Tornado survivor files complaint against UMCOR
Story by Shannon Taylor Senior Investigative Reporter
On March 1 Dresden resident and tornado survivor Brandi George filed a formal complaint against UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) regarding the issues with UMCOR, their staff and the WCLTRG (Weakley County Long Term Recovery Group). The following details the issues George has filed in her complaint.
George’s home was damaged in the tornado on Dec. 10, 2021, and she said, on multiple occasions, volunteers of WCLTRG and employees of UMCOR both stated that if the damages are tornado damage and they affect the safety, sanitation or security of the home, they would fix the issues.
On Sep. 22, 2022, George met David Wagner, Construction Manager for UMCOR and WCLTRG. George’s mother, Michelle Tjaden spoke with him and asked questions relating to his job and expectations. George said that Wagner raised his voice, didn’t allow her to finish her questions and refused to address things asked. George has cameras set up inside and outside her property and captured several of the interactions. George said UMCOR and WCLTRG were informed they were being recorded the moment they stepped on the property.
All videos were emailed to WCLTRG Co-Chair Justin Crice on Sep. 29, 2022, George said that Wagner told lies to members of WCLTRG to “get our disaster case closed.” Wagner told Crice that Tjaden yelled at him, and he wouldn’t work on the property with her due to her creating a hostile work environment.
Crice reached out to George Sep. 29, 2022, to inform her that Tjaden couldn’t be on the property with UMCOR staff or subcontractors due to accusations made by Wagner even though George had video evidence. George, WCLTRG and UMCOR agreed to sign a document including that no one would create a hostile work environment through the duration of their case. George asked Crice to be present when Wagner came to their property and he complied, however nothing was ever done by Crice after George sent him evidence of what Wagner’s actions. George said that Crice told her, “there isn’t anything they can do about it, because they cannot replace Wagner with another construction manager.
Wagner’s behavior was reported by George to her disaster case manager, Ethan Freese, who also works for UMCOR, but George stated that both WCLTRG and UMCOR failed to address the issue, which George claims damaged her and her family’s character and reputations as well as a continued allowance of bad treatment and disrespect toward her and her family.
On Oct. 18, 2022, Wagner returned to George’s home with Chris Friese from Champion Roofing out of Dyersburg, Freese and Crice, with a repair summary for the property. George said she was told that it was a “living document that can be revisited after the major structural damages have been repaired.”
A conversation caught on camera on Oct. 18, 2022, between Wagner and Robert Craig from UMCOR, and Friese detailed that Wagner and Craig didn’t want to replace the valley that was the structural integrity of the home, claiming that the damage was not related to the tornado.
George told us that Friese said that the valley had to be replaced if he was going to do the repairs on their roof. UMCOR staff wanted him to “scab in” boards at the various breaks in the valley board, instead of replacing the valley board that had many breaks in it. Friese refused.
The valley was damaged by straight line winds in 2020 and was repaired. Wagner didn’t agree that the repair made by a certified contractor was a suitable repair, and stated that the valley did not take on any further damage from the tornado even though he had over 600 photos and videos of the property pre and post tornado that showed otherwise. Wagner also had the inspection reports from Tennessee Inspection Services. The home inspections with the same inspector were done in the fall of 2019, and again in Jan 2022, following the tornado. George said that Wagner’s response to the inspection reports was, “you cannot trust an inspector”.
Friese placed a bid for the needed structural repairs to the roof of their home, but Wagner didn’t agree with the bid and, according to George, “tried to find anyone else who was willing to “scab in” boards instead of repairing it correctly.” Wagner had Freese contact George on Nov. 15, 2022, regarding a bid received from Mark Thompson with M&M Services in Martin. George discovered Thompson was a registered child sex offender out of Texas and made UMCOR aware of the situation since she has a 12-year-old child in her home. George said that Wagner also reached out to other companies who provided what George said were “inflated bids.”
George asked UMCOR about the vetting process of people that would be on their property well before they met Wagner, and asked him that question directly on Sep. 22, 2022, which was recorded. “We were concerned because we had at that time already discovered that a child sex offender was on our property without disclosure. We were reassured that there is an extensive background check done on all UMCOR employees, volunteers, and subcontractors.”
During a phone call with Freese on Dec. 7, 2022 they were told that a bid had been approved by UMCOR and the WCLTRG. Champion Roofing was approved to repair their roof and notification was sent through a text from Freese on Dec. 14, 2022.
