“It sounded like a freight train coming down the road.”

“I thought, there’s been an explosion.”

“The force behind it, the way it sounded, I thought it was going to swallow the house and we were all going to die.”

Those are some of the initial reactions residents of Western NC had early on the morning of Sept. 27, 2024, when Category Four Hurricane Helene slammed into and traumatized entire communities.  Showing no mercy, Helene didn’t discriminate based on status or occupation. Certainly, the banking industry and its employees of the region were not spared. Peter Gwaltney, President & CEO of the NCBA, was leading the Louisiana Bankers Association in 2004 when Hurricane Katrina hit, so he knew what needed to be done.

“Katrina was a great learning experience. It’s not the kind of thing anyone would want to go through, but I did learn some lessons,” Gwaltney said. “One was the power of communication. The first thing we did the day after Helene made landfall in the mountains was gather our board for a zoom meeting. Then I proposed to them that we stand up a relief fund through our foundation. And that’s what we did, because it’s in our culture as bankers and as bankers associations. When there’s a need, whether it’s tornadoes in Oklahoma, fires in California, or flooding anywhere else, we contact each other and ask how we can help.”

 The NCBA Foundation Hurricane Helene Relief Fund was created to offer immediate financial assistance to bank employees in distress. Mary Kate Rikard, a Vice President at Home Trust Bank, was one of the many who received help. She will never forget that day.  “I knew we we’re going to have a flooded basement,” she said. “But it’s beyond comprehension to think there will be 16 feet of water in your home. There was literally a current of water running through our home. It was unbelievable. I just started crying and thought, everything that we had built and worked so hard for is gone.”  There was good news coming. Within 24 hours the NCBA Foundation had deposited $5,000 into her personal account. “To have received $5,000 from the NCBA during this time, when there’s not a lot of hope or happiness coming around, was a true blessing because it meant we had money in our hands to get access to electricity, which was huge.”

Erica Helms, a Branch Manager at Piedmont Federal Bank whose home also suffered significant damage, was amazed by the efficiency with which she got aid. 

“I went online, went to the website and filled out the application. It was easy. That afternoon I received an email stating that I had been approved for $5,000. I wrote back: am I reading this correctly? Are you really going to send me $5,000? Is this a gift?  And the lady replied: yes, this is a gift of $5,000. I’ll have it in your account within two days. And sure enough, there it was.”

Gwaltney is proud of how the bank leaders responded to the crisis, but not surprised.

“What impressed me most from those initial conversations with our board members, and the ones that I’m still having today, is how plugged in they are to their people and their individual circumstances. When I call them, they already know what the need is. They don’t have to contact the employee to find out how they are, or what’s going on. That’s true leadership. That’s the banking industry.”

As of March 2025, the NCBAHurricane Helene Relief Fund raised $485,521.93, and distributed $485,520.00 to 229 employees in 18 banks. Click here to learn more about these stories and other heroes of Hurricane Helene.