When Hurricane Helene left Christina stranded on the roadside, she was amazed by who came to her rescue.
It was September 27, 2024, and Christina Parsons was frantically trying to get home to her kids. She and her husband were supposed to be enjoying a weekend getaway, but Hurricane Helene changed those plans.
Bridges were down, roads were flooded. The gas stations that did have fuel had no power to pump it. Christina had already endured a two-day nightmare: Walking for miles to find cell service, sleeping in her car, seeing homes and trees float by in flood waters, watching a mother and baby be rescued through their car’s sunroof.
Finally, her phone showed a bar of service and Christina managed to call home. She also connected with her market director, Aussemon Peake, who reassured Christine that they were working to bring fuel to her.
And sure enough, help soon arrived: Walmart associate Lance Barnes.
A rescue mission
Knowing little more than Christina’s location, Lance sprang into action. “I didn’t know a name, I just wanted to make sure this associate was okay.”
As a member of the North Myrtle Beach Rescue Squad's Water Rescue Team, Lance has worked many hurricanes. “I'm a swiftwater rescue technician and a boat captain with the city of North Myrtle Beach rescue. We deal with a lot — a lot of tragedies and a lot of disasters. But those folks up there in Asheville are very resilient. I was very impressed with the mindset of store associates and the communities,” he says.
A spark of hope
Though Christina was only 6 miles from where Lance was, it took him an hour to reach her. “We pulled up. And when I hopped out of the truck, she saw the spark on the front of my shirt,” Lance says. “You would have thought that we had just handed this girl a million dollars.”
“I’ve never been so happy to see that spark in all my life!”
“This white pick-up truck pulls in and Lance gets out,” Christine recalls with tears in her eyes. “And he had on his Walmart shirt with the spark on it. I’ve never been so happy to see that spark in all my life!”
Lance reflects, “My favorite Sam Walton quote is, ‘we’re just ordinary people doing extraordinary things.’ And I’m just very grateful to be able to make an impact in her life that day.”
For Christine, it’s a moment of generosity and kindness that she’ll always hold dear. “I've never worked for a company that is this amazing, with people who are willing to put their best foot forward and risk their lives and their safety to come help me — just an associate at Walmart in Morganton, North Carolina.”
And for Lance, that risk was well worth it. “When you have the opportunity to go above and beyond to make that difference, take it,” Lance urges. “Because it’s a feeling you’ll never forget.”
