✈️ Helping the Helpers: How DoxieGuy BBQ Supported Hurricane Helene Pilots and Found Lifelong Friends

When Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina, it didn’t just damage roads, bridges, and homes — it changed lives. Entire communities were cut off from power, supplies, and communication. But around here, we don’t wait for someone else to lend a hand.
We help our neighbors, however we can.

For DoxieGuy BBQ, that meant firing up the DoxieGuy trailer, not to deliver sauce, but to deliver hope.

🛻 The DoxieGuy Trailer Turns Into a Supply Lifeline

In the first chaotic days after the storm, my wife Courtney and I packed the DoxieGuy BBQ trailer full of relief supplies — not once, but over and over. Each trip carried thousands of dollars’ worth of food, water, hygiene products, cleaning supplies, and pet essentials bound for the mountain towns hit hardest by Helene.

Local airports across Western North Carolina had become makeshift supply hubs, where helicopters would fly relief materials into unreachable communities. We made multiple trips from those airports up the mountains, hauling aid into places that had been stranded for days.

Each trip showed us the best of people — neighbors helping neighbors, strangers offering comfort, and communities refusing to give up.

🛩 From Shelter to Friendship: Helping the Heroes in the Sky

While we were running supplies, we came across a post about pilots from Higher Ground Helicopters out of Dayton, Ohio — heroes who were flying search and rescue and supply missions day and night to reach families trapped in remote areas.

The post mentioned something that stopped us in our tracks: these pilots were sleeping on airport floors between flights.
They’d flown hundreds of miles to help our state — and now they had nowhere to rest.

That didn’t sit right with us.

So we reached out and offered a place to stay — my parents’ condo and our RV. It wasn’t fancy, but it was home.
A warm shower, a real bed, and a quiet meal meant everything to those guys after long days in the air. By staying with us, they were able to redirect hotel funds back into fuel, food, and mission costs, extending their ability to help others.

What started as an act of compassion turned into something far greater: friendship.

Since those relief days, we’ve stayed in touch with our pilot friends from Higher Ground. We talk weekly, sharing updates and stories from our corners of the world. We’ve had multiple visits — including a very special Thanksgiving together that we hope becomes a yearly tradition.

They came into our lives because of a storm, but they’ve become lifelong friends — the kind you hold onto forever.

❤️ What DoxieGuy BBQ Is Really About

At DoxieGuy BBQ, we like to say we’re more than just a sauce company — we’re a community company.

Sure, we’re proud of our Carolina-style sauces like Bella’s Blaze, Reeci’s Apple of My Eye, and Izzi’s Might Go Crazy — but what fills us with the most pride (scratch that — gratitude) is being able to give back when it counts.

Whether it’s hauling supplies into the mountains, opening our doors to pilots, or supporting animal rescues here at home, our purpose stays the same:
To make a difference through kindness, connection, and community.

Because in our hearts, BBQ isn’t just about what’s on your plate — it’s about who’s at your table.

🐾 Carolina Strong. Always.

We’ll never forget what we saw after Hurricane Helene — or the people who stood tall in the face of it. To the pilots, volunteers, and first responders who gave their all, thank you.

And to our new friends at Higher Ground Helicopters, you’ll always have a home here in Hickory — and there will always be a place for you at our table next Thanksgiving.

👉 Read more stories and shop our sauces — because every bottle helps us keep paying it forward.