BOUTTE, La. (WGNO) — Barbershop owner Mark Guillory’s business, “Sidelines” barbershop in Boutte was damaged in Hurricane Ida, but that didn’t put him on the sidelines. Instead, this veteran stepped up to the front lines.
“I was out at Bridge Park in Luling, and the Army from Oklahoma was there. I gave them all free haircuts, like 44 members,” Mark explained.
Guillory has been in the Air Force for 20 years. He’s a soon-to-be-retired mechanic who works on F-15 jets. While working with other guardsmen during Ida, he decided to use another one of his talents: giving free haircuts.
“You make someone look good and they love it, so you instantly feel great about what you’re doing. I just wanted to help out,” said Guillory. “Just having a purpose, just making them feel as comfortable as I could — we are in Louisiana and we just take care of people.”
If you come to Sidelines barbershop and get a haircut, you’ll be spending about $30. Get this — he was giving all the guardsmen haircuts for free but could have brought in around $1500 for his services. He did all this while he was on duty.
“For me, it was very simple. That’s what I do every single day, so it was natural. There were down periods when I wasn’t doing anything, so let’s be proactive and help them out.”
Although Guillory doesn’t feel what he did was a big deal, others in his life do.
“It made me feel good,” said Pete Guilllory, Mark’s father. “It made me wish there were more people like him that go beyond the line in the sand and do the right thing in life.”
“You know what? It made a difference. It’s called morale and what Mark did was a morale booster,” added veteran Charlie Dalgo. “When it comes to helping veterans, veterans help veterans. With him, it’s not about himself; it’s about others.”
“I will remember it forever,” said Mark. “I met a lot of neat guys from all over the country.”
Cutting hair for his fellow military members, all to show this veteran truly cares.