Our Alumni

How these three Buckeyes came to the rescue

Alumni Brad Panovich, Nicholas Kman and Packy Malley leaped into action after hurricanes devastated communities last year.

By Andrew Sharp ’08

March 13, 2025

A powerful hurricane can devastate lives and leave behind billions of dollars’ worth of wrecked homes and businesses, swamped cars and snapped power lines. It can also leave people feeling helpless: It may take decades to repair the mess, so what can one person really do? Quite a lot, it turns out. Take these Buckeyes, who used their time and talents for good this past hurricane season.

An assortment of people organize boxes in the back yard of a stately house. The sun shines brightly and people wear summer clothes — In Charlotte, North Carolina, Brad Panovich’s neighbors help organize donated supplies at his home. (Photo courtesy of Panovich)

Brad Panovich ’97

In his career, meteorologist Brad Panovich has seen a slew of big storms. But Hurricane Helene in September was among the worst, and he had a front-row seat in his role with WCNC-TV in Charlotte, North Carolina. Heavy rain had saturated the ground even before the storm arrived, so forecasters anticipated it would be bad, he says. “It still was far more destructive than even the worst-case scenario I was thinking of at the time.” In the wet soil, trees toppled, roots and all, causing quite a few of the 103 deaths in his state. Flooding unleashed landslides in the mountains.

Panovich started collecting key necessities to donate to those who needed them: shoes, socks, diapers and water. Another surprising need was Benadryl—the storm displaced swarms of unhappy yellow jackets. Word of the collection spread quickly on social media, and soon Panovich needed more trucks. As the situation evolved, Panovich added items like heaters, sleeping bags and cleaning supplies to the wish list. “Amazon trucks would pull in my driveway and just unload their whole truck,” he remembers. “It was wild.”

Neighbors came to his backyard every day to sort and package the items, and others brought food to feed the crowd. “I’ve emceed events; I’ve done fundraisers. I have never seen the outpouring of support from people like I have for Helene,” Panovich says. Kelly Maginnis Hartlage ’85, a Charlotte resident, credits Panovich for that outpouring. “He went way above and beyond to help people.”

In front of a home, rescuers who came in on a suped-up four wheeler talk with a resident who experienced damage from a hurricane. The medical workers wear helmets and safety gear as the talk to the woman. In the background clothes and a blanket are drying on a fallen tree. — Nick Kman, center, and Ohio Task Force 1 deployed to Fort Myers, Florida, after Hurricane Ian in 2022. Hospitals were flooded, so residents welcomed the team’s medical expertise. Ohio Task Force 1 tends to respond after hurricanes; FEMA teams in California, Nevada and Colorado tend to respond to wildfires. (Photo courtesy of Kman)

Nicholas Kman ’00, ’04 MD

When hurricanes Helene and Milton hit within weeks of each other, it was a good bet that Dr. Nicholas Kman would show up at some point. The Wexner Medical Center emergency department physician and clinical professor has volunteered for about 15 years with a Federal Emergency Management Agency team based in Ohio.

The team supports first responders in stricken areas by helping with search and rescue. They can experience dramatic moments pulling people from flooding, or the grim work of recovering bodies. Most often, the team bolsters overworked emergency crews, helping to restore order amid chaos.

With communication a mess after Hurricane Helene, getting to people in the mountains of North Carolina was slow and difficult work, Kman recalls, but he enjoys the challenge of problem-solving in situations like these.

Taking time off every year has its strains. Kman has responded to a series of major hurricanes since signing up for the team, including Harvey, Dorian, Laura, Ida, Ian and both Helene and Milton in the same mobilization. He was on assignment for 21 days last year, but his family and Ohio State support him, he says. Kman calls disaster response a natural extension of his work. “It’s really an opportunity to help people when they’re at their most vulnerable.”

A man sits with five kids on stairs next to colorfully painted walls. They're all grinning and the kids are making peace or heart signs. — In Jamaica with the Peace Corps, Packy Malley poses with children in a community hit by Hurricane Beryl, where tarps still substitute for roofs torn off homes. As of last year, 1,523 alumni were corps volunteers, putting Ohio State in its top 10 college contributors. (Photo courtesy of Malley)

Packy Malley ’91

Packy Malley is a man of wide interests, as evidenced by his degree in economics and minors in Latin and astronomy. The Clevelander with an Irish background loves reggae music and, while a student, organized dozens of concerts at the amphitheater near Mirror Lake.

That musical interest took him to Jamaica many times, so when he joined the Peace Corps after retirement, that country was a natural fit. As an agricultural facilitator, he finds ways to serve the needs of local farmers.

In July, Hurricane Beryl hit Malley’s community hard. “A lot of the farms got wiped out. The power was out for a month, and damage is still evident,” Malley says.

He had previously drawn on his event-organizing skills to raise money for a farm project in Jamaica, so he knew what to do. During his trip home for the holidays in Cleveland, he organized a Christmas gala with an 18-piece jazz orchestra. More than $10,000 was raised to purchase deeply needed supplies like generators, farm tools, first aid and roofing materials.

“There’s still so much that needs to be done,” he says.

Author

Andrew Sharp

Andrew Sharp ’08 is a freelance writer and proud Ohio State alumnus. He previously worked for newspapers small and large around the Delmarva Peninsula on the East Coast and has sat through more than his share of town council meetings. He is currently saving up money for food as his two sons approach their teen years.