that one out.

Kate Tucker: I think that's true.

Bob Dixson: I just think of how much productivity some people could have if they really were the entrepreneurs and the philanthropists that they claim to be.

Kate Tucker: And I'm also just enthralled by the idea that the first building you built back was an arts center, is that correct?

Bob Dixson: One of the first ones. The University of Kansas architectural students do a project mostly up in the Kansas City area each year. And there was a little pushback in the community at first. We don't need an arts center. Kate, when you look back through history, civilizations have always put a tremendous emphasis on art. And one thing that this really helped us with in the community is the arts center board was able to bring in some art exhibits in the gallery. It was a sign of beauty that you could get away from the rubble and go to the art center and just see some paintings or some ceramics or whatever, and just get away from it for a little bit.

And the other thing downtown Main Street, there was a company in Kansas City that donated a building, and it was put up in the second block south of stoplight, and it's our Care and Share store, a thrift shop. It's also our food bank, and that became our mall as people were donating stuff from all over the United States of product, of clothes, of just everything. We had to have a place to go with it. And the other thing was the school. They got debris removed and started bringing in mobile classrooms. We did not miss a year of school in Greensburg.

Kate Tucker: That's incredible.

Bob Dixson: I remember the school superintendent was asked by media from all over, When's the school going to open? And he said, August 17th. And they would say, Well, what's your plan B? And he said, we don't have a plan B. The school calendar says we start school on August the 17th. And about 60 percent of the elementary kids came back to school that first year. And close to 90 percent of the high school kids. That very first day, FEMA put up a PVC pipe flagpole. And the superintendent and the principals brought all the students over to it. And they said, I'm getting a little emotional, but they said the Pledge of Allegiance at a PVC pipe flagpole in the middle of a rubble. And I knew then we made it to first base.

Kate Tucker: Yeah, which is so powerful and such an interesting story to hear because I watched your TED Talk and at the end you say, Do you want to leave the world a better place for them? And you show a picture of children. And I'm wondering now, you know, how does it feel to have been part of literally rebuilding a town from the ground up and building it in such a way that's, by all measures, actually a better place for future generations? How do you feel today, Bob?

Bob Dixson: Well, all of us feel very rewarded because what we see, especially in the last 10 years, our youth in our community never saw the city of Greensburg prior to the tornado. Some of them weren't even born yet. This is Greensburg to them. We're very blessed to have some real guidance and emulation by community members to the youth of what it takes to be part of a sustainable community.

Kate Tucker: What's giving you reasons to hope these days?

Bob Dixson: Kate, There's so much going on now, we're inundated with soundbites of how bad things are. And I go back to all politics are local, and this is where it happens, and this is where hope starts. Hope starts at the community level, hope starts in the school, because if you don't give them that good foundation and those good roots at an early age, it's catch up time from then on.

So you really need to invest early on in that process, and when you see people really struggling, really, really struggling, they've lost hope, and in some way you have to provide them a beacon of hope. And that goes back to celebrating successes and celebrating what is important in life. Because we found out, no matter how many possessions you got, when it's all gone, it's just gone. It's that interconnectional relationship of who you are, what your morals are, what's your values that keep your hope alive. It's not your possessions or what you have or what you don't have.

Kate Tucker: Yeah. Oh, Bob, you have given me so much hope today. Thank you. Thank you for taking the time to talk with me.

Bob Dixson: It's been a real honor and pleasure, Kate. And if we do anything in this world it’s to offer hope in our realm of influence. If we are positive and we're offering hope to each other, it becomes infectious.

Kate Tucker: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to Bob Dixson and the entire community of Greensburg for the inspiring example of resilience and innovation, reminding us that we can recover from just about anything when our roots are deep and our connection strong. Find out more about Bob Dixson and the town of Greensburg at HopeIsMyMiddleName.com

Hope Is My Middle Name is hosted and executive produced by me, Kate Tucker. You can find me on YouTube and on Instagram at @KateTuckerMusic. And if there's someone you think belongs on this show, send me a message. Hope Is My Middle Name can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you're listening.

It would mean so much to me if you would follow the show on your favorite podcast platform and leave us a review. We love hearing from you. And if you're still listening, please copy the link to this episode and text it to a friend. That actually makes a huge difference in helping us reach more people with more hope. 

Hope Is My Middle Name is a podcast by Consensus Digital Media produced in association with Reasonable Volume. This episode was produced by Christine Fennessy with editing from Rachel Swaby. Our production coordinator is Percia Verlin. Our sound designer and engineer is Mark Bush. Music by the fantastic artists at Epidemic Sound, Soundstripe, and me. Big thanks to Connor Gaughan, our publisher and fearless leader at Consensus Digital Media. And thank you so, so much for listening. See you next time.