By Marielle Rodeheffer

Bill O'Neill is all too familiar with the damage that can be caused when typically calm rivers overflow their banks and swallow the communities nestled alongside them.

Photo by Paul Marlow, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Life-changing - Rockwell Collins Senior Facilities Engineer Bill O'Neill put his normal job duties aside earlier this summer to assist with our company's flood recovery efforts. A third-generation carpenter, O'Neill says the experience changed his life.

He was one of dozens of volunteers who earlier this summer filled sand bags in a last-ditch attempt to help protect the small, low-lying community of Palo, Iowa, which is situated along the banks of the Cedar River about 12 miles west of Cedar Rapids.

And, when Cedar Rapids itself succumbed to unprecedented and historic flooding, O'Neill also was the person asked to set aside his normal job duties to assist with our company's flood recovery efforts.

"I've never lived through anything as huge as the flooding in Cedar Rapids and across Eastern Iowa," said O'Neill, who resides with his family north of Cedar Rapids in rural Toddville. "For Rockwell Collins to offer me the opportunity to help as a regular part of my job was amazing."

A third generation carpenter and senior facilities engineer at Rockwell Collins, O'Neill has spent the past 18 years at our company working as a construction foreman and facilities planner. But on Friday, June 13, his job description changed dramatically when his manager brought forth the special request.

"Bill was selected [to lead our flood recovery efforts] because of his ability to coordinate projects and because of his level head and compassion," said Mike Neleman, director of Facilities Services at Rockwell Collins. "I knew immediately he would be perfect for the job."

Born volunteer
A Cedar Rapids native, O'Neill is no stranger to volunteering. In the summer of 2006, he spent time in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky repairing and rebuilding existing homes with Habitat for Humanity to make them safe for families in need.

When he was asked to assist with our company's volunteer flood recovery efforts, he quickly left the familiar buildings of Rockwell Collins behind for the flood ravaged areas of Cedar Rapids known locally as the Czech Village and Time Check neighborhoods.

"I've always been the type of person to want to give back and help," said O'Neill, who led volunteer teams of up to as many as 50 people on various clean-up missions throughout Iowa's second-largest city. "It's a wonderful feeling when you're able to do that."

"We worked in the areas along the river that were hit really hard," continued O'Neill. "We were right in the middle of ground zero, where many people were left with nothing."

Working alongside other employees who also volunteered their time, O'Neill helped rid homes and businesses of water-logged personal possessions, muddy water and sludge. He helped pull up flooring, knock down walls, remove sheet rock, and carry heavy loads. And, he did so while ensuring that our volunteers were working safely.

According to Melanie Richert, community relations specialist who also helped coordinate volunteer efforts, O'Neill has gone above and beyond the call of duty.

"He was the perfect choice for this special project," said Richert. "He's kind, patient and knowledgeable, and he made the safety of our employees his number one priority."

No thanks necessary
Extremely modest about his contribution to our company's flood recovery efforts, O'Neill's passion for lending a helping hand where hope and assistance were in short supply was undeniable.

And, the stories about those who were victims of Mother Nature's wrath - like one elderly man he encountered not long after the floods first hit - are forever etched in his memory.

"He was all alone, he was hot and dirty, and he had no idea how he was going to manage clearing out his home," recalled O'Neill, who rounded up a group of volunteers to empty the man's home. "He was so thankful. He told me that if we hadn't shown up, someone might have found him dead in his basement; that was a life-changing moment."

O'Neill and more than 1,200 of his colleagues at Rockwell Collins have touched the lives of hundreds of people in and around the Cedar Rapids community by donating more than 5,000 hours to the flood recovery effort.

"Life is not always good, but good comes from all," said Rockwell Collins Utility Custodian Sandra Swore-McCright, whose home sustained extensive flood damage. "And, the volunteers from Rockwell Collins have demonstrated that perfectly. I can't thank them enough."

For O'Neill, acknowledgement for the work he has done in and around downtown Cedar Rapids isn't necessary.

"Some of the people I've met in the past three months don't have much hope left," said O'Neill. "But you can give them a lot of hope simply by helping them out a little here and there. And, that's all of the reward I need."