GRIFFIN, Ga. — It was one year ago that people hid inside the Peterson's Funeral Home as tornadoes ripped through the area, causing a tree to fall on the building.
11Alive was there just hours afterward, speaking with the chief of staff, Ladamium Raines.
"Devastated. I was hurt. I couldn’t really think," recalled Raines.
Over the last year, Raines says they have worked to come back better than before. On Friday, they marked the one-year anniversary by holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony at their new location off Melrose Avenue.
With the help of the Griffin Spalding Chamber of Commerce, owners were able to find the location following months of operating out of partnering funeral homes.
“It’s very exciting that we are actually able to do our ribbon cutting a year after the big storm," Raines said.
Jessica O'Conner, the city manager for Griffin, said the Peterson's progress is just one example of many in the community working to rebuild.
“There’s a lot of new birth that has happened. A lot of revitalizations and this kind of all spurred that," O'Conner said.
O'Conner said that a lot of the revitalization efforts are within the residential areas, but there has also been new commercial construction, as well.
"Seventy percent of our damaged homes have been rebuilt, or homeowners have relocated," O'Conner said. "Hobby Lobby is expected to open later this year."
She said while she would never wish any city to endure what they have, it has made them stronger.
“I’m very proud of Griffin, and we’ve come a long way," O'Conner said. "And the storm is nothing that I would wish upon anyone, but we learned a lot from it. We’ve grown closer together because of it."