The Outer Banks is in the projected path of Hurricane Florence.
Many years ago another leader on another island in the Atlantic Ocean did something remarkable during a time of crisis–when confronted with uncertainty and risk to the lives of his fellow citizens, Winston Churchill rose in the House of Commons and stated simply that he had little to offer but blood, sweat, tears, and toil. He recognized the importance of candor and truth in leadership and balanced that recognition in the days to come with a rallying reassurance of final victory.
While the stakes aren’t as high for those of us on the Outer Banks, the time has come for us to be equally as truthful about the approach of Hurricane Florence. Until we know otherwise, we are planning for a potentially catastrophic impact to Eastern North Carolina in the coming days. We are pivoting as a company to a remote working capability based on the evacuation of our staff to areas across the mid-Atlantic. We are closing our entire office footprint this afternoon and will remain closed until further notice. We will have limited communicative ability as our staff travels to their Hurricane Florence storm destination. We will work in the coming days to remain communicative as the situation develops and more becomes available.
We’re making this decision because the risk and uncertainty around this dangerous storm remain too great for careless actions regarding our own lives and the lives around us. Our passion, for forty years, has been a great vacation in a great home for your family but like Churchill there comes a time to shift from cheer to safety–there can be no expectation of any kind in the coming days of service or access to homes on the Outer Banks. We encourage both any remaining in-house guests and those considering coming to the Outer Banks this weekend to make the right decision. To be clear, there can be no expectation of service, safety, access, or a good experience on the Outer Banks during this time of crisis.
Once Florence recedes, we will assess and communicate as possible and look forward to returning to our homes and our professional passion of a great guest and owner experience–or, to use Churchill’s words–a return to the broad and sunlit uplands of home. In the meantime, however, we’re going to make good decisions regarding living things and rebuild everything else as needed.
Travel safely and we still stay in touch. As the post-storm assessments begin, remember that caution and prudence are the most important behaviors to demonstrate to ourselves and the people around us.
Let’s make the arrival of Florence a triumph of character that would make Churchill proud.