09/26/2026
Love this sentiment by Mayor Joe Meek! Our city is truly resilient and special! We are so thankful to call Crystal River home!
One of my most memorable experiences as Mayor was on a run in the early morning exactly 2 years ago today. It was the day before Hurricane Helene was bearing down on Crystal River. An erie feeling had permeated the city and I had a gut feeling we were going to get hit particularly hard with this storm. Running down the Cross Town Trail I came up to our historic water tower and I took this picture. In an odd way I knew everything would be OK, regardless of how bad the storm would be.
In that moment, for me, the water tower represented our community's amazing resiliency, that makes it such a uniquely special place. Standing tall, proud and ready to face what comes our way. Hours after this picture was taken, over 9’ of storm surge would inundate our city, flooding hundreds of homes and businesses, many of which had just recovered from Hurricane Idalia just a year earlier. In the days, weeks and months after, what the people of this community did was nothing short of amazing. The grit, determination, and work put in to recover was awe inspiring. It is one of the many things I love about Crystal River, and why I feel so incredibly blessed to be the Mayor here. I keep this picture as a reminder of what a truly special place Crystal River and the people that live here are. Our future is bright, and we are blessed to live here. God Bless
