Resilience and strength

Left, President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the Joplin Community Memorial Service on May 29 at Taylor

Auditorium. — Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton Above, members of the Patriot Guard assemble in the parking lot. Right, workers prepare the Taylor Auditorium

stage for the service. — Photos by Lee & Wyrsch Below, President Obama hugs Krista Stark, ’07, who lost her mother, Lorretta Randall, ’81, just two days after her grandfather died in the tornado. — Tulsa

World photo by Mike Simons

Community service brings thousands to campus.

Someone from the audience shouted, “We love you Obama.” To which President Barack Obama said, “And I love Joplin.”

A community in need of healing was ready to listen to the president’s uplifting message of inspiration at the Joplin Community Memorial Service on May 29. Obama assured the audience the area would not be alone in its efforts to recover.

“Your country will be there with you every single step of the way,” Obama said. “We aren’t going anywhere … That’s not just my promise, that’s America’s promise.”

At times, the applause was so loud it drowned out the president’s voice inside Taylor Auditorium, which was filled to capacity with about 2,200 people. Approximately 8,000 others were scattered around campus, where they watched the service via closed circuit TV.

The community’s actions in the aftermath of the tornado attracted international attention.

“The world saw how Joplin responded,” Obama said. “A university turns itself into a makeshift hospital. Some of you used your pickup trucks as ambulances carrying the injured. The restaurants rushed food to those in need. The businesses filled trucks with donations.”

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, who introduced President Obama, also commented on the world’s view of Joplin.

“That storm, the likes of which we have never seen, has brought forth a spirit of resilience the likes of which we’ve also never seen,” Nixon said. “What our nation and our world have witnessed this week is the spirit of Joplin, Missouri.”

He issued a challenge.

“For us the living, there is work to do,” Nixon said. “God said, ‘Show me — show me.’ The people of Missouri were born for this mission.”

The cream-colored robes of the First United Methodist Chancel Choir members flanked the speakers as they offered messages of hope. The Reverend Aaron Brown of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, which was damaged by the storm, emphasized that life wins in the end.

“God loves Joplin, and he is walking with us,” Brown said.

For Krista Stark, ’07, attending the ceremony had special meaning. Her grandfather, Charles Oster, died in the tornado, and two days later, her mother, Lorretta Randall, ’81, died from a blood clot that formed in her leg after she tripped over a downed pole while trying to find her father in the rubble. For two weeks, Stark’s family had to delay their own memorial, so this service provided solace.

“The memorial service reinforced how caring President Obama was,” said Stark, who, along with her grandmother Janet Oster, met the president and governor after the service. “It was a very positive interaction and comforting, and we as a city needed that comfort at that time.”

Obama recounted stories of the storm’s heroes, such as Dean Wells, manager of the Home Depot, and Christopher Lewis, manager at Pizza Hut, who gave their lives to save others.

“There are heroes all around us, all the time,” Obama said. “In the wake of this tragedy, let us live up to their example to make each day count — to live with that same compassion that they demonstrated in their final hours. We are called by them to do everything we can to be worthy of the chance to carry on.”

— Rhonda Clark, ’00

Photos from left, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon greets residents after the service, and President Obama consoles Betty Corbin of Joplin, who lost her home, as her friend, Mary Davis, ’70, looks on. Many people wrote messages of encouragement on their shirts and American flags were displayed throughout the campus. People line the campus streets after the service. — Official White House photo by Pete Souza; other photos by Lee & Wyrsch