TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - President Joe Biden touched down Thursday morning at Tallahassee International Airport, marking the beginning of his visit to the Big Bend and South Georgia exactly a week after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida’s panhandle.

Helene was a catastrophic storm, causing historic damage in the Big Bend before continuing on to leave disastrous flooding and wreckage in Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Virginia. It has been the cause of at least 200 deaths, as of noon Thursday.

Biden spoke just after 4 p.m. from Shiloh Pecan Farm in Ray City, Ga. The small city dips over the borders of Berrien and Lanier counties, and its population sits just shy of 1,000, according to recent census records.

It’s a close-knit community of military families and commuters, with the city of Valdosta and Moody Airforce Base nearby. Shiloh Pecan Farm manager Buck Paulk stood wearing jeans and a plaid button-down with the sleeves rolled up just feet away from the president during the event.

He was humble when he took a turn at the lectern during Biden’s press conference.

“I never expected to be doin’ something like this,” Paulk said. “I just grew up to be a farmer. I didn’t know I was going to follow up a president of the United States, so bear with me.”

Despite the city’s small size, local officials and Biden acknowledged the big impacts Hurricane Helene has left residents.

It’s been seven days since Ray City residents had power, the major said. Ray City Council member Wesley Bennifield said Helene was unlike anything he’d experienced.

But despite the storm’s unprecedented strength for the region, wading through hurricane destruction is not new for the residents of South Georgia.

“Families — they lost everything, including loved ones, they lost family members. And I know it isn’t the first time,” Biden said. “Just over a year ago, a major hurricane hit these same communities. A couple of months ago, Hurricane Debby did the same thing.”

He recounted that the region was struck last month by Hurricane Idalia. Residents were still working to pick up the pieces last month when Hurricane Debby passed through the Big Bend and South Georgia.

Relief stations from Debby had to shut down as Helene closed in on the largely agricultural part of the south. When they reopened, in some ways it didn’t matter what storm they were responding to. People just needed help.

Biden told the people of Ray City and the south that he sees their struggles.

“We have your back,” he said. “We’re going to stay until you’re restored.”

He was somber as he described the devastation surrounding him at the pecan farm.

“Decades of progress, gone in a single instant,” the president said.

To better grasp the storm’s impacts, Biden said he took a walking tour of parts of Florida with a bipartisan group of officials. Sen. Rick Scott (R,FL) was among those who met the president in Keaton Beach for the tour.

“Some places, it went as high as three stories,” he said of the 15-foot storm surges Helene caused.

It was important to then tour Georgia, too, Biden said, because “we’re separate states, but we’re the United States of America.”

The president — who has long campaigned on his abilities to bridge the highly polarized political landscape — emphasized the bipartisan group of leaders he visited throughout the day.

Among the elected leaders the president met with Thursday were Sen. Rick Scott (R, Fla.), Sen. Raphael Warnock (D,Ga.), Rep. Austin Scott (R, Ga.) and Rep. Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D, Ga.).

“In moments like this, it’s time to put politics aside,” the president said. “Again, it’s not one state versus the other... there’s no Democrats or Republicans here... only Americans here.”

However, the president went on to tout his role in passing multiple bipartisan bills, saying “more money from those bills has been spent in red states.”

“But I said it didn’t matter where it was or who needed help, it’s not based on party,” Biden said. “Our job is to help as many people as we can.”

He also championed his support of Georgia during the speech.

“Yesterday, I approved Governor Kemp’s request for the federal government to cover 100% of the cost for debris removal, and emergency protective measures, for three months,” he said.

Biden called for unity, saying “we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”

“There’s not a damn thing we can’t get done, nothing beyond our capacity, when we work together and put politics aside,” the president said.

The president compared Paulk’s resilience to former President Jimmy Carter’s before inviting the farmer to the lectern.

The Ray City man’s sincerity was moving. He called himself “just one of many” as he spoke to the press Thursday under the harsh afternoon sunshine, pointing to other business owners and residents in the area.

“I‘m standing here in my backyard, but I’m standing here to represent all my fellow farmers and producers, too, across this region,” he said.

Helene was devastating, Pualk said.

“It’s been a struggle, a mighty struggle. It’s disheartening, it’s expensive,” he said. “We’re not going to just snap back from this, this is generational.”

The Ray City man said that sometimes, “you gotta realize you gotta have help.” He thanked the officials for visiting and supporting him before interrupting himself.

“Before I go any further — I know where I gotta get my help, I know where it comes from. I know where the United States gets help. And before I can say another thing, I ask and I invite each of you to bw your heads and humble your hearts,” he said. “And I want to lift up a prayer to our god in heaven, so if you would allow me to.”