Dec. 14, 2022 was the first day that Champion Roofing was scheduled to come work on their home. Due to inclement weather they were not able to start working on their home until Feb. 6, 2023.
Prior to Dec. 14, George and Champion Roofing had communicated via phone, emails and text, but on Jan. 10, 2023, George said UMCOR decided that subcontractors and homeowners could no longer speak and contacted Friese with a “gag order.” George was told that Tjaden was blamed for work delays because she had allegedly told them that they needed at least five days of dry weather to work on the roof to protect the yard. George said, “There is nothing that a contractor can do while trying to help us repair our home that would cause more damage than the tornado did to our yard.” George showed Crice the text messages between her and Friese to dispute the lies. As of March 1, subcontractors were still not allowed to converse with George without risking losing their contract with UMCOR.
George was later told by Crice that UMCOR and the WCLTRG made the decision to “keep information in the proper channels so that she could not talk the contractor into doing any work that was outside of the signed scope of work or Repair Summary that we all signed.”
George sent multiple messages explaining that her and family members have PTSD, anxiety and depression and that the tornado did not offer any favors with controlling and maintaining healthy mental health. George begged UMCOR for assistance with the mental health struggles in their home as well as how the hostile work environment has continued to affect their mental health.
George said that UMCOR’s and WCLTRG’s solution was to tell them that “they understand that storms are stressful, they are sorry, and here are some referrals to use with your personal insurance.” George said that “along with the outrageous medical bills we have incurred from my son and one of our dogs having grand maul seizures following the tornado, the multiple visits and hospitalizations for infections from unsafe levels of fiberglass in our home, as well as surgeries and illnesses from the mold on the southern end of our home, I cannot afford the mental health co-pays.”
George said that members from both groups have continued to intentionally add to the decline in their mental health. She said that both Craig and Crice showed up, unannounced, on the morning of Feb. 20 even though she has messages from UMCOR stating no one would show up unannounced. “Robert and Justin effectively proved that they have no respect for the homeowners and resident family members of disaster survivors.”
The purpose of their visit was to discuss the scope of work, as well as George’s formal complaint on Wagner. Craig, on camera, told Tjaden that once the roof was done and one window reset, that UMCOR had nothing else they were willing to do on their property.
When George discussed with Craig getting copies of policies and a formal complaint form she said he told her that the policies she requested don’t exist as policies, and this is just how subcontracting works, and that there is not a formal complaint form. The complaint process was for her to mail him a letter.
“As a disaster survivor and homeowner being drug by UMCOR’s rules that are not supported with policies and procedures, I have not been allowed to do anything about the treatment of my family and I without the threat of our case being closed.”
George said, “My grandfather used to say that if someone accused you of something, it’s because they are doing it themselves. Are all of these lies, chaos, and stress in place to try to cover UMCOR’s own misappropriation of funds and manipulations?”
The Press reached out to both UMCOR and WCLTRG. WCLTRG responded with the same exact statement they have to every request for comment, “The Weakley County Long Term Recovery Group will not comment on specific survivor cases and will refrain from discussing survivor cases with a public news source. Additionally, the Weakley County Long Term Recovery Group is here to partner in recovery with survivors of the December 10, 2021, tornado. If anyone impacted by that disaster has not been in contact with the WCLTRG for case management, or if they have immediate disaster related needs, they are encouraged to reach out for assistance. If survivors would like to inquire about their case, please call the helpline (615) 270-9255. For more information, please access our website at www.rebuildweakley.com or www.twkumc.org/drc.”
UMCOR’s response was, “The United Methodist Committee on Relief’s mission, grounded in the teachings of Jesus, is to alleviate human suffering with open hearts and minds to all people. We provide help where it is needed most and empower survivors to lead their recovery from disaster. UMCOR has worked with dedicated local partners, including the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church, to help the community of Dresden recover from the tornado of December 2021.
In mid-September, the Conference expanded its disaster recovery ministry in Weakley County to include construction management because of the lack of available construction leadership for that recovery. They and their construction staff were then able to work on homes and repair or rebuild them. Work on additional homes will begin shortly.
