Utilizing uncanny leadership skills honed during six years serving in the United States Army’s Special Forces, Lo’Ree accomplishes this through STORM (Specialized Tactical Operations Relief Mobilization), a relief organization he founded seven years ago.
STORM has specialized in deploying in the immediate aftermath of major hurricanes, aiding in search and rescue efforts and partnering with local and national organizations to provide significant disaster aid. Few organizations do both.
Amid utter devastation, Rob Lo’Ree thrives. That’s when his unwavering passion for giving hope to those feeling trapped in hopeless situations bursts forth.
“Because we are certified for search and rescue and serve as a relief agency, we can go into hard hit areas right away when other organizations have to wait until they are told it’s safe by law enforcement,” explains Lo’Ree, who calls Flushing home when not in disaster zones. “Usually, we report to the area’s Emergency Operations Center and they let us do our thing because we’ve developed a reputation for doing things faster and very efficiently. We can also fill the gap between search and rescue and relief operations.”
STORM was there when sizable portions of Florida suffered double devastation as Hurricanes Helene and Milton struck less than two weeks apart this fall. Milton also spawned tornadoes.
Providing WiFi access is just one of the many ways STORM helps residents in impacted areas. Rob Lo’Ree (center) worked with IT specialists from the Disaster Resource Center in Florida following Hurricane Michael’s landfall in 2018.
Lo’Ree and his team wasted no time recruiting volunteers to sort through and serve the truckloads of supplies that soon began streaming into the epicenter of their operations at Suncoast Community Center in North Fort Myers.
“We were able to anchor there pretty quickly because we had established a presence in the area just two years earlier (after Hurricane Ian) and people just can’t afford to wait for aid in these situations,” he says. “We also always gravitate to the poorest, hardest hit areas which are in need of the most help.”
The fruits (literally) of STORM’s tireless efforts were on full display during a Youtube video Lo’Ree posted from the site on Oct. 30, just 20 days after Milton hit and 12 days following the agency’s establishment of a supply pantry inside a large military tent.
“Here we have boxes of mangos and squash, bags of potatoes and yesterday, we were even fortunate enough to give away frozen meat,” he says in the clip, one of several posted to encourage donations and find additional volunteers. “We had baked goods this morning and they all went quickly.”
Piles of supplies, which helped thousands of people in the surrounding area, are shown, including dog and cat food meticulously packed in Ziplock bags. There are cleaning products, personal hygiene items, diapers and baby supplies. Volunteers can be seen packing supply buckets for the area’s homeless population, a sizable number of whom are Lo’Ree’s fellow veterans.
That leaves him understandably emotional, and it was especially difficult for Lo’Ree when he learned of an encampment of more than 100 homeless veterans in a wooded area located behind, ironically, a Veterans Administration clinic.
“We brought food and other supplies to them directly, so they could get the help they were not receiving from other sources,” Lo’Ree says. “I’ll always feel the VA could do more for veterans in that situation. The area’s homeless population seems to grow with each Hurricane and it’s now more than 3,000, so we had to be sure we were reaching those people.”
We go to these areas to lift up and help people and leave them better off than before we arrived.
Rob Lo’Ree
Following Hurricane Milton, response to the opening of STORM’s pantry was immediate, underscoring the area’s urgent need for aid. A total of 5,200 people were served in the first five days.
In another video, this one posted on Oct. 26, Lo’Ree speaks to the camera before panning to pallets of bottled water donated by area Wal-Mart stores. Stacks of boxed disaster kits filled with food from the Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida are also shown.
Lo’Ree’s steadfast faith also shines through in these social media posts as he repeatedly praises God for working through his organization while wearing a T-shirt with the phrase “Put on The Full Armor of God.” The STORM team begins each day with a prayer circle.
STORM, which now stores most of its equipment at a 62,000 square foot former school in Cleveland, VA it purchased last summer, first deployed near Asheville, NC in early October after Helene caused catastrophic flooding in the area.
Lo’Ree and crew helped coordinate relief efforts from nearby Blue Ridge Community College, but soon felt they could do more good in Florida.
“The college was on a hill and somewhat operational, so it was a good base, but we didn’t feel as welcome there by local agencies and law enforcement as I knew we would in Florida,” Lo’Ree says.
Less than 48 hours after Milton made landfall, STORM arrived in Fort Myers and began setting up three military tents to operate from. One housed a pantry, which opened Oct. 18, the other a command center and the third is where Lo’Ree and his team slept.
“Those tents are very strong and can be set up fairly quickly with enough help,” Lo’Ree says. “They provide instant infrastructure and allow us to stay right on site and not use donations to put ourselves up in hotels. Overall, we have little overhead and nobody with STORM takes a salary, so all money we take in goes straight to our work.”
