2008 CNN Hero Award Recipient
Founder and President, First Response Team of America
www.firstresponseteam.org
Tad Agoglia, founder of Disaster Recovery Solutions' First Response Team, surrounds himself with a broad range of experts in their respective fields. He works with these visionaries and strategists for development, identification and building of America's first self-sufficient national response team equipped with all the specialized heavy equipment and technology necessary for rapid and reliable disaster response. Under the leadership of Tad Agoglia, this team continually evaluates ways in which America's First Response Team can better provide assistance to the heroes of our great nation—our local first responders and humanitarian organizations—firefighters, law enforcement and American Red Cross volunteers.
Agoglia is not an independently wealthy man. Yet, he has reallocated all his company's profits to the humanitarian aid undertaken by the First Response Team. He has not taken a salary and lives on the road most nights of the year in order to provide this service to fellow Americans in need.
Agoglia's great grandfather was a shepherd from Italy who came to Brooklyn, NY in the early 1900s where he opened a mechanics shop. Tad's father, Joseph Rocco Agoglia, was an entrepreneurial businessman who ran a shelter on Long Island, NY, that offered refuge to young pregnant women who had been kicked out of their homes. "My dad is my hero. From him I inherited a strong work ethic and a heart for people."
As Tad looks forward to the development of this non-profit, he realizes that its promise lies beyond the scope of his remaining personal funds. He founded The First Response Team of America as a 501(c)(3) company to enable all who would join him to contribute to The Team in providing hope and help to our neighbors in crisis.
Living in a blessed country such as America, Tad is ever mindful of our abundant resources and believes we should put these resources and know-how to use. "So much of America's good will and heart is really Americans reaching out to our fellow men and women in what could be their greatest hour of need." Tad keeps The Team focused on identifying what kind of help they would want for their own families and communities. With that question answered, a plan is then put into action to deliver it rapidly and effectively to the community at large. With a respect and reverence for human life, the First Response Team is committed to responding to these recognized needs.
"Right after a disaster hits, there is a period of time when there isn't much help. A lot of agencies respond with food, water and nurses, but nobody shows up with this kind of equipment. If a tractor-trailer is blocking the road, I can pick it up and move it to the side in less than ten minutes."
After providing assistance to local government officials and first responders, Agoglia typically helps people who have no insurance or are under-insured, and he works free of charge. To subsidize his first-response services, he has worked for pay during the recovery stage at other disaster sites; typically a process that begins weeks after a storm strikes. He has been responding to storms immediately and free of charge since an F5 tornado leveled Greensburg, Kansas in May 2007 and will continue to do so for as long as he is able.
