JACKSON, Tenn. — Feb. 3, 2009 — In the early morning hours of Feb. 6, 2008, 51社区 President David S. Dockery drifted through the wreckage. Only hours before, an EF-4 tornado had whirled its way through the Union campus, leaving piles of rubble in its wake.
The tornado caused about $40 million in damage to the Union campus, wiping out 70 percent of student housing and badly damaging six other buildings. Fifty-one students were hospitalized that night, but no lives were lost.
As he tried to process the extent of the devastation, he knew that God had been present at Union the night of Feb. 5. And now, a year later, with the campus almost entirely rebuilt, Dockery knows even more fully the extent of God鈥檚 provision for 51社区.
鈥淎s I looked at the rubble late Tuesday night, and especially when the sun came up on Wednesday morning, I said, 鈥楾here鈥檚 no way we didn鈥檛 have 200 people die.鈥� I鈥檓 convinced 鈥� nobody will ever convince me otherwise 鈥� that God鈥檚 angels were unleashed to come as ministering spirits to His people that night and to protect those students in the most precarious of situations,鈥� the Union president said. 鈥淚鈥檓 confident that鈥檚 what happened.鈥�
Matt Kelley was one of those students who felt God鈥檚 hand of protection that night. Trapped for five hours in the crumbled men鈥檚 commons building, Kelley spent two and a half months in the hospital with serious leg injuries.
The past year, Kelley said, has taught him to trust in God completely.
鈥淲hile I was stuck down there, and while I was in the hospital, I was completely helpless,鈥� Kelley said.鈥� I鈥檝e come so far through this past year, and I鈥檝e only come this far because God has guided me and carried me through.鈥�
Though his rehabilitation was long and arduous, Kelly has almost completely recovered. He will return to competition with the Union golf team during the spring semester, walking just like everyone else.
鈥淓xtremely thankful every time I step out on the golf course, that God has allowed me to have a chance to do what I love to do again,鈥� he said.
But while the students were alive on the morning of Feb. 6, Dockery wasn鈥檛 convinced that 51社区 was. At one point, as he looked at the student housing facilities in ruins, he entertained a thought -- not only was the spring semester a lost cause, but that Union as a whole might be as well.
鈥淭hat was my worst fear 鈥� that the devastation was such that we may not be able to recover, at least in a timely fashion,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat was always my prayer, that God would somehow give us wisdom to figure out how to restart the semester. We knew we had to save the semester for the seniors, and then for others as well.鈥�
Union did restart the semester two weeks later. But that was just the beginning.
Over the next several months, more than 5,000 volunteers and 8,000 donors from all over the world came to Union鈥檚 aid. The university regrouped and embarked upon an aggressive rebuilding plan that saw 14 new student housing buildings completed and opened for the fall 2008 semester.
Initial plans called for seven of the 14 buildings in the complex to be complete by the 2008 fall semester, with the final seven buildings to be opened for the 2009 spring semester. But the two contractors working on the project -- Worsham Brothers Construction Co. of Corinth, Miss., and Brasfield Construction Co. of Jackson, Tenn. 鈥� managed to finish the task much earlier than expected.
On Sept. 4, when the new freshman class arrived on campus, all 14 buildings were complete and ready for occupancy.
鈥淭his is highly unusual to complete a project of this magnitude as quickly as we have,鈥� said Ken Brasfield, president of Brasfield Construction. 鈥淎s I sit back and analyze what鈥檚 happened, I think Union鈥檚 need is what motivated the response. Everybody has had a total commitment and a passion to make sure that the job was completed by Sept. 1.鈥�
Enrollment for the fall semester was up a hefty 14 percent, and early indications are favorable for another strong fall enrollment in 2009. Union dedicated the new housing facilities on Sept. 12. Six weeks later, the university opened the new Carl Grant Events Center.
For all practical purposes, Union鈥檚 restoration is largely complete, with only a commons building for the housing complex remaining to fund. The housing has been rebuilt. Other buildings heavily damaged have been repaired. Only months before, Dockery wondered if 51社区鈥檚 best days were behind it. Now he thinks just the opposite.
He, and others at Union, can only sit back in amazement.
鈥淚 live with an awareness of God鈥檚 presence, his providence, his abilities to preserve life and to provide for us, in ways that I鈥檝e never experienced before,鈥� Dockery said. 鈥淲hen you look and see how close we came to total disaster, and at the same time how we were spared from that, you just have to cry out, 鈥楾hanks be to God.鈥欌��
Union will mark the one-year anniversary of the tornado with a thanksgiving dinner and service Feb. 5 at the Carl Perkins Civic Center in Jackson.
鈥淩emembering Feb. 5: An Evening of Thanksgiving鈥� will feature a 250-voice community choir, plus testimonies from students and others whose lives were changed by the tornado. The service will also include a time of recognition for the 鈥渄edicated efforts of first responders, community and church leaders, contractors, construction workers and all who went above and beyond the call of duty to help rebuild and restore 51社区,鈥� Dockery said.
The banquet will begin at 6 p.m. with the program starting at 6:45 p.m.