We have received a letter from one homeowner in Dresden expressing concern regarding repairs. After a careful review of the scope of work document agreed to in advance by the homeowner, we have concluded that our local partner has acted professionally and met, if not exceeded, the original agreement. Our collective goal has been to leave this homeowner with a structurally sound residence that provides a safe place to live. This goal will be met. We anticipate the agreed upon work to be finalized soon, weather permitting. We are grateful to the staff of the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Annual Conference and the contractors who are stewarding all this work toward completion with professionalism and care for those affected by this disaster. We look forward to continuing to assist homeowners in this community where needs are great, and resources are limited.”
George’s full complaint can be viewed below:
UMCOR Formal Complaint
01 March, 2023
To whom it may concern,
My name is Brandi George. I am the owner of 329 S. Poplar Street, Dresden, TN 38225. Our
home was structurally damaged in the tornado on 10 December, 2021. What I mean by “our
home” is that the property at 329 S. Poplar Street is lived in by myself and residential family
members who have just as much legal right to the decisions on this property as I, the property
owner. I have made it very clear both in writing and in interactions with WCLTRG and UMCOR
staff that our home belongs to the family unit.
On multiple occasions, the volunteers of the WCLTRG, and the employees of UMCOR have
both stated that if damages are tornado damage, and they affect the safety, sanitation, or
security of the home, they will fix it.
On 22 Sept, 2022, at about 2pm, we met David Wagner, the UMCOR construction manager for
the Weakley County Long Term Recovery Group for the first time. Within the first fifteen minutes
of David being on the property, he was talking over my mother, Michelle Tjaden, after she asked
him who he was, what his job is, and what we should expect out of him being at our home. My
mother explained that we had been put through a lot in the previous months by other companies
and individuals who didn’t follow through with their statements while they were on the property.
She explained this, so that David could understand why we wanted to know who he is, what he
does, and what his assigned job was while on our property.
David was quick to raise his voice, and not allow her to finish her questions. My mother finally
told him that she was just trying to clarify her questions, and she walked away at that moment.
Mom went back in the house, because at that moment she felt like she had no right to speak or
ask questions at her own home.
Several times during the walkthrough, mom asked follow up questions or made statements that
he ignored and refused to address. Several such occasions, as well as our initial interaction with
David, were caught on camera. Everyone, including David has been told the moment they step
on the property that they are being recorded, and that there are cameras.
The videos of our initial interaction, David disregarding my mother when she thanked him for
being here and for being patient, as well as other videos documenting David’s behavior were
emailed to Justin Crice on 29 Sept, 2022, five videos to be exact. For those that don’t know,
Justin is one of the co-chairs of the Weakley County Long Term Recovery Group.
The videos were emailed to Justin, because after talking over my mother while he was here,
disregarding questions and statements, and overall just being rude and unapproachable, David
left here and told lies to members of the board of the WCLTRG to, in my opinion, try to get our
disaster case closed. Justin was one of the people that David told these lies to, and they include
that my mother yelled at him and that if she was on the property when he, or future contractors
were on the property our case would be closed for her creating a hostile work environment.
Justin approached me on 29 Sept, 2022, to inform me that my mother could not be on the
property when UMCOR staff or subcontractors were on the property, because she had yelled at
David and raised her voice. Luckily, everything on our property is video recorded, and I was
quickly and easily able to prove David’s statements as lies, as well as prove that it was he who
was creating a hostile work environment in our home. Myself, the WCLTRG, and UMCOR all
agreed to and signed a document that included that no one would create a hostile work
environment through the duration of our disaster case.
After I was made aware of the lies that had begun, I made a point to ensure that my family and I
were never alone with David Wagner again. Everytime that David was scheduled to come to the
property, I called or messaged Justin Crice to see if he was available to be present while David
was here. Justin complied with my requests, and was present each time that he was available to
be.
However, nothing came of proving that David lied, or proving that his behavior while on the
property was unacceptable after I emailed the proof to Justin. When I brought it up later to
Justin, he commented that there isn’t anything they can do about it, because they can not
replace David Wagner with another construction manager. It took this long to find David to do
the job. David’s behavior and lies were also reported to our disaster case manager, Ethan
Freese. Ethan also works for UMCOR, and chose not to move the information provided to him
forward so that it could be addressed.
The WCLTRG and UMCOR failing to address David’s behavior and lies after our initial
interaction, opened it up for David to continue telling lies, which has effectively damaged and
defamed our character and reputations. David has also been allowed to continue to treat us with
disrespect on our own property, habitually and continually.
