Hurricane Harvey has taught me two very important things, flood insurance is extremely important, and Americans will always show up by the boatloads to help their neighbors. One of the first images that I saw after Hurricane Harvey made my heart stop. I saw photos of the flooding and then I noticed a familiar face. How on earth did my friend Dean make it to Houston that quickly? Dean Mize and his wife Candice are probably the sweetest people I have ever met. "People needed help and I was able to help with what I have. My business partner Aaron Klein mentioned that we should go with my boat, and we never looked back!" explained Dean Mize. The crew that he took with him spent six days in the Houston area. In six days their mission went from rescue to recovery. One thing we can all be grateful for is the fact that many stubborn men never got rid of that bass boat they swore they'd sell after the wedding.

Dean and Candice Mize, Dean Mize
Dean and Candice Mize, Dean Mize
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Joe Raedle, Getty Images
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
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Dean is a part of a huge bow fishing community, and met hundreds of his friends in the Houston area the first few days. "Through all the chaos we put a dispatch system together that allowed us to find more people in need quickly. Many bowfishing friends came down from many many states even some driving 28 hours from North Dakota to get there!"

Joe Raedle, Getty Images
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
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The first day that Dean and his crew showed up to the Houston area, a man asked to get on their boat. "He begged us to go, we told him he could ride with us, but as soon as we got to the people he would have to get out." Dean Mize and his crew had no idea the man was a reporter for CNN. "Just because I was the first one some reporter took a picture of doesn't mean there weren't hundreds of thousands of people doing the same thing we were. I know God has a reason for everything so I guess we will have to see what this reasoning is." "I will never forget the power of the average American and what can be done when we work together!" Dean Mize encourages us all to find ways to donate to the local churches or places that opened up for the victims of Hurricane Harvey. Many people and organizations found ways to cook for victims and found them dry places to rest their heads. "I want people to know that all the crap the media feeds us and wants us to think was non existent there. No race, political, religious, gender, age, anything! Nothing mattered except helping others. I kept praying for God to just let us get one more." Today, I am grateful for selfless people like Dean Mize, who reminds me why being an American is a verb. We are fearless when it comes to helping one of our own in a time of despair.

Joe Raedle, Getty Images
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
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