Beacon Village celebrates a blessed homecoming

Volunteers gather to welcome family returning nearly a year after Helene

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
September 19, 2025

Black Mountain Presbyterian Church Pastor Mary Katherine Robinson blesses the home of Michael Burgin, Sept. 18, as he moves back into Beacon Village nearly a year after Tropical Storm Helene. Photo by Fred McCormick

Nearly one year to the day before dozens of volunteers gathered, Sept. 18, around a lawn in the lower section of Beacon Village, the very notion that anyone would be returning to Edwards Avenue could not be expressed with any amount of certainty. In fact, it would require a team of caring and hard-working volunteers organized and supported by dedicated nonprofits, combined with the determined spirit of residents in the nearly century-old mill village, to even make it possible.

However, as Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders hosted a home blessing for Michael Burgin and his family, led by Black Mountain Presbyterian Church Pastor Mary Katherine Robinson, the neighborhood marked its latest milestone in the recovery from Tropical Storm Helene.

The nonprofit organization welcomed community partners and volunteers from as far away as St. Louis to the event, celebrating the return of a family that was trapped in the attic while the floodwaters of the Swannanoa River overtook their home. Burgin, his fiancée, teenage son and pets were forced to escape through a hole cut in their roof by a neighbor who arrived, on a kayak, with an axe.

The family remained on the roof for three hours, waiting for the waters to recede, but after surviving the terrifying ordeal, they were unsure when, or if, they could return to the home. Christian faith-based nonprofit Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders, which leverages its vast network of volunteers from around the country and partnerships with various community outreach initiatives to assist survivors of natural disasters, committed to remodeling Burgin’s house

The home is one of six in the village, built in the 1920s to house employees of Beacon Manufacturing Co., currently in the process of renovation or completed by the nonprofit, which has constructed and remodeled homes since 2005, when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. The organization has worked to assist dozens of residents in Buncombe, McDowell and Avery Counties since Helene.

“We go in after disasters to help as many people as we can to get back into their homes, and then we build new ones for those who lost everything,” said Toni Ratcliff, volunteer coordinator and family partner for the Fuller Center who has remained in Western N.C since the storm.”

Restoring Burgin’s home was met with challenges from the beginning, according to Ratcliff.

“Even though we met him early on, we were delayed in starting on his home because this area was experiencing flooding from an underground spring in a nearby yard,” she said. “That was causing this yard to be covered in water and mud.”

The issue was exacerbated by a neighborhood-wide drainage issue, corrected Sept. 14, by local contractor Chonzie, Inc. and led by local nonprofit organization ReGroup WNC, which also covered the cost of repairing the plumbing and electrical infrastructure in the Burgin house.

Michael Burgin, one of many residents on Edwards Avenue in lower Beacon Village, stands in front of his home last April, as crews from Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders work to repair it. The Swannanoa resident celebrated his return, Sept. 18, in a home blessing ceremony attended by volunteers. Photo by Fred McCormick

“(Michael’s) story is all over the internet, he’s done multiple interviews, and I encourage you to go to savebeaconvillage.org, where you can see videos of his amazing story,” Ratcliff said.

Yet, Burgin’s concern for his neighbors and surrounding community while navigating the long path back to his home has been remarkable, she added.

“He wasn’t only thinking about himself, he was thinking mostly about everybody else,” Ratcliff said.

Burgin emerged as a de facto liaison for Beacon Village residents, pointing neighbors toward available resources and connecting the nonprofit organization with those in need of assistance.

“The reason we’re doing five houses on this street is because of this young man,” Ratcliff said.

Burgin moved back into the home nearly a month before the ceremony honoring the occasion, but the symbolic gesture of giving him the key was carried out by local Fuller Center volunteer Tom Piccirilli, who has logged around 1,000 hours of work in the neighborhood since last January.

“I was connected with Fuller Center, and Michael was the catalyst for that,” Piccirilli said.

The volunteer called Burgin “the eyes and ears of this neighborhood.”

“I’m just honored to be able to present this to you,” he said.

Burgin expressed humility and gratitude for the people working to assist Beacon Village residents in the wake of the tragedy.

“I’ve met volunteers, not only from all over the country, but all over the world,” he said. “I’ve met people from as far away as Scotland. It’s really humbling.”

Tom Piccirilli, left, presents Beacon Village resident Michael Burgin with a key to his home. Piccirilli, a community volunteer for Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders, credited Burgin with being the “eyes and ears” of the neighborhood that was devastated by Tropical Storm Helene. Photo by Fred McCormick

While Helene forced most residents along Edwards Avenue to leave in its immediate aftermath, the experience of surviving the devastating event bonds those working to return to the hamlet.

“I didn’t realize how great of a neighborhood we had until all of this happened,” Burgin said, steadying his emotions. “These are wonderful people. I am so grateful for so many people.”

The pastor of Black Mountain Presbyterian Church, which donated $400,000 to the Fuller Center to assist with its efforts in Beacon Village, called the opportunity to celebrate the family’s return a “gift” in her closing prayer.

“As we think about the future of this home, may we hear the laughter of children who will play in the yards, may we see the neighbors chatting about their day along the street and may we smell the burgers cooking on the grill on a beautiful Sunday afternoon,” Robinson said. “May this home be a refuge for those weathering the storms of life. May it be a source of pride and dignity, as citizens of the Swannanoa Valley rebuild their lives.”