On 18 October 2022, almost a month after his initial visit, David returned to our home with the
Repair Summary, or Scope of Work for our property as it has also been called. With David was
Chris with Champion Roofing out of Dyersburg, an engineer, our Case Manager Ethan Freese,
and Robert Craig who to my understanding supervises David and others. Justin Crice was also
present for the meeting, per my request.
We walked through the house again, and signed the initial Repair Summary. At that time it was
told to me that the Repair Summary is a living document that can be revisited after the major
structural damages have been repaired to ensure that we do not have any additional immediate
needs to ensure that our home is Safe, Sanitary, and Secure. We would discover later that that
is not the case.
Caught on camera while everyone was on the property on 18 October, 2022, was a
conversation between David, the engineer, Robert, and Chris. UMCOR (David, the engineer,
and Robert), did not want to replace the valley that desperately needed to be replaced for the
structural integrity of the home. They initially did not want to address that the valley of our home
was even damaged, and claimed that none of the damage to the valley could be related to the
tornado.
Chris with Champion Roofing said that the valley had to be replaced if he was going to do the
repairs on our roof. The UMCOR staff wanted him to “scab in” boards at the various breaks in
the valley board, instead of replacing the valley board that had many breaks in it. Chris refused
to scab in more broken boards on an already broken board.
For full disclosure, the valley to our home was damaged in 2020 by straight line winds. Our
insurance company, State Farm, stated that it would be less than our deductible of $1865 to
repair all of the damages at that time, and that no payment would be issued from State Farm.
Between hiring a contractor who works full time at the Color Shop to repair the valley, and
paying a roofing company to repair and replace the roofs on the back porch and garage that
were damaged, we paid about $10,000 out of our pocket. State Farm has the certifications that
the work was completed and the certifications of each roof on the property following the repairs.
They still have not paid a dime towards the incurred cost of the straight line winds in May 2020.
This information will prove to be more pertinent through the following paragraphs in this formal
complaint.
David does not agree that the repair made by a certified contractor was a suitable repair, and
states that the valley did not take on any further damage from the tornado even though he has
over 600 photos and videos of this property pre and post tornado that show otherwise. David
also has the inspection reports from Tennessee Inspection Services, who is a very reputable
inspector in our area. Our home inspections with the same inspector were done in the fall of
2019, and again in Jan 2022, following the tornado. David’s response to the inspection reports
was, “you can not trust an inspector”.
Chris with Champion Roofing went on to create and place a bid for the needed structural repairs
to the roof of our home. David did not agree with, or like Chris’s bid, and tried to find anyone
else who was willing to “scab in” boards instead of repairing it correctly. To include, having Ethan
contact me on 15 November, 2022, about a bid we received from Mark Thompson with M&M
Services in Martin, TN. After Mark bid the work at our home, we discovered that “Mark’s” real
name is Marcus, and that he is a registered child sex offender with charges out of the state of
Texas. We made UMCOR aware of that situation, and they are well aware that my then twelve
year old son lives in this home.
David also tried to reach out to Titan Roofing, who provided an inflated bid for our home to our
insurance company that included replacing all of the brick on a free-standing brick structure.
Titan Roofing was fired from our property, and UMCOR was also made aware of that.
So, instead of initially subcontracting with a roofing company, Champion Roofing, who David
has personal relationships with and knows would do the work correctly to ensure a structurally
sound end product, David would rather hire a child sex offender, or a roofing company was fired
from the property who would “scab in” boards like he wanted to do.
We asked UMCOR about the vetting process of contractors and volunteers that would be on our
property well before we met David, and asked David that question directly on 22 Sept, 2022,
which again was recorded. We were concerned, because we had at that time already
discovered that a child sex offender was on our property without disclosure. We were reassured
that there is an extensive background check done on all UMCOR employees, volunteers, and
subcontractors. Clearly, that vetting process does not apply for David when he’s trying to hire
subcontractors that are willing to do a sub-par job for cheaper than repairing a disaster
damaged home correctly.
During a phone call with Ethan on 07 December, 2022, we were finally told that a bid had been
approved by UMCOR and the WCLTRG. Champion Roofing, the name of the subcontractor
approved to repair our roof was confirmed with us through a text from Ethan on 14 December,
2022. After more than two months of David trying to select a contractor, when one of his friends
co-owns Champion Roofing, we were finally given a light at the end of the tunnel. Champion
Roofing was on our property the first time on 18 October 2022. It took until December to
approve them to come back.
