Save Craig Coyne from the Flood

ELLICOTT CITY JEWELER SAM COYNE NEEDS HELP TO REBUILD.

This past weeked on July 30th 6 inches of rain fell in 2 hours causing a flood that devastated downtown Ellicott City, Maryland, killing two people and destroying or damaging at least 25 buildings.

Craig Coyne Jewelers at 8133 Main Street, owned by Sam Coyne has been a part of the Ellicott City, MD communiy since 2000. Sam's business was just renovated a few years ago and has been a part of the beautiful historic town. The building was ravished Sat night it will take months to restore and as you can imagine there will be a great loss of income for Sam and his team of employees. 

As a small business owner myself I can not imagine the devastation. Insurance claims take months and there is NEVER a full recoup of income. 


Sam and I met years ago when he started carrying my jewelry line.  We quickly connected and as my best friend has a daughter with Autism I proposed we do a fundraiser in the store for the local Howard county Autism society.  Since then Sam's involvement has been donating items for silent auction at the annual gala and designing a puzzle piece pendant! He has been very generous to various commuinity causes that involve health, hunger, education and domestic violence issues. I feel it is time the community gives back to help him during this very tough time. "Pay it forward"

Here are a few photos of how the store once looked. Please help Sam restore his small business so he can once again be a positive part of the Ellicott City community.



ANY DONATION LARGE OR SMALL WILL HELP!


Thank you!!!


Thoughts from Sam....

Hi Lori, I put a few thoughts down. 

Josh and I were able to help three women, three dogs and a cat during the flood and we managed to cram them all into our little Chevy Cruze (Go Chevy!) and get them to high ground and to family. We had rubber soled work boots and could walk in the water without worry of being electrified. Together we did some good and I am happy about it.

Many buildings are about to collapse and we do not know if ours is one of them. I am worried the back of our building is washed away. I've been told it is gone, but our little rock of a building has survived it all before. Inspectors must enter each property to determine soundness of structure and foundation. Until then, no one can enter.

As an Historic Area I can't imagine the cost, time and energy to rebuild.

We have a very specific, predetermined protocol that we follow to ensure excessive levels of care, custody and control of jewelry left in with us. This flood tested even extreme measures and I am happy that our thoroughness has been rewarded. Our vault is intact, upright, and standing. All customer jewelry is in the vault and secure.

Access to the vault and jewelry is a problem and I am sorry that our disaster will cause others to suffer. People are without engagement rings, unable to propose. Couples will marry without wedding bands to commemorate the occasion. Others too will be without sentimental treasures for a long time.

For those less familiar with jewelry, water will not hurt silver, gold, platinum, diamonds and most gemstones. Opal and pearl are the most likely to be damaged. I am concerned about costly mechanical watches that we repaired but not delivered. They will need to be completely overhauled. Every professional courtesy and consideration has been offered and will be extended.

You may be surprised to learn that we have nearly eleven thousand customers and have been in Ellicott City for nearly seventeen years. Managing that much data is no small feat and we are well equipped to handle it. Remote connection failed during the flood. We back up and have a dedicated hard drive. Unfortunately, the hard drive was taken to the store on Saturday to prepare for the back up on Sunday morning. Every effort is being made to protect and recover the information. We may not be able to salvage the backup hard drive or our main computer. Customers will likely be asked to provide more information than normal to retrieve their valuables when the time comes.

Speculation is a dangerous thing. No one dares to guess a time frame. Some say months. Some say years. Time determines everything. I want to spend as much time together as we can. I am so proud of everyone, so impressed and emotionally moved. Strengths and weaknesses have blended to become a solution we can all stand behind.

Lastly, please don't worry about us. My team is strong and healthy and very capable. The network surrounding us provides stability in many ways.

Is it odd that I care so little about my own personal belongings when I've devoted my life to helping others with theirs? My life is nothing but a series of undulating emotions and now that a large wave has crashed I am looking forward to enjoying nice calm seas.

Very truly appreciatively yours,

Sam Coyne
President/Founder
Craig Coyne Jewelers, Inc.
8133 Main Street
Historic Ellicott City, MD 21043
410-480-2210