As tents popped up, so did STORM’s shield logo, featuring the motto “Num Custos Fratris” (Our Brothers’ Keeper). Remaining on site allows STORM to carry out the words of that motto at any hour of the day.
“People know they can contact us any time for almost anything,” Lo’Ree says. “We’ve found ways to deliver things like baby formula and even insulin in the middle of the night.”
Response to the opening of STORM’s pantry was immediate, underscoring the area’s urgent need for aid. A total of 5,200 people were served in the first five days.
“People were lined up so far on that first day and we allowed them to stop in for supplies once a day, so we got to know people who became regulars,” Lo’Ree says. “That’s really touching, and so was seeing a homeless man come through the line and then volunteer to help us. We were lucky to find a fantastic group of local volunteers.”
Among them was Toya Milton, who showed up with her sister Melissa.
“We are always looking for ways to give back and we learned from a mutual friend that STORM was asking for volunteers right near our home,” Toya says. “We are so glad we volunteered because it was amazing to be part of the work Rob and STORM are doing, feeding and helping thousands of people. Rob is a humble man of God, who is awesome at what he does for devastated communities and kept us motivated to carry out our mission.”
The sisters were struck by Lo’Ree’s leadership in the face of the sometimes-overwhelming task of organizing such a relief effort.
“There were lots of ups and downs during the three weeks we volunteered, but Rob stayed so calm under the pressure which helped everyone there,” Toya says. “He would tell everybody to stop, take a deep breath, regroup and go through steps to find a solution which sometimes meant praying for answers. There were also times of dancing, singing and joking around.”
STORM remained in Florida until the end of November. Lo’Ree and his crew teamed with other organizations to bring aid directly to residents of hard-hit Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel Island, providing an early Thanksgiving dinner to homeless veterans and operating a mobile aid pantry.
When asked about the devastation he witnessed, Lo’Ree prefers to emphasize the reasons he was there.
“People sometimes ask me where pictures of all the damage are on STORM’s social media pages, but I don’t dwell on that,” he says. “We go to these areas to lift up and help people and leave them better off than before we arrived. I do have a couple people taking pictures of damage, but that’s strictly for the purpose of showing how urgently donations are needed.”
Rob is a humble man of God, who is awesome at what he does for devastated communities and kept us motivated to carry out our mission. Toya Milton, Volunteer
In some ways, Lo’Ree, 57, spent the first 50 years of his life preparing for his current role.
Following his military career, he earned a political science degree from the University of Michigan before spending more than two decades as an ironworker, helping build Comerica Park, Ford Field and the smokestacks atop General Motors’ Flint Assembly plant.
The physical labor took its toll, however, and multiple surgeries have left Lo’Ree with three spinal cages and pins in his shoulders.
At times, the process of repairing his body was perilous, before Lo’Ree finally regained his mobility following a final operation and a year of intense physical therapy. Along the way, he abruptly quit taking the opioids he had been prescribed.
“At one point, I was told I’d never walk correctly again, and two neurosurgeons said nothing could be done for me,” he recalls. “Finally, I saw a fourth neurosurgeon who could actually help me – and here I am.”
Not long after completing physical therapy in 2017, Lo’Ree, a father of three and stepfather of two, learned that his oldest son was heading to Texas to help the Cajun Navy, a civilian aid group, in recovery efforts following Hurricane Harvey.
Lo’Ree wound up accompanying his son and discovered his new purpose in life.
Mere days after returning home from Texas, Lo’Ree was contacted about helping with relief efforts after Hurricane Irma struck southern Florida. He assumed he would have to decline the invitation due to family reasons, but was pleasantly surprised.
“I thought my wife Dawn would be like ‘no way’, but she could see how happy what I had done after Harvey had made me, and told me to get going!” Lo’Ree shares. “I was using knowledge and skills I had gained from the Army, earning my degree (to bring different groups together) and being an ironworker.”
From these experiences, STORM was born. The organization has also assisted in the aftermath of Hurricanes Florence and Michael (2018), Laura (2020), Ida (2021) and Ian (2022).
Now, Lo’Ree is elated about the STORM’s future as the school in Virginia, nestled on 1,000 wooded acres, will be a gamechanger, eventually providing a revenue source for the organization other than donations and grants.
Among other things, the building will be rented out as a corporate retreat and offer 12 resort-style hotel rooms. Part of the facility will be converted into a bunkhouse to host those taking advantage of the swift river, wilderness and mountain rescue training which will be offered.
In the near future, Lo’Ree and STORM will also return to Fort Myers to build a transitional center for homeless veterans on the grounds of Suncoast Community Center.
“We’re just excited about taking STORM to the next level to incorporate things like long-term rebuilding and recovery and helping in other disasters like fires,” Lo’Ree says. “Addressing homelessness is another area where we want to expand our efforts.”
That vision sums up what STORM is all about.
