What an amazing company and owner. During the infamous Bountiful windstorm of Fall 2011, our entire community was devastated by the destruction. The loss and devastation hit just about every resident in South Davis County. This happened on a Thursday, by Friday you could see Wind River Excavation (The ones located in Woods Cross and Salt Lake City-I know there are multiple Wind River Excavation companies in the valley.), quietly cleaning up all the street and neighborhoods of Bountiful.
By Saturday, they were in full force working 24 hours a day, clearing and cleaning up all the debris and damage that devastated the city of Bountiful. They did all of this without anyone asking them to and without any compensation. When the news interviewed them, they were humble and down to earth.
We lost over nine large pine trees between my neighbors and I. Wind River overhauled our entire neighborhood, down to the point of sweeping the sidewalks when they were finished. This would have cost us thousands of dollars to do ourselves. My elderly neighbors were not able to get out of their driveway due to a large tree that had fallen on their driveway. Wind River made sure that they were taken care of, and even came back the next week to help them remove all the roof damage that was in their back yard. They are on a very tight, fixed income, and this left them speechless. We all get emotional when we think of all the kindness and generosity that Wind River extended to our community during this trial. This would have taken the city weeks to clean up.
We started a collection fund with the City of Bountiful to compensate Wind River, but they would not accept it. They only asked that we all continue to pay it forward, and help all of our neighbors. That Sunday, the entire community was out following Wind Rivers lead, helping one another clean up the devastation. It was similar to a mini version of Joplin, but with massive pine trees everywhere! By the end of the week, we were all back to normal...minus a lot of foliage.
What impressed me the most was seeing the owner out shoveling debris himself, right in the middle of it with all of his guys. He also came down to the high school where there was a long line of cars unloading debris because the line to the dump was so long. We saw the owner and all of his management and their children, passing out hot chocolate and donuts to all of us that had been waiting in the line forever. My wife commented how friendly all of their employees were, and that none of them ever seemed disgruntled working in the cold for such long hours.
There were hand made signs on streets everywhere, thanking Wind River for all that they had done. I know that the City Council gave them a special award, but I don't think they realize how much we all appreciated what they did for us. Months later, everyone still talks about it, some people even get emotional. Whenever my children are out and about and they see Wind River and all of their trucks and equipment working, my kids want to get out and say hi and ask if they can go for a ride!
It's nice to see a large company that still remembers what is important in life, and hasn't forgotten what it's like to be the little guy. I am a proud Bountiful resident, happy to have Wind River as a part of our community.
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