SUMMER 2019 17
Mainstay
STRONG
D avid and Trish Warriner, owners of the
Mainstay Suites in Port St. Joe, experienced
an entirely different type of stress as Hurricane
Michael exploded in the Gulf last October.
Vacationing in North Carolina, they were taken
off-guard by the storm’s rapid development.
“There was zero national news coverage 72
hours out,” David recalls. “By the time Port St.
Joe was forecast in the cone, evacuation orders
had already been issued.” Had the Warriner’s
been home, they would likely have evacuated.
They’d done so many times before. “This time
was strange, though,” David said. “In the past,
we’d always been present to keep tabs on family,
friends, neighbors. And this storm felt different,
as if everyone knew it was going to be bad...
really bad.”
A few weeks earlier, at the Mainstay Suites,
David had given executive housekeeper Heidi
Willis a battlefield promotion to General
Manager. She had proven herself over the course
of a hectic summer, and David knew his hotel
was in capable hands. He and Trish headed out
of town confident in Heidi’s abilities. Those
abilities were about to be tested, however.
Months after the storm, David remarked that
his new manager was “forged in fire.” Wind and
water may have been more accurate, but the
sentiment was crystal clear.
As Michael’s track painted its bullseye on the
Forgotten Coast, people frantically prepped for
the storm. “You can’t just turn tail and run,”
said Ronald Pickett of Cape San Blas Vacation
Rentals. “You have to prioritize your obligations,
and then secure your own property.” And the
forecast seemed to worsen by the minute.
What started as a “disturbance off the Yucatan
Peninsula” on October 7th was a fast moving,
fully-fledged hurricane by the 8th. By late
morning on October 10th, it was a category 5
monstrosity headed straight for Old Florida.
For some, like the Picketts, the warnings came
too late. “There just wasn’t enough time” was a
common refrain. Like many other locals unable
to evacuate, the Picketts headed for the sturdy
Mainstay Suites hotel on Highway 98 just south
of Port St. Joe. Filled with news crews, medical
personnel, hotel staff and locals scrambling for
higher ground, the Mainstay was at capacity.
“We had over 220 people in the hotel when
Michael made landfall,” David said. “Two hours
earlier, it looked like the Mainstay was going to
LOADING THE FLATBED NEAR PISGAH FOREST, NC
take a direct hit. We knew the hotel was built
right, but we were still praying it would hold
together.” The Warriners had lifelong friends,
neighbors, employees, Sacred Heart Hospital
staff, and children – lots of children – taking
shelter there.
“We were freaking out,” said Trish. “To feel
so responsible for so many people, and to be
helpless in the moment – it was a whole new
level of anxiety.” Glued to TV coverage and
desperate for news, the Warriners prepared
for a return home as quickly as possible.
Thousands of regional residents were displaced
after Hurricane Michael – Heidi Willis, and her
two young sons, among them. Unfazed, she
gathered up a few necessities and moved her
family to the Mainstay. “I knew I was needed
here,” Heidi stated. “It was the only workable
solution.” That pragmatism, along with a sense
of responsibility and work ethic that “borders
on legendary” according to the Warriners, is
what kept the Mainstay Suites operating in the
aftermath. David said, “Her ability to balance
work and family under extreme duress was
very impressive. Every time something came
up, she just handled it.”
Heidi, of course, deflects the credit elsewhere.
“Dave Ashbrook was awesome,” she said. “The
hotel had no power, no water, no sewer – but
thanks to Dave, we had a new generator in only
3 days.” David Warriner added, “It was just in
time, too. If Dave hadn’t negotiated the generator
with Sacred Heart, we’d have had raw sewage
backing up into the hotel.” Proximity to the
hospital was fortuitous, as well. Getting power
back to Sacred Heart was a top priority for Duke
Energy, and the hotel is on the same grid.
By the time Michael reached the Florida-Georgia
line, David and Trish were already southbound.
They rented a truck and flatbed trailer, and
loaded them with every hurricane relief supply
imaginable – generators, shop-vacs, chainsaws,
shovels, diapers, pet food, trash bags, fix-a-flats
and much more. After attending to needs at the
Mainstay, they delivered the rest to a Mexico
Beach aid station. Trish even set up a disaster
relief account through her family’s foundation
that allowed donors to give locally. “I am just
so proud of this community and what’s been
accomplished so far,” David said. “The strength
and character I’ve witnessed is humbling. We
will come back from this – there’s not a doubt
in my mind.” Forgotten Coast Strong.
THE AFTERMATH KID’S CLUB AT THE MAINSTAY SUITES – YES, THEY ARE PLAYING BATTLESHIP