Coconino Community College SBDC in Mississippi

Another Story

2005-10-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

I am awaiting some reports from my compadres in Mississippi to wrap up this blog. In the meantime, I received an e-mail from Tor Ostensen, a counselor from Ft. Myers, Florida who we visited with in Gulfport. Tor sent me his diary, and he and his group certainly saw significant more action than us. They also had less than favorable living conditions and did a great job assisting numerous clients despite all the inconveniences of their accommodations.

Part of Tor's diary incluled the following story (names were changed except for Maria Russell, who works for the Hancock Chamber of Commerce):

(Beginning of Tor's Diary Excerpt)

Dave and Maria Russell are newcomers to Bay St. Louis, having moved here only a year ago. One of the things that drew them here was the water, which, in the aftermath of the hurricane, is somewhat ironic. Boaters for many years, they bought a house in an area of town called Shoreline Park, and this is where they kept their 42’ trawler and their daughter Kate’s 27’ sailboat. What follows is an e-mail sent to Kate, who is serving with the 101st Airborne in Iraq, three days after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf coast.

Hi Kate,

Remember our neighbor on the corner, Jim? I think I have already mentioned that, in a previous life, he was one of those guys who drive all the special warfare craft for the Navy Seals. Anyway, he decided to ride out the hurricane, something that didn't surprise me when I heard it. Well, he got set for The Big One. Had his survival suit on, his scuba gear gathered, his 'abandon ship' bag packed, and waited for Katrina. Of course, she arrived with a vengeance and as we all know now, more than a 30' surge overtook Bay St. Louis.

The water rose well past the (14 foot) pilings and into the house. When it got up to about 5 feet, he decided to seek refuge in the attic. Within no time at all, the roof blew off and he must have gotten conked on the head because he was dazed. The house floated off the pilings and it was as if he was in a boat. The wind was blowing so hard that he couldn't see very well, but soon the top of a roof came into sight. He made a grab for it, but missed, and he continued floating.

All of a sudden, he spotted a mastless sailboat drifting towards him and he managed to climb into it. IT WAS MISS KATE !!! He found a couple of MREs and even a photograph of you and Steve. He has been living on her since Monday!

I don't know much more than that since Diana's satellite phone battery died, but evidently Miss Kate was his salvation. I have no idea where they ended up; on land somewhere, I guess. He told Diana that he planned on leaving tomorrow, for where I don't know.

Anyway, I just thought you would LOVE this story, and so would everyone that I cc'd. Like the subject says, it's a hurricane story that I thought would make you smile :)

The Russells and Jim knew each other enough to wave “Hey” (as they say here in the South), but that’s about it. What happened in the days and weeks following Katrina was to create a bond that would make them much more than just acquaintances.

Aboard Miss Kate, Jim had located a boat card listing an e-mail address for Kate, and as soon as he could, he wrote and told her what had happened. The e-mail address was an old one, but it was forwarded on to Maria and this began an almost daily exchange of messages between the Russells and Jim.

Jim told the Russells where they would be able to find the sailboat; it was aground nearly half a mile from where they lived. Unlike most sailboats, Miss Kate has a double-keel, which means that when she’s aground, she is solidly in place instead of listing one way or the other. Incredibly, she looked virtually unscathed by the whole ordeal. When Dave climbed aboard, he found the following journal left by Miss Kate’s most recent occupant:

From Jim's Diary:

To the Owners, Steve and Kate.

Thank you very much. Your boat saved my life. I jumped off of a roof to your boat around 8 a.m. Monday, 29 August. We hung up in various places along the way to here. Stopped here approximately 2 p.m. and I spent the night on board. You had battery power so I used both radios to gain information. I searched the boat for anything I could use to survive if it sank or crushed from all of the moving houses. I assembled what I could use and easily swim with in the event I needed to jump onto something else. When the water recedes, I will leave for my house at 4003 Kyushu Street to see what’s left. I escaped my attic when the roof blew off with only a Protec helmet, tag float vest, gloves, goggles, tennis shoes, and shorts. So I am taking your Hard Rock t-shirt, sunglasses, plus some supplies.

3 pack flares
Signal horn
Swim goggles & snorkel
Whistle
1 waterproof flashlight
2 safety snap hooks tether
1 ice pack cool medical
Plastic bags
Hand towel
Mr. Clean hand wipes
Flare gun
Flare gun with 3 flares
Abandon Ship bag
2 business cards

I will contact you through web board on card and/or mail when I get settled somewhere undetermined at this time. I will return/replace all I used.

