The owners of Williamson Bros. Construction represent the third generation of the family to settle in the Pine Island, Florida area. When Hurricane Ian crashed upon its shores creating a wave of destruction, they didn’t hesitate to use the resources they had to help the island they call home. 

Immediately following the storm, they went around the island supplying fuel to those they saw in need, including the Pine Island Water Association. “We gave them 300 or 500 gallons of diesel one day to keep the pumps running,” said Jimmy Williamson in an interview with the Pine Island Eagle. “We heard the county wasn’t going to bring supplies and that everyone needed to evacuate and there were people we knew that were not going to evacuate; they wanted to stay and protect their property.”

On the first day of fuel deliveries to Pine Island, the brothers were only charging customers for the cost of their fuel it took to deliver, but by the end of that day they were giving the fuel away with no cost. They were able to do so because of the stream of donations coming in from out of state. 

Seeing the donations that were coming in, Williamson directed the funds toward the Matlacha Hookers, a non-profit organization that raises money for hurricane relief in the area. “After I delivered fuel, I came out with a truck and delivered building supplies that they (the Matlacha Hookers) collected,” Williamson said. “I delivered to residents on the island that didn’t have a truck to put drywall, plywood — things like that.”

Information sourced from Pine Island Eagle. Read the full story here: https://www.pineisland-eagle.com/2023/10/02/hurricane-ian-one-year-later-williamson-brothers-stayed-focused-on-providing-fuel-during-ian-aftermath/