Hurricane Sandy, the monster storm that hit the east coast at the end of October 2012, caused billions of dollars worth of damage to homes, businesses and lives. The catastrophic flooding, winds and power outages devastated areas in New York and Connecticut, with New Jersey taking the brunt of the storm. Entire neighborhoods were wiped out while the coastline has been changed forever. While many insurance companies have turned their backs on salons, we've heard that the maximum allowance from government aid is just $30,000.... hardly enough to replumb, let alone rebuild. However, our own PBA jumped in, offering to help out salons that applied for aid.

Modern stopped by to visit one of the salons, Shear Madness of Hoboken, NJ. The beautiful and tasteful salon on Park Avenue was flooded and semi-destroyed. Owner David Adair dusted sheet rock fragments off his shoulder and took Modern on a tour to show the progress in the 4 1/2 months since Sandy struck.

"The PBA was quite generous," says Adair of the gift that helped to jump start the rebuilding. "We've been going through quite a process. We were under 4 feet of water and there was no power. Debris was piled on sidewalks up to 6 feet high. I've been here everyday for 10 hours a day doing what we have to do to keep in business" While so much was destroyed, Adair is thrilled that some art and and handful of  accessories survived, balancing the old and the new.  "We are all rebuilding," he says, "and clients are returning."

We saw that first hand. While interviewing Adair, returning client Jeff listened to the story and then volunteered to hold the camera for the tour.

"I am grateful to so many," says Adair. "In our time of need it was the PBA that helped us out."

Rachel Molepske, PBA Manager of Leadership Operations, understands. "This assistance is so valuable in helping others get back on their feet," she says.  To date, the PBA has given out nearly $150k to vicitms of Sandy, nearly 150 people. The remaining donations, collected from fundraisers such as Hairdressers Helping Hairdressers (HHH), will remain available for the next natural disaster. (To learn more, donate and apply for aid, beauty professionals should visit probeauty.org/disaster-relief-fund.)

Meanwhile, Adair offers a final thought to other salon owners out there: "Be prepared. Have bullet proof insurance and still be prepared to fight for it. Our ten year anniversary is coming up in May and we're starting from scratch."

Join Adair on this tour and see how much he has accomplished since Sandy changed his salon forever.