14 December, 2022, was the first day that Champion Roofing was scheduled to come work on
our home. Of course, mother nature had other ideas. To no fault of Champion Roofing, we were
frozen to the ground following an ice storm, and the conditions were unsafe for doing anything
with our roof at that time. Following that ice storm, we had weeks of more ice, rain, and cold
weather that would freeze the rain again. Then there was Christmas, and our Case Manager
finally got a vacation.
Due to inclement weather, Champion Roofing was not able to start working on our home until 06
Feb, 2023. I would like to take a moment to remind you that as I write this complaint, it is 01
March, 2023. February, March, and April in western Tennessee are terrible months to try to
accomplish anything if you are a roofer. Champion Roofing has rained out far more days than
they have been able to work in less than a month’s time since 06 Feb, 2023.
Prior to and on 14 December, 2022, Champion Roofing and I, again the homeowner, were
allowed by UMCOR to converse with basic communication. For example, Chris was allowed to
text or call me to inform me that they were on their way to come work on our property, and we
were allowed to discuss the current weather in Dresden.
On 10 January, 2023, Ethan came back to work after his vacation. Between 10 Jan, when Ethan
returned to work, and 12 Jan when I messaged Chris from Champion Roofing, UMCOR
employees had met, decided that subcontractors and homeowners could no longer speak, and
contacted Chris with their “gag order”.
In this same date range, we were told that my mother, Michelle, said that we needed five days
of dry weather to protect the yard before Champion Roofing could work during the two good
days they needed to get started on repairing our roof. Again, another lie about something my
mother said, that was never said, and blaming her for the work delays instead of the significant
amount of days we had rain. This again was easy to disprove with simple pictures. My mother
kept a beautiful yard with just as beautiful flower beds. The tornado completely destroyed our
yard. There is nothing that a contractor can do while trying to help us repair our home that would
cause more damage than the tornado did to our yard. I was also able to show Justin, who again
was the person being made to address these lies with me, the text messages to Chris that were
all weather updates, looking for any two decent weather days to get started on our roof.
To this date, 01 March, 2023, the subcontractors are still not allowed to message or call me to
let us know that they are on their way, they not allowed to send pictures to me that they take of
the work they are doing on our property, and they are generally not allowed to converse with us
about our home while they are here without risking losing their contract with UMCOR at 329 S.
Poplar Street.
I was not informed that Chris was not allowed to respond to my messages or answer my calls
per UMCOR’s request until 04 Feb, 2023. On many occasions, I spoke to Justin and Ethan
about my frustrations with being ignored by Champion Roofing, when my messages to him were
simply weather updates that he had requested. From 12 Jan, to 04 Feb, UMCOR knowingly
allowed us to be stressed out that Chris was ignoring us. On a phone call between Ethan and I
on 04 Feb, which is the Saturday before Champion Roofing was supposed to return to work on
our house on 06 Feb, 2023, Ethan finally admitted that UMCOR made the decision that
homeowners can not speak with subcontractors.
I was later told by Justin Crice that UMCOR and the WCLTRG made the decision to “keep
information in the proper channels ”so that I could not talk the contractor into doing any work
that was outside of the signed scope of work or Repair Summary that we all signed. I asked
Justin what exactly it was that we were supposedly trying to convince them to do that wasn’t
approved. I stated that they are a roofing company, and that the valley is being replaced, the
end of the house that was hit by a tree is being restructured, and new shingles are going on the
roof. What more can a roofing company do? Do they believe we are trying to talk them into
replacing toilets? Justin stated that it isn’t anything I have personally tried to convince them of.
This was where I saw the start to my family and I being labeled as con-artists, liars, frauds, and
to me specifically being accused of mis-appropriating funds.
On 09 February, 2023, I sent a message to our Case Manager that states, “Can you please
email me UMCOR’s policy that states that contractors are not allowed to send photos of the
home to the home’s owner, as well as the policy that states that contractors cannot converse
with homeowners through calls, text, or email? Thank you.”
Following that message, I asked many times for the policies that support the lack of
communication. I spoke to both the WCLTRG and UMCOR about it, and was told repeatedly by
UMCOR that they are working on it and that they would bring me the paperwork. I also asked
for UMCOR’s process on formal complaints, because it was and is my intention to submit a
formal complaint for the lies, defamation, and mental purgatory my family and I have had to live
with the WCLTRG and UMCOR in our lives.
