ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — St. Petersburg recently won the Innovation Award at the Governor’s Hurricane Conference for its Hometown Haulers program, which was launched following the 2024 hurricanes.

“It was really innovative. Caught the eye of the director of emergency management and other folks,” said St. Pete Mayor Kenneth Welch. “Our team got the award. Really proud of their innovation.”

The first-of-its-kind program engaged local businesses to accelerate debris removal from hurricanes Helene and Milton while supporting economic recovery, according to the city. The initiative enrolled 100 local trucks, who were paid $300 per haul. They completed 5,382 hauls, which generated $1.6 million for small businesses and residents affected by the storms.

“An idea that came from the community,” said Welch. “Our team put that together, put together a plan very quickly to make that operational but also safe. And we hired folks from around the city.”

Resident David Pierce said he and his business partners ran two trucks in the program for a couple of weeks and made about $7,000. Pierce said they used the money to earn five different types of general contracting certifications and started the Pierce Contracting Group.

“We were able to come up with a plan,” he said. “We’ll take what we make from the Hometown Haulers program and we’ll reinvest it in ourselves.” 

Small business owner Antwaun Wells also signed up to be a Hometown Hauler. Wells said he managed seven local crews during the cleanup effort, completed 100 hauls and made about $30,000.

“Community Resources and Solutions was able to get some income during the time of the storms, but also help some other families,” he said. “Which they probably wouldn’t have had work during that time because basically everything was shut down.”

City leaders said the Hometown Haulers program not only accelerated storm recovery but also created an economic lifeline for families and small businesses working to rebuild after the hurricanes.

“It was very innovative to bring the people from the community to help generate some dollars,” said Pierce. “Help put some money in our pockets.”

City staff said they started the program without expecting FEMA funds, but ultimately it was determined the program qualified for a full FEMA reimbursement of $1.6 million. The city was given the award on May 14 at the Governor’s Hurricane Conference hosted in West Palm Beach for creating a new scalable model for community-driven disaster recovery.

“It was an amazing program from some amazing people who thought of the idea,” said Wells. “We are humbly grateful for the opportunity and for those that played a part in it.”