Beacon Village commemorates another blessing

Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders welcomes Swannanoa resident home

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
March 16, 2026

Zoye Gloria Miller, center, is welcomed back to her home, March 13, after volunteers from the Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders completed renovations related to flood damage from Helene. Photo by Fred McCormick

The emotions were, at times, overwhelming, March 13, when a crowd assembled around the front yard of a cottage on Edwards Avenue in Swannanoa.

As Zoye Gloria Miller became the latest Beacon Village resident to return to her home since Tropical Storm Helene, dozens of volunteers, friends and neighbors gathered to join Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders for a ceremony blessing the residence.

Miller was among the vast majority of residents on the street in the neighborhood, often referred to as Lower Beacon Village, displaced from their homes when the Swannanoa River rose to submerge U.S. 70 and nearly all of Edwards Avenue. At the highest flood stage, only the peaks of roofs along the small dead end street remained above the water.

While Miller was away during the storm, she returned to find her home and meticulously maintained yard destroyed. The homeowner was approached by Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders volunteer coordinator and family partner Toni Ratliff, who offered the assistance of the nonprofit organization, which began assisting area residents with flood mitigation hours after the storm.

“Her yard meant everything to her,” said Ratliff, as she delivered opening remarks during the home dedication. “She had planted everything herself, medicinal plants, flowers and all kinds of stuff. She had a white picket fence, and the whole yard looked immaculate. You could just tell how much she cared for it.”

The homeowner was unsure how to proceed after surveying the damage to her house, which had been completely under water.

“When she came back and saw the devastation, she didn’t know what she would do, who could help her or how she would recover. She looked around and saw the whole neighborhood looked like her house,” Ratliff said. “She never lost her faith, but she was losing hope.”

A crowd of volunteers gathers, March 13, on Edwards Avenue in Swannanoa to welcome Zoye Gloria Miller back to her home, which suffered extensive damage during Tropical Storm Helene. Photo by Fred McCormick

Fuller Center has reconstructed more than 20 homes in Buncombe, McDowell and Yancey Counties since the 2024 natural disaster, following efforts to rebuild hundreds of homes in eastern N.C., following Hurricane Florence in 2018. The organization leverages a network of volunteers while partnering with local nonprofits and other institutions, including ReGroup WNC, Black Mountain Presbyterian Church, the Montreat Conference Center, FEMA and N.C. Emergency Management to assist victims of natural disasters with rebuilding damaged or destroyed houses.

Due to the severity of the flood damage, drywall, insulation and flooring were removed from the interior of Miller’s home.

“The Mennonites who came last winter, replaced floor joists, reframed anything that was necessary and doing whatever was needed to do to put this house back together,” said Ratliff, motioning to attendees in the crowd. “Without you, we would not have been able to have the success we’ve had with so many of the homes on this street.”

Miller was presented with a Bible and handmade quilt to commemorate her homecoming, as volunteer Bill Garmoe offered a prayer.

“We ask you to bless this home, make it a place of safety, refuge and comfort again,” he said.

Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders volunteer Bill Garmoe presents Zoye Gloria Miller with a Bible, March 13, at a blessing ceremony for her Beacon Village home. Photo by Fred McCormick

Garmoe reflected on the symbolism of a bald eagle soaring overhead before the ceremony, referencing Isaiah 40:31, which promises renewed strength.

“As we bless this house, remember that, in spite of the floods and storm, the foundation stood solid,” he said. “The bones remained, and now the home has been rebuilt.”

Miller was held back tears as she addressed the gathering.

“I just want to thank everybody; you are all my blessing,” she said. “You are my family now. I pray for each of you, even if I don’t know your name.”

Miller’s home was the seventh on Edwards Avenue to be rebuilt since Helene, and the ninth in Beacon Village.

“If you’ve walked around this home while it was being remodeled, you would notice there are a lot of messages of hope and signatures of a lot of volunteers inside these walls,” Ratliff said. “So, it’s been blessed all along, but we’re happy to be here finishing this project with this ceremony today.”