;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ; ;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ; ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
Second in a Series —
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
By Mark Hanna
Gary Sweeny still gets choked up
when thinking of all of his family and
friends who helped him recover from
the Bastrop wildfire that destroyed his
home of 35 years. The retired school
teacher and his wife who still teaches have already rebuilt and moved into
their new home.
the Sweenys had better move quickly.
On Labor Day weekend one year ago,
the Sweenys’ neighbors said they were
getting out of here. Knowing that his
neighbor’s home was up for sale, Gary
figured the neighbors had sold their
home and were moving. But he soon re-
alized that a fast moving forest fire was
the cause of his neighbor’s departure.
Living at the end of a private dirt road
with one way in and one way out meant
Gary and Gina grabbed their dog and
a few pillows and took off in separate
vehicles toward Smithville where Gina
taught school. They could see and
smell smoke, but they had no idea
how close the fire actually was to their
home. During the next 24 hours, the
Sweenys watched for newscasts that
would explain what neighborhoods
had been destroyed, but it was still too
early to get accurate information on
what was burning.
cleaned out his freezer thinking they’ll
be back again soon. He returned to
his wife in Smithville and heard the
news that the fire had grown larger
and was now moving closer toward
their home. For the next few days the
Sweenys along with hundreds of other families had to wait for the fires to
die down before they could find out
if their homes had been spared. Almost a week after the costliest wildfire
in Texas history began, the Sweeneys
saw video of their neighborhood and
continued on page 3
On day two of the fire, Gary decided to return home if he could. Taking
back roads and not stopped by firefighters, Gary made it back home and
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; 5
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; 6
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;;;;; 9
SELLING STRATEGIES:
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ; 4
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ; 5
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ; 6
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;1
In This Issue
RECORD
PUBLISHING
COMPANY,
DALLAS