A St. Joseph woman who ended up on the Rolodex or call-sheet of virtually every major news network in the nation after firing up her Facebook account on her mobile phone to live-stream video from outside of the Berrien County Courthouse during Monday's third-floor attack has launched a full-tilt effort to be an agent for change throughout the region.
Gretta Volkenstein, who recently obtained a Masters of Social Work at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, and worked for two years as a Public Relations Assistant at WOMC Radio in Detroit nine years ago, happened onto the scene outside the courthouse back on Monday and began sharing the live video, only to be approached a few minutes later by CNN who put her on the air to tell her story. She later was approached by a broad spectrum of media from CBS Nightly News to ABC, NBC, Good Morning America, Fox News with Shephard Smith, the Today Show, the BBC and others for further details, although she had no first hand knowledge of what had actually transpired.
In the wake of the nationwide attention, Volkenstein is reaching out to the entire community hoping to encourage the region to become a beacon for hope in these times of violence, division and despair. She played a role in the blue ribbon campaign to line the community for the funerals of murdered Berrien County Court Bailiffs Joe Zangaro and Ron Kienzle, and has dispatched a letter detailing her appeal to a number of community leaders. She has shared it with me, and asked that I share it with you.
Here is the content of Volkenstein's appeal, shared verbatim:
The past few days I’ve been collaborating with local citizens and non-profit groups, such as micops.org to organize volunteers and get people fired up to show that despite this tragedy, Berrien County is strong and can be an example to the rest of the country of a community that has been affected by violence and is committed to rising above the problems we’ve had in the past. We are suffering together, Benton Harbor, St. Joe, all of Berrien County. We can use this terrible event to work together and show the country that our elected officials, citizens, religious leaders, business owners, and youth are ready to stand up and be the change that communities all over America need. It needs to start at a community level, and we have an opportunity right now to plant that seed!
I was right outside the courthouse when the shooting took place and shared a video of the scene on social media that went viral and was broadcast all over the world. I felt helpless and did what I thought was best to try to gather information and get people connected who were on lockdown inside, and those of us watching and waiting in panic on the outside. This week Berrien County has experienced something that we never expected to have happen, for many who live here this is our safe harbor, our haven that shelters us from the chaos happening all over the country and world. But it did happen here, and it affected this county at the core- those who lead our community and are here to protect us. For a brief moment, WE were the breaking news, all eyes were on us as we waited to find out who had done this.
The racial, religious and political tension in America is high these days, and when our tragedy didn’t fit that mold, the concern and attention quickly vanished. Between 3-5pm on Monday every major media network was calling me, emailing me, calling my friends and family to talk about what had happened and the video I took as I was trying to gather information from people inside the courthouse who were stuck inside. It shows me that our tragedy at the Courthouse would have been a big deal, huge news, if it would have had the racial or religious ties. I had media parked all along the street outside my house, and was asked to do interviews with CBS Nightly News, CNN, ABC, NBC Nightly News, Good Morning America, Fox News with Shepard Smith, Today Show, BBC, etc. When the word got out that the shooter was white and had killed two white officers, my phone went silent. Despite the horrifying events that took place in the courthouse- An active shooter trying to take hostages and escape, killing two officers and wounding another as well as a civilian. People hiding in the judges chambers, and running outside as they heard shots fired. It was terrifying, I heard the fear in the voices of the Courthouse employees who had just escaped and were standing next to me watching from across the street. We were told repeatedly that there was still an active shooter taking hostages. But as quickly as it appeared, the national concern for our community was gone as attention went back to Dallas and the racial/religious violence that is more newsworthy.
In the next days as we begin to recover my hope is that the fact that this wasn’t racially/politically/religiously motivated and that it did affect both the African-American and caucasian community in Berrien County is the one positive thing that may come out of this. Our community has struggled with racial, economic, and cultural division for years. In a way, we are a microcosm of a lot of areas in America. Let’s not let this opportunity slip by, we need to build the momentum and collaborate with the wonderful citizens and officials in Berrien County that are ready to help, ready to be an example of what is needed in America.
You, the leaders of this community, need to know how motivated our community is to take action and help right now. People are calling and messaging me all day asking how they can help, what they can donate. I am so proud of the love and empathy that is pouring out of the citizens of Berrien County, I am working as hard as I can to mobilize these people who desperately want to help and support this area that they love. But we need to work together to get people informed! I’ve created a page on Facebook- Berrien County Strong- Community In Action as a way to start connecting people to events such as tying the blue ribbons around town last night. If there are other websites or similar pages that are also working to connect people to volunteering opportunities and events in the area please let me know so I can spread the word.
People are coming up with great ideas for events in the coming weeks, such as organizing a Berrien County Community United walk or march from the Arts district in Benton Harbor to the Berrien County Courthouse. I’m going to go to local businesses and ask for donations for a gift basket for the families that have been affected. People are searching stores for more blue ribbons to tie up in St. Joe and Benton Harbor to show our solidarity. There are so many ways to build our community stronger than ever as we grieve and recover from this loss. I am happy to continue to coordinate and get the information out there to those who volunteer. It is important for you as the leaders in this community to know that the more information we can get out to the public as far as events and volunteer opportunities the better! The people are waiting to follow your lead!
Thank you for taking the time to read my message, I am just one voice but I am speaking for so many who are ready to plant a seed of change!
Sincerely,
Gretta Volkenstein
Here is the link to her newly created Facebook page:
