No More Guesswork: Our New Storm Cancellation Policy

If there’s one thing you get used to in Florida, it’s the unpredictable weather. Growing up in Punta Gorda, which was severely impacted by Hurricane Charley some years back, I’ve developed a somewhat blasé attitude toward these natural phenomena. My philosophy is simple: what’s going to happen will happen. We should focus on staying safe and minimizing property damage.

However, the real challenge arises when my work responsibilities collide with these weather events. Every time a storm looms, I’m faced with the stress of deciding whether to keep TRIBE open or to close. Balancing safety with providing services is a tricky tightrope walk. Our hundred-year-old brick building in Seminole Heights is a fortress, and being in a high area means flooding isn’t usually a big problem. Still, making any call that impacts families isn't easy.

Currently, we’re experiencing our first named storm of the year, Hurricane Debby. Funny enough, Debby is also my mom's name. It’s almost like Mother Nature conspired with my therapist to have a chuckle. The forecast predicts up to five inches of rain today. Our planned activity for this evening was back-to-school photos, along with a new initiative, the Family Exchange Market.

Over the summer, I realized one of the toughest parts of running our TRIBE is deciding when to cancel events. To make things simpler, I added some general rules to our handbook:

1. Church Closure: If Seminole Heights United Methodist Church is closed, so are we.

2. School District Cancellation: If Hillsborough County schools cancel their programs, we do too.

3. National Weather Service Warnings: If there's a warning (not just an advisory or watch), we cancel.

4. Community Respect: If it feels disrespectful to hold our program while our community is struggling, we cancel.
   

We aim to cancel events only as a last resort, hoping to adjust our plans instead. For example, during our "Build Together" event last May, there wasn’t a weather advisory, but all week the forecasters warned of torrential rains.. Rather than canceling in advance, we scaled back to minimize expenses and preparation, ensuring we could still host the event. It actually ended up being a nice day, and a great event!

Today, with Hurricane Debby extending its tropical storm warning until 7:30 PM, we checked one of our boxes for cancellation. The back-to-school photoshoot was another issue. Our photographer, committed and ready to brave the storm, was planning to drive from Orlando. But who wants to arrive for professional photos looking like a drowned rat after sprinting through the rain? So, we canceled the photos. No one wanted to come out in this weather anyway. Sometimes, you just have to call it and keep everyone safe.

Deciding to cancel events isn’t just about checking boxes; it’s about balancing safety, commitment, and practicality. And if Mother Nature wants to play jokes, we’ll laugh right back – from the safety of our dry homes where we watch and see where our community needs us to serve next.