Jeff Hayes, chairman of the Greater Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce said for all his years in Port Arthur, Tropical Storm Harvey was the worst thing to happen to the city.

The chamber, likewise, held an appreciation breakfast Tuesday morning at the Carl A. Parker Multipurpose Center at Lamar State College Port Arthur for the role first responders played in rescuing people and saving lives.

Larry Richard, chief of the Port Arthur Fire Department, said the response to Harvey was a total team effort. His firefighters worked a week straight while their own homes were flooding.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the Port Arthur Fire Department,” Richard said.

Patrick Melvin, chief of police, said he could relate to what Richard was saying because many police officers camped out on the second floor of the department.

“To me, all of our officers are Harvey heroes,” Melvin said. “They lost everything but you wouldn’t know it because they did their jobs.”

He added that all law enforcement officers in the state of Texas are Harvey heroes.

“This brought us together as a family,” he said. “We appreciate when we receive the accolades. We don’t need it, but we appreciate it.”

Also at the meeting, various governmental entities gave an update of their activities.

Ron Burton, director of planning for the city of Port Arthur, said the city is making steady progress on disaster assistance with $50 billion allocated for the area. A large share of the amount is allocated for housing. The city will prioritize areas of the city hit hardest.

Shaun Davis, executive director of the South East Texas Regional Planning Commission, is serving as chairman of the council of governments in the area.

A primary goal is to alleviate flooding and tend to housing and business needs.

Furthermore, the chamber of commerce has come up with a transportation plan that will be submitted to the Port Arthur City Council within 30 days.

Bill McCoy, president of the chamber, said he has seen plans from the Texas Department of Transportation to rework the cloverleaf exchange at Highways 69 and 73. The plan has been worked on over the past two to three years and it has now come to fruition.

County Judge Jeff Branick said crews did a good job picking up debris in unincorporated areas.

Sales tax has increased since Harvey. Branick said he hopes that will continue.

Hazard mitigation funds from the federal government are already being released. He encouraged the governmental entities to get their application filled out because “there’s money in the pot.”

In fact, the federal government has spent $890 million on the Golden Triangle since Hurricane Ike for debris removal, National Flood Insurance Program claims, Small Business Administration loans, individual assistance, and payments for hotel stays for displaced residents.

Mark Porterie, superintendent of the Port Arthur ISD, said they are renovating Adams Elementary and the administration building with plans to be back this summer.

The administration has been working in a LSCPA building on Lakeshore Drive since being displaced. He thanked Betty Reynard, president of LSCPA, for letting them use the building.

Hayes said for the first time in the district’s history there are no portable buildings on campuses.

LSCPA showed the audience a video in how they were affected by Harvey, survived, persevered and came out winners.

Ed Hogenson donated $500,000 to the college as well as Sheila Umphrey donated $500,000 for the $12.8 million the Umphrey Industrial Technology Center. Enrollment has increased by 12 percent.

John Comeaux, president of the Board of Directors of the Port of Port Arthur, said they are receiving bids for the $90 million bond issue passed by voters to expand berthing. Cargo values have been strong too.

RaNoda McClain-Lee, marketing manager for the Port Arthur Economic Develop Corp., said they are renting out spaces on the second and third floors at 501 Procter St.

Improvements are being made at the business parks and the recently held Vision Summit for plans to improve Port Arthur was a success.

Capt. Jackie Twomey said the U.S. Coast Guard made 3,600 rescues in this area this year.

She said during the 1,000-year flood, they stood shoulder to shoulder with people of the community.

“This is the team I would choose if I could choose a team,” she said.

Furthermore, shipping traffic is up 20 percent that Twomey called “a gigantic boost to the community.”