Published: April 08, 2009 03:09 pm      

Roccaforte named Citizen of the Year

BC mayor went beyond call of duty for beloved city

BRIDGE CITY — Kirk Roccaforte did not become mayor of Bridge City because he sought the spotlight or because of higher political aspirations. He did it because he loves his community.

That love for his community never shined brighter than it did in the days and weeks following Hurricane Ike’s impact on Southeast Texas and the devastation it wreaked on Bridge City in September 2008.

With only a precious hour or two of sleep each day and a cell phone on each hip, Roccaforte fought tooth and nail for his citizens seeking aid and resources to get the community back on its collective feet.

This is why Kirk Roccaforte is The Orange Leader Citizen of the Year.

Roccaforte will quickly tell you he was only doing his job as mayor, much like Carl Thibodeaux did as Orange County Judge and Dr. Jamey Harrison did as superintendent of Bridge City schools, and that many other people are equally as deserving of this honor than he is.

“I didn’t feel like I was doing all that much, except my job,” Roccaforte said. “It was the people who did all of the work, and the officials from across the area who made my job easier.”

Roccaforte said that includes his family who took it upon themselves to help handle issues at his home and business. Roccaforte and his wife, Shirley, had approximately 52 inches of water inside their home, while his business, Bridge City Radiator, had nearly two-feet of water standing in it thanks to Ike.

“My family really handled the personal side of things,” Roccaforte added. “There was just no way I could deal with any of that when I had my responsibilities to the citizens.”

Roccaforte credits his wife, Shirley; son and daughter-in-law, Aaron and Crisleigh; daughter and son-in-law, Cristal and Dwayne Dubois; and his parents and brothers and sisters for their hard work and support.

In the more than six months of recovery since Ike made landfall, Roccaforte said great strides have been made.

“I feel like Bridge City has come further along than most people thought it might since then,” Roccaforte said. “We’re not through yet, but I’m encouraged by what all has been done. How long it will take us to get back to where we were before the storm is the real question, and we won’t really know until we get there. I expect it will take three to five years.”

Roccaforte said he expects the progress on repair work and rebuilding of homes to gain momentum over the next several months.

“People are starting to move back into their homes slowly and surely,” Roccaforte continued. “Each month we have more and more FEMA trailers being returned because people are finishing their homes. We expect that number to accelerate each month.”

Roccaforte said the hardest part of the storm for him to handle was not limited to the damage it caused, but how it affected his citizenry.

“Seeing how hard it was on the elderly people and how people were struggling to get by was hardest,” Roccaforte said. “There was only so much we could do because of how widespread the devastation was.”

Of the approximate 3,500 houses in Bridge City, only 14 were spared from Ike’s devastating storm surge.

“If we only had 400 homes with water damage, then we could have handled that ourselves,” Roccaforte added. “But it was nearly every home, and we needed to get some more help in to deal with it, but we ended up taking care of ourselves anyway and getting help too.”

Roccaforte knows Bridge City will recover. Many storm damaged businesses have reopened and several new businesses have moved into town, and the school system continues to be successful. However, he knows challenges are still to come.

“Dealing with property devaluations is going to be the city’s next big obstacle,” Roccaforte said. “It will affect the city’s budget, but I don’t think it will be as bad as many people fear. We will know more once we start crunching numbers during the summer.”

Modesty keeps Roccaforte from taking credit for the city’s recovery to date. Instead, he said it was a total team effort and would not have been possible without the help of every city employee, police department personnel, city council member, volunteer, citizen and countless others who offered aid and assistance to Bridge City.

“It’s because of them that things went as well as they did,” Roccaforte added. “Not me.”