By Susan Mykrantz

Ohio Correspondent

WOOSTER, Ohio – They call themselves the Ohio Relief Haulers, but maybe a better name for the group is Ohio Hope Haulers. Formed in 2017 by Travis and Brittany Hamlin to help farmers and ranchers affected by the wildfires in Kansas and Oklahoma, the team brings more than feed and supplies. They continue to bring hope to farmers who have suffered from some type of disaster.

“My husband and I wanted to do something to help the ranchers and farmers affected by the spring of 2017 Wildfires in Kansas and Oklahoma,” Brittany said. “We had seen that they were in desperate need of hay, feed, fencing supplies, medical supplies, etc. Travis called me while at work one day and said that he wanted to load up a trailer full of hay and fencing supplies and head out west over a weekend.”

Brittany went on Facebook to see if anyone was willing to donate supplies, and the response was astronomical.

“I am not one that enjoys attention, so I always shove my husband in front of a camera or microphone,” she said. “I am more of the ‘girl behind the scenes’ spending countless hours transforming organized chaos into successful and enjoyable trips to help those in need. But, and I have a big ‘but’ about the statement above, we cannot take credit for this group. Travis and I are just two people who started a page that connected those who want to help those who need help. Ohio Relief Haulers (ORH) is founded upon our volunteers, our donors, and our supporters. Without these wonderful folks, Travis and I would be a lone truck on the road, trying to make a small difference. Ohio Relief Haulers is literally ‘farmers helping farmers.’”

Hamlin said that not only did they have farming friends offer hay from their farms during a time when Ohio’s hay crops were very limited, but there were dozens of people willing to use their trucks, trailers and fuel money to make the trip with them.

“What originally started as a weekend trip my husband and I planned to make with a small trailer load of supplies morphed into 50 plus trucks and trailers from Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana, loaded down with hay, pallets of feed, medical and vet supplies, emergency response team supplies, and so much more,” Hamlin said.

Hamlin said many people have asked them why they care about farmers and ranchers that are not even in the same zip code, let alone the same state. They ask us why we would spend hundreds of dollars of our own money to drive supplies out to someone we don’t even know?

“The farming and ranching community is one of the hardest professions a person can choose,” she said. “It takes dedication, countless hours, and heart to make the sacrifices needed to run the farms that feed and clothe our nation.”

Hamlin cited Paul Harvey’s “God Made a Farmer” speech.

“It is the purest definition of our American farmers and ranchers,” she said. “Harvey said, ‘It had to be somebody who’d plow deep and straight and not cut corners; somebody to seed, weed, feed, breed and rake and disc and plow and plant and tie the fleece and strain the milk and replenish the self-feeder and finish a hard week’s work with a five-mile drive to church; somebody who would bale a family together with the soft strong bonds of sharing, who would laugh, and then sigh, and then reply, with smiling eyes, when his son says that he wants to spend his life doing what dad does – so God made a farmer.’”

Hamlin added that when there is devastation in the farming world, not only does it impact the farming and ranching communities, but the entire nation sees the repercussions in the markets of our everyday lives. She said they did not only want to help their neighbors, but they wanted to help their country as well.

“Farmers and ranchers are the true backbones of our country, so what better way to keep our nation alive and thriving than to make a small sacrifice on our part,” she added. “Hence, that is why we fly American flags on our loads!”

With that in mind, the Hamlins morphed their “Kansas Wildfire Relief” Facebook page into the Ohio Relief Haulers. Hamlin added that the Facebook page was their internet platform to spread the word about donations for the 2017 trip.

She said the page keeps volunteers, donors and those they have helped in the past connected so that when disaster strikes, they can send help where it is needed the most.

Hamlin said Ohio Relief Haulers have helped farmers through just about all of the natural disasters that have occurred since the group was founded as well as assisting farmers who suffered injuries or barn fires.

In 2017, they sent more than 50 trucks to Kansas and Oklahoma to help farmers impacted by the wildfires. In 2019, Ohio Relief Haulers also sent 80 plus trucks to Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma with supplies for farms and communities damaged by flooding.

“To say we take up miles of the interstate while driving across the country is a bit of an understatement,” Hamlin said with a chuckle.

More recent trips include a 2019 trip to help out a fellow volunteer from Pennsylvania who suffered severe back and neck injuries and a recent 2020 trip delivering hay to another Pennsylvania dairy farm that lost their hay crop in a barn fire.

“We are here to help those in need in our farming and ranching community, even if it racks up a few thousand miles on our odometers,” she said.

Hamlin said most of the supplies they haul include round bales, square bales, silage bales, feed products, milk replacer, veterinarian supplies and fencing supplies.

“Depending on the case we are helping, we have hauled disaster relief items such as bottled water, non-perishable foods, toiletries, clothing, etc,” she said.

