On Sept. 24, 2005, Hurricane Rita blasted through and left the coastal town of Sabine Pass in shambles. In the close knit community, nearly 90 percent of the homes and businesses were either flattened or barely standing. No family or resident was left untouched by the devastation of the winds and storm surge.

But from the murky water and piles of debris a leader arose — without prompting, without hesitation and without concern for her own hardship.

“After the hurricane, we needed to get organized and get someone on site that could make decisions and become a contact person in Sabine Pass. Kristi Heid took on that role immediately,” said Adam Saunders, a Sabine Pass resident.

Heid is the principal of the Sabine Pass School, a kindergarten through 12th grade campus that is more than a place where children are educated, but a place that represents the heart and soul of the hardworking town.

“When we returned a few days after Rita, really, we didn’t know what to do,” Heid said. “We didn’t have a plan. We were used to evacuating and coming back in a few days. You take your papers and your pictures and you just go.”

But things were different this time. The Category 3 storm had made landfall at Sabine Pass and now food, water, ice, tarps, bedding and clothes were all desperately needed.

“When relief items began arriving, they were just sort of dumped off at the 4-Way (a private business at the center of town). There was no means to distribute the items, and Kristi got it coordinated and became an anchor for the whole community,” the Rev. Sinclair Oubre, pastor of St. Paul Catholic Church in Sabine Pass, where Heid, 45, is a member, said.

“I was able to get back into town because one of the Port Arthur police officers at the DPS roadblock recognized me,” Heid said. “Tommy Butler, our maintenance director, came in too and we started to clear out the maintenance barn so things could be brought there. And most things around here revolve around the school, so one of the first things we knew that we needed to do was get the school back. The children were going to need a safe place to be while their parents and families took on the challenge of recovery.”

Heid’s own home — located across the street from the school she leads and where she, her husband Jerry of 16 years and sons Devin Deslatte, 19, and Chris Deslatte, 23, graduated — had also suffered tremendous damage.

The ridge caps on the roof of the house were lost and water poured in. Under the house, diesel and sludgy water seeped up, creating a foul and oily mess.

“A lot of my belongings and furnishings had to be destroyed because they were saturated with diesel. And I still don’t have a kitchen,” Heid said.

But Heid put her own needs aside, knowing that her family and beloved Pomeranians were safe in Kemah, and rolled up her sleeves.

She made a call to Jefferson County Judge Carl Griffith, emergency operations director, and soon a Disaster Recovery Center was established at the school. Saunders works at Ford Park, which had become a staging area for emergency response, and after a few calls with Kristi began to assemble needed supplies.

“Pretty much me, Tommy (Butler) and Adam (Saunders) would unload the supplies ourselves,” Heid said. “Judge Griffith found out we needed a forklift, and thankfully one arrived the next day.”

“Really, we didn’t wait, we organized ourselves. And we were able to do that because Kristi took it on herself,” Saunders said.