I ate 2 MREs. I will secure your boat best I can and shut off all power before leaving.

I doubt using house and/or phone number good for one year. Mail address should be up in less than two months, so my e-mail will be the only quick contact at this time. I won’t be able to check it for about 3-5 days.

Don’t know where I will end up…Red Cross shelter, relatives in Tennessee, South Carolina, or a friend nearby who didn’t get washed out.

I hope you were not affected other than boat.

I have lost everything except what I am wearing. I don’t even have a driver’s license now. I left my truck in Wal-Mart parking lot in Waveland with some items, money, clothes, food, water, in case, but I estimate 30 foot storm surge I doubt it is safe either. Good luck. God bless.

30 August 2005

Steve and Kate,

I’m sorry but I had to use your boat for shelter a second night. I made my way to my house and found it gone. The pilings were still standing and a few belongings there, but following the debris pile to locate my important papers bag that was waterproof, but no luck.

I am going to spend ½ of the day looking and gathering my stuff and walk out by noon. As of last night, no one who drove back into the area to check their houses knew anything about shelters so I don’t know if I will return for a third night or not. I will be leaving most of the emergency equipment here when I leave because the water has receded. Again, thanks. – Jim Osborn

31 August 2005

Steve and Kate,

I stayed for a third night. Homeowners coming to check on house have told me there is a food/water distribution center in Waveland, but no shelters here locally. I spent part of the morning getting an old couple evacuated that stayed for the storm. Their health was deteriorating and I decided to strongly recommend that they leave ASAP. They thought they were seeing things.

A guy named Bill came through with truck checking out house and had supplies from North Hancock. He volunteered to take us.

I had more to do before I could go so I stayed another night. The word on the radio is they are closing all traffic to non-emergency vehicles on all highways from Louisiana to Alabama. So after making the trip to Waveland if that holds I will probably stay again instead of walking to South Carolina where my brother lives.

A note: There is an auto on/off operation of some equipment on your boat. I think it’s a bilge pump. I have secured every switch and it auto functions. Turns off/on every 7 minutes and lasts 2 seconds. Other than pulling battery cables I can’t stop it. You have been beached since a.m. hours Monday and it is still operating. I am going to be gone for about a week when I finally leave just to regroup and return with equipment and supplies for clean up. Thanks again, Jim.

In the days and weeks to follow, Jim and the Russells’ became more than just acquaintances. They became friends. On Friday, four days post-Katrina, Jim hitchhiked to Pensacola, where he called his brother in South Carolina and asked him to somehow, someway, get him a plane ticket out. By Saturday, Jim was in Anderson, SC, assessing his situation and figuring out what he needed to return to Bay St. Louis and begin rebuilding not only his house, but his life. He had lost what was probably the most important possession: a blue bag containing all of his important papers, including his drivers license, passport, papers needed to work overseas, etc. His sole intention was to return to Mississippi to recover and rebuild.

The only thing that Jim took from the sailboat was a business card belonging to its owner, Kate Russell. It listed an old e-mail address, but Jim didn’t know that. He wrote her and luckily, the message was forwarded to Kate’s mom by the new owner of Women Aboard. The Russells and Jim began corresponding by e-mail, and then on September 18, nearly three weeks after Hurricane Katrina, they met face to face in their neighborhood.

Jim’s appreciation was so obvious. He related the horrific experience of watching the water rising so fast that it was unbelievable. He said that it was as though he was in the middle of the ocean; he couldn’t see the roof tops; he couldn’t see the trees. And this was all in an area of houses built on 14’ pilings! He could only see water and white caps. Being able to feel his house lift off the pilings was surreal. For a short time he felt as though he was in a boat; that is, until the house flexed, the roof blew off, and he found himself in the water.

That is when Miss Kate appeared. He climbed aboard, only to see a large trawler bearing down on the small sailboat. Instinctively he grabbed for the tiller, suddenly realizing it was free and he was able to steer! He dodged the trawler (unbeknownst to him, also belonged to the Russells) and began a seven-hour ordeal of dealing with Katrina.

It is only after the fact that we know the winds were in excess of 150 mph and the storm surge surpassed 30-35 feet. Undoubtedly it was Jim