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What is an LTRG ?

A Long-Term Recovery Group (LTRG) is a cooperative body that is made up of representatives from faith-based, non-profit, government, business, and other organizations working within a community to assist individuals and families as they recover from disaster.

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The purpose of an LTRG is to have a designated, centralized, coordinating group of partnering organizations whose common goal is to assist the impacted individuals and families in the community with their long-term recovery. LTRGs encourage community participation and the pooling together of resources to get the most out of the recovery effort. LTRGs also help to communicate up-to-date information, organize volunteers, bring in targeted resources and money, and capture the story of your community’s disaster. 

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For more information on LTRGs and what is happening in other communities across the state, check out NC VOAD (North Carolina Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster).

For more information on Hurricane Helene recovery across North Carolina, check out the WNC Recovery website, powered by the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina (GROW NC).

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The Watauga Team

Executive Committee

Elected Officers

The Executive Committee is made up of the three elected officers and the eleven work group chairs.

Elected Officers include the Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary. As directed by the founding Steering Committee, the LTRG elected the following officers in December 2024:

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Chair- Wesley Smith, Executive Director of Missions, Three Forks Baptist Association

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Vice Chair- Charlie Wallin, Director of Retail Operations- External Partnerships and Key Clients, Appalachian State University

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Secretary- Mackenzie Laney, Community & Program Specialist, The Mediation and Restorative Justice Center 

Work Groups

Current work groups of the Watauga LTRG include:

  • Public Relations & Communications

  • Business and Economic Sector

  • Unmet Needs

  • Mental Health: Emotional & Spiritual Support

  • Volunteer Management

  • Agricultural/Land Use and Conservation 

  • Transitional Housing and Food Access

  • Resource Development and Fundraising

  • Donations Management

  • Case Management 

  • Construction Management 

Membership

Each participating faith-based (diocese, presbytery, conference, etc.), non-profit, governmental, business, other organizations and agencies, and individual providing financial support, material, and/or labor for the work of the organization is considered a Member Organization.

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Current participating member organizations include, but are certainly not limited to, Watauga County Department of Social Services, Watauga County Emergency Management, Watauga Housing Council, Hospitality House of North Western NC, The Boone Area Chamber of Commerce, Watauga County Schools, Western Youth Network, WAMY Community Action, High Country Community Health, AppHealthCare, Baptist on Mission, Samaritan’s Purse, Blue Ridge Conservancy, Mountain True, Appalachian State University, and the Three Forks Baptist Association.

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