Auction Broadcasting Co. has been actively involved in flood relief for its employees at ABC Baton Rouge. ABC Baton Rouge’s facility was not damaged by the flooding, but the company said 13 of the employees who reside in the Louisiana capital lost everything.

“You just cannot imagine how devastating the damage is until you see it with your own eyes,” ABC president Jason Hockett said. “Pictures don’t show how horrible this really was.

“It just so happened that my wife, Paula, and I were moving my son, Joe, and his wife into their new home that weekend and were able to see it all first-hand,” Hockett continued. “As the water was rising, we saw several couples trying to get their most treasured possessions out of their homes and into the back of pick-up trucks.”

With those images cemented in the minds of company leadership, ABC considered what to do next.

“As a family business, we discussed what we could do to help the 13 families and others that lost their homes and all of their possessions,” Hockett said. “Many of our employees at ABC Baton Rouge weren’t able to get to work with the roads closed, so we paid them for the week plus gave each of them a $1,000 Visa Gift Card.”

Hockett also mentioned that he received a phone call from Frank Hackett at the National Auto Auction Association (NAAA). 

“Frank and the NAAA gave each of our 13 employees who lost everything a $500 gift card,” Hockett said. “The next day, we received a phone call from one our consignors who will be donating $10 a vehicle for every vehicle sold in the month of September at ABC Baton Rouge.

“Additionally, our general managers, at each ABC Auction location, started a fund on their own for their dealers and employees to contribute,” he continued. “In one week, they raised nearly $40,000. Collectively, it is our goal to raise between $100,000 and $150,000 and have an ABC corporate match.”

Hockett mentioned a few other ongoing projects aimed to help Baton Rouge employees impacted by flooding.

“All of our employees at the eight ABC Auction locations will be wearing LOUISIANA STRONG shirts as a reminder of those that still need help rebuilding their lives,” Hockett said.

“It really is unbelievable to see the goodness in people when something like this happens,” he went on to say.

Other industry members who are interested in donating may send a message to donations@auctionbroadcasting.com. ABC indicated 100 percent of the proceeds will go to the families who have been impacted by the floods.