On 15 Feb, 2023, Ethan told me that Robert, David’s Boss, would be coming the next day at 11
am to meet with us. Ethan stated that he would be with Robert, and that Robert was bringing a
copy of the policies I requested, and the formal complaint form I requested. The following
morning, both Robert and Ethan canceled.
I would like to take another moment to explain that very early on in our case, and several times
through written and verbal communications, we have requested the basic common courtesy of
letting us know when anyone working for or with the WCLTRG and UMCOR was on their way.
We have also explicitly stated that anyone who arrives for business unannounced will be asked
to leave. My mother is a four combat tour Navy veteran. Outside of it being a common courtesy,
knowing who is coming to our house and when is necessary for trying to maintain any
semblance of a good mental health in our household.
There are multiple messages that have been sent, and responded to as well as calls explicitly
explaining that not only do members of my family have PTSD, anxiety, depression, etc., but the
tornado did not offer any favors with controlling and maintaining healthy mental health. I have
begged UMCOR for assistance with the mental health struggles in our home. UMCOR has a
very in-depth budget for our household. They have proof of, and I have stated on many
occasions that I cannot afford the deductibles for everyone in my household to see mental
health specialists. I have also had lengthy conversations about how the continued lies out of
UMCOR employees, the suppression of our voices, and the tensions that UMCOR has created
between us and the subcontractors, which has effectively made our home a hostile environment
that we cannot get away from, is making our already struggling mental health immensely worse.
UMCOR’s and the WCLTRG’s solution to knowing that an immediate need in this household is
mental health services is to tell us that they understand that storms are stressful, they are sorry,
and here are some referrals to use with your personal insurance. Again, along with the
outrageous medical bills we have incurred from my son and one of our dogs having grand maul
seizures following the tornado, the multiple visits and hospitalizations for infections from unsafe
levels of fiberglass in our home, as well as surgeries and illnesses from the mold on the
southern end of our home, I cannot afford the mental health co-pays.
They continue to intentionally add to the decline in the mental health of our household, both
Robert Craig and Justin Crice showed up, unannounced, on the morning of 20 Feb, 2023. I
have messages from UMCOR stating that no one from UMCOR would show up unannounced.
Robert and Justin effectively proved that they have no respect for the homeowners and resident
family members of disaster survivors. For our home in particular, I attribute their disrespect to
the continued lies that have been created and antagonized by David Wagner since Sept 2022.
The purpose of their visit was to discuss the scope of work, as well as my formal complaint on
David. Robert, on camera, told my mother and I that once the roof is done and one window is
reset, that UMCOR has nothing else they are willing to do on our property, because it is not
tornado damage. He stated that our home is about back to the condition it was in before the
tornado, and that they have to move on to other houses.
While we were standing on the south end of the house, and I was listening to his version of how
damaged our home was before the tornado, I decided to pull up the 360 photos of our home
from the original inspection in 2019. It was obvious when his facial expressions dropped while
looking at that photo of the south end of the house, that he had never seen it. Both David and
Ethan have access to the 360 pictures both pre- and post-tornado. Our home wasn’t missing
any paint, and all of the windows sat square in their frames pre-tornado. Our fence was not
destroyed pre-tornado. The 360 pictures prove that, regardless of how much we “can’t trust an
inspector” according to David.
Liz, our Case Manager’s boss, approached us at the meeting to update the community on the
WCLTRG, asking if we would be interested in landscaping in April or May. We did not ask for
landscaping. From the beginning of opening our claim with the WCLTRG we have asked for
help with repairing our roof, resetting our current windows so that they are sealed and secure
again, and fence repair with the donated materials that we said we would put up ourselves.
Now that a formal complaint has been brought up, any and all additional immediate needs will
not be looked into, the landscaping is canceled, and according to Robert our case with UMCOR
will be closed when the roof is complete. Justin Crice stated that he would like the WCLTRG to
continue forward with assisting us with mold mitigation, without the assistance of UMCOR.
However, neither organization is willing to look at the original 360 pictures that show that the
windows do not sit where they used to, and that they are kicked out of place and unsealed in a
counterclockwise rotation.
After briefly looking at the picture, Robert continued on by telling me that I received a $20k
check from State Farm in 2020 to repair the valley and that I never repaired it. He stated that I
am misappropriating funds, and that when State Farm finds out they will be coming after me.
Again, I quickly and easily had the proof he needed to see to prove my innocence. I sent the
letter from State Farm that I mentioned earlier in this complaint form to Ethan to send to Robert
that states no payment was made on the home claim in 2020. UMCOR also conveniently
refuses to take into consideration the costs of inspections, engineers, and appraisers up to this
point as we are still fighting State Farm. UMCOR also seems to neglect the consideration of the
thousands of dollars we have spent repairing various damages to our home that we could
manage. We have replaced an uncountable amount of electrical outlets and light switches,
because the tornado knocked the grounds off of our electrical system. We replaced 120 feet of
sewer pipe from the house to the city sewer. We have repaired countless holes in our deck, paid
for four of the six tarps that were put on the south end of our roof before work could be started
on it, the rental cost of the lift to get the initial tarp on the roof, and countless other repairs and
costs.
We continually get treated like we are frauds and con-artists by UMCOR and WCLTRG,
because our insurance company will not pay our policy as it is written, and because David
continues to tell lies that impact how the organizations view our character.
We have been accused of being frauds, manipulators, and con artists, because of the actions,
lies, and unjust rumors from UMCOR employees, and in turn UMCOR and the WCLTRG
themselves.
Again, I was put in a position to prove with text messages, emails, pictures, and videos that I am
not the demon, liar, manipulator, and con artist that they are trying to paint my family and I as. I
am a tornado survivor with an insurance company that refuses to uphold their end of the policy
on our home. I stated again, this time to Robert and Justin, that once State Farm has been
forced to pay out the damages to our home, the money donated towards repairing our home will
be donated again by us to help build back someone else who needs it at that time. Justin’s
response was “you don’t need to do that”. With that he is wrong. I do need to return the money
when State Farm pays it, because that is the right thing to do.
I was told Robert would be bringing a copy of policies, and a formal complaint form. Robert said
that the policies I requested don’t exist as policies, and this is just how subcontracting works,
and that there is not a formal complaint form. The complaint process is for me to mail him a
letter. Instead of bringing the documents I requested, he brought accusations, and an attitude
that can only have stemmed from David’s lies, defamation, and demonization of my family and I.
A little background on my life, for context. In third grade I started tutoring my peers to help them
get through school. School was easy for me. I have presidential awards for my grades and
volunteer work throughout my younger years of education. At 18 years old, I enlisted in the
Army to serve my country. I, faithfully and with integrity above all, served my country for almost
nine years. I am no longer in the Army, because I was medically evacuated out of the Middle
East in 2017, and I was medically retired due to my injuries.
Following my medical retirement, my family and I moved to Dresden, TN, in October 2019. In
March of 2021 I became a registered Tennessee Firefighter, and have continued to serve my
local communities as a volunteer firefighter since. I am also a trained Wildland Firefighter. My
entire life has been dedicated to serving my community and my country.
Because my home was damaged by a tornado, and because I am also a survivor of the tornado
I spent hours and hours doing search and rescue for, I somehow deserve the treatment and
demonization I continue to receive from UMCOR and by association the WCLTRG. I’m not sure
that a roof is worth the cost of the mental health of everyone in my household.
As a disaster survivor and homeowner being drug by UMCOR’s rules that are not supported
with policies and procedures, I have not been allowed to do anything about the treatment of my
family and I without the threat of our case being closed. Robert confirmed that no further work
will be done on this property, even though the Repair Summary is a “living document”.
Conveniently this statement came to me very shortly after requesting a formal complaint form,
and now the tornado damage to our home is being ignored by UMCOR just to close our case.
To add to an already terrible situation in our own home, UMCOR has also continued to stress
out the employees of Champion Roofing by constantly pushing on them to work on our two and
half story roof, even in poor weather conditions. It is not the roofing company’s fault that
UMCOR and the WCLTRG drug their feet on helping tornado survivors until December of 2022,
one year after the tornado devastated Dresden. Spring in Tennessee does not provide many
safe working days for any roofing company.
Now, in tonight’s storms, we are taking on more water through the roof that they were pushed on
to do in a time frame that was unreasonable.
My grandfather used to say that if someone accused you of something, it’s because they are
doing it themselves. Are all of these lies, chaos, and stress in place to try to cover UMCOR’s
own misappropriation of funds, and manipulations? One can only wonder when they are willing
to try to bury someone who has only ever wanted to serve her community.
Sincerely,
Brandi George