She said that the group hasn’t kept count on how many farmers they have helped since it started. “I think it is something ORH would consider counting,” she said. “We have physically and financially helped so many people across our nation. But we also help countless more spiritually and emotionally through pictures of our convoys and words of hope on the ORH page as well as making the drive through small towns.”

During their cross-country trips, they make multiple stops for fuel along the way. 

“The number of people that come up to us and say we made their day just from the site of our convoy is very heartwarming,” she said. “We can see the happiness and hope we give to those that need it most.”

And they don’t count the number of people who have helped with the runs.

“I am honestly not sure the number of drivers, volunteers, donors, etc. we have had help with runs,” she said. “Our posts have reached thousands of people online. We classify participants as anyone who has donated, volunteered, driven and even shared our stories to others. Spreading the word in key for ORH.”

Hamlin said many people want to help but they may not have finances available to purchase products to donate or have the extra hay in their barn to donate.

“So, we tell them that the best way to help ORH is to share our story to their friends and family,” she said. “You never know what a little information about ORH will provide when it lands in the right person’s lap. I will say, we have reached and worked with folks from the following states: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

Each run the group does is specifically fitted for the needs of those who suffered some type of injury or disaster. Ohio Relief Haulers is a volunteer organization.

“Right now we do not have 501-3c nonprofit status, but we have discussed that as a possibility in the future,” Hamlin said. “Because of that, we partner up with Ag Community Relief (a non-profit agricultural group in Michigan) to accept financial donations. Ag Community Relief will then utilize the donated funds to help sponsor truck fuel, feed purchases, etc. for our group to haul.”

Hamlin said they also work with local feed mills, setting up “feed donation programs” so donors can purchase bags of feed, products,and other supplies for the group’s drivers to deliver.

“In the past, most of the feed mills we have worked with have either sold these items at cost as a way to contribute as well,” she said. “The most sought-after items we typically need include round bales, fencing supplies and bagged livestock feed.”

At present, they do not have a warehouse to store these items. Hamlin said that right now the best way to find out when and how to help donate is to watch the Ohio Relief Haulers’ Facebook page for a list of supplies needed for the current run.

Hamlin said the feelings that volunteers get from the trips are phenomenal.

“The farming and ranching world is a very rare breed,” she said. “They depend only on themselves and take pride in helping others in need. They are selfless, prideful and most are stubborn headed! But, under that tough exterior, they have hearts of pure gold. I do not think I have met a single rancher or farmer that has not shed a tear at the site of our convoy. Whole towns come out onto the streets, cheering and waving American flags as we roll through. I don’t think we have ever gone hungry on any of our trips either with all of the families wanting to give us something in return for our help.”

Hamlin said the volunteers probably get as much out of the trips as those they help, through the fellowship and stories they share from their trips.

“There are so many stories we retell around the campfire about the various donation runs we have taken,” she said. “All of the drivers say the hours of CB talk make the trip, and I must concur that my sides usually ache for a week after a trip due to the amount of laughing I endure.”

Brittany said the most rewarding experience of the entire trip is when the drivers have the opportunity to meet the folks they are helping. The hundreds of hours of planning, the multitude of phone calls and messages, lack of sleep for several weeks are all minuscule things they endure during the planning process for the large convoy runs.

“But I would endure a thousand more late nights and a hundred more phone calls to know that we made a difference for someone,” she said. “ It is such a rewarding experience to be able to shake the hands of the family you are helping as you watch tears roll down not only their cheeks but of the drivers as well,” Hamlin said. “We have built some amazing and lasting friendships with our drivers, donors and recipients alike.”

Hamlin encourages people to visit the Ohio Relief Haulers Facebook page, where they share stories from their runs and thanks to the generous donors for their runs.

“Many of ORH followers say that it is so inspiring to see the ‘pay-it-forward’ system we have instilled in the farming and ranching community,” she added. “We hope that the ORH page will inspire those who check in with us to pay-it-forward to those they may know in need. The feeling of helping someone else is truly one of the most awe-inspiring and rewarding experience you may have in a lifetime.”

When they pull down a farm drive after witnessing hundreds of miles of devastation, Hamlin said the volunteers have this overwhelming sense of humbleness.

“You, yourself, may not have suffered from the devastation that the farmer standing in front of you has, but you see it first hand, you feel it in your heart and soul,” she said. “You see their pain written on their face, you hear the defeat in their voice. But, then you see a spark in their eye light up as they watch trucks pull up to their barn to unload a trailer full of hope!”

Hamlin said that to the average motorist, the caravans may look like a bunch of rednecks hogging the slow land on the highway. But to the farming and ranching community, we drive trucks with wings, hauling the hope that God has a bigger and better plan than what we may all see for ourselves; hope that instills pride to be an American farmer and rancher. Hope to get up and start anew again.