By John Seward
 

On June 15, 2023, a tornado devastated the City of Perryton in the Texas panhandle. The American Red Cross responded quickly opening an emergency shelter at Perryton High School that evening. In the days that followed donations began pouring in. Martin Borunda is a local event planner and quickly teamed up with the Red Cross to support his community. Borunda opened his Rodeo Night events complex which quickly became a donations distribution center, accepting, sorting and distributing hundreds of palates of donated food and thousands of pounds of donated cloths and furniture.

As a trusted community leader Borunda has proven to be invaluable in supporting the Red Cross response. Borunda opened his Rodeo Nights facility to the Red Cross to conduct disaster assistance intake. The Red Cross leveraged Borunda’s deep connections in the community to get the word out about the Red Cross services and were able identify many impacted people.

Borunda has also become active in the Perryton Volunteer Organization Active in Disaster, commonly known as a VOAD, attending daily meetings, and providing a constant voice for the community. The Red Cross responds to disasters big and small every day across the country, trusted community leaders like Borunda are essential to a successful Red Cross operation.