CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The day WCNC Charlotte met Hans Hilgenstock, he was getting ready for his next trip to Germany.
“I'm leaving today for Germany for three weeks," he said.
Despite having not packed yet, he still spent an hour with WCNC Charlotte. And it was clear right away, he loved to socialize.
“I do a lot of texting and talk to people and get them together,” Hilgenstock said, adding “I have a quite a bit of connections.”
So much so, that he gathers people together multiple times a week. That includes on Wednesdays at Gilde Brewery to play cards and Fridays at Olde Mecklenburg Brewery to network and have some fun.
“It's just more fun to come together and have a good time together," he said.
The gatherings are also spreading via social media.
“I also post about these Friday events and so people see it and people say, 'Look, that's actually cool, I wanna be there. I don't know Hans but I wanna, I wanna be there,'" Hilgenstock said. "And it helped, we got people there I've never met before. They showed up, they looked for me, they asked for Hans and they said, 'That's Hans right there' and I'm the loudest. So you find me normally."
The social butterfly in him earned him a new title for his resume.
“So most people gave me the nickname, the Mayor of the German community," he said.
Hilgenstock is also using his social skills for more than just play. After hearing about the destruction in western North Carolina following Hurricane Helene, he knew he wanted to help.
“A former colleague of mine in Germany got a text message; I think it was WhatsApp, from her nephew who lives in Black Mountain and he basically asked for help," he said. "She couldn't reach him anymore. So she called me or pinged me on LinkedIn with a message, 'Hans, can you please go up there and make sure he's fine?'”
He reached out to his community for help. People donated $2,600 for supplies.
He filled up a truck and dropped everything in Black Mountain. But Hilgenstock quickly realized people needed more than supplies.
“Yes, they need water, yes, they need diapers, but they need muscles,” he said. “They need the muscles because they had to take all the mud out of the houses, get all the debris out of the houses, throw the TVs, pile them up.”
Hilgenstock quickly mobilized people to head up to the mountains.
“We went with 11 people to a place called Marshall, North Carolina.”
He said it was catastrophe.
“Yeah, words cannot describe it.”
He then dedicated himself and others to show up every Sunday.
“[The] next Sunday -- 22 people, more shovels, more wheelbarrows, brand new generators, everything, donations, everything," Hilgenstock recalled.
Each week, more and more people are joining Hilgenstock to help the people of western North Carolina. While he's been out of town for three weeks, he plans on going back up as soon as he gets back.
“I'm coming back Nov. 13," he said. "My wife knows already, Nov. 17, that Sunday, I'll be in the mountains.”