The president and congressmen bowed their heads behind the farmer as he prayed.

“Lord, this is your creation, and you control and you see about everything and everybody,” he said. “And father, there ain’t a twig, a leaf, a branch or a root that you don’t hold account of, and you give us the opportunity to tend that for you, we’re just managers.”

He prayed for help on behalf of those who work in agriculture.

“You placed me to be a farmer, you placed them to be in the government. Lord, I’m standing here with the president,” he said, continuing, “and senators, and congressmen, and secretaries. Lord, you give them a place, too.”

He prayed for the leaders to receive wisdom “to know what to do with these problems and all the other problems, Lord, in this country.”

He prayed for perseverance. For forgiveness. And for help.

Wiping his nose with a cloth handkerchief, Paulk lifted his head. He was frank and honest.

“Y’all, I don’t have a whole lot to say, I’m not real big on knowing policy,” he said. “If I can share something, it’s my heart.”

While the people he knows don’t look for “handouts,” Paulk asserted that God would help, and part of that help would come from the government.

His faith called back to a quote from Jimmy Carter that Biden read during his speech: “Tremendous progress can be made when we persevere through difficult challenges.”

“But through it all, Buck hasn’t lost Hope,” Biden said.

Flying over Florida

But before his statements in Georgia, the president surveyed other damage.

Biden’s arrival at TLH marked the first time in years a sitting president landed at the capital city’s airport. The president touched down in an Air Force One 747 before crossing the tarmac and boarding a Marine One helicopter.

For his first stop, the president flew via helicopter to one of the areas most damaged by the storm: Taylor County.

Biden viewed damage from the sky on his way to Perry before arriving at about 12:45 p.m. He then drove with his motorcade over to Keaton Beach for an “operational briefing.”

During the briefing, the Taylor County Emergency Management director showed the president visuals of the storm’s path, winds and destruction.

Taylor County authorities estimate almost 90% of Keaton Beach was leveled during the storm, making it one of the hardest-hit areas by the deadly storm.

Then, he headed over to South Georgia, where he concluded his visit.

The top Democrat’s visit comes just days after former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee for president, visited Valdosta, Ga. to survey damage from Helene.

During Trump’s speech, he criticized the federal response to the storm, mirroring statements from other prominent Republicans, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Trump’s current opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, handed out food and spoke to families in August, Ga. Wednesday during a visit to survey damage in the area.

Ray City Recovery

Ray City, Georgia is a city roughly 20 miles north of Valodosta.

Last week, the South Georgia city of about 1,000 people experienced its first direct impact from a major hurricane, according to city council member and longtime resident Wesley Bennifield.

Bennifield has been through previous hurricanes, including Hurricane Andrew when he lived in South Florida.

Standing amidst down power lines and snapped power poles around a daycare near Johnson Street and Pauline Avenue, Bennifield told WCTV what stands out to him are the impacts residents in his town have been going through for one week

“Can you imagine sitting in your chair with the fan blowing on you, and somebody’s house is torn down over there? It’s amazing,” he said. “It’s devastating to a small town like Ray City.”

Ray City Mayor Brenda Exum estimates Hurricane Helene destroyed about 10-12 homes in her town. That included one home, she said, that burned down after a tree fell on the home’s generator during Helene and sparked a fire.

The city has been without power for one week.

“Everybody’s devastated,” Exum told WCTV. “They don’t know what to say or do.”

Since the storm left her town, Exum said she’s been working around the clock knocking on doors to check on her residents.

She and other city leaders have also been handing out free meals and supplies to Ray City residents. According to Exum, city officials have been handing out 500 meals a day at the city’s fire station since they set up after the storm.

Exum talked about how close-knit of a community Ray City is known for.

“This is a family town. Everybody has been trying to take care of everybody,” she said. “I’ve been door to door, talking to some people. I’ve been here since Friday morning, almost 24/7... giving out resources.”

When asked about President Biden’s visit to Ray City Thursday to survey Hurricane Helene damage, Bennifield was all for the president’s visit.

Both he and Exum also called on other national and state leaders, including Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, to visit small communities impacted by the storm.

“I’m proud to see [President Biden] come. I want [former President] Trump to come too. I want [Governor] Kemp to come. I want [Vice President Kamala Harris] to come. I want all of them to come see Ray City, and what it is,” Bennifield said.

Bennifield also added groups from Jacksonville and Orlando will be coming to Ray City in the coming days to deliver supplies to help residents in the community.

Exum said anyone who wants to help Ray City residents recovering from Hurricane Helene can contact her directly at (229) 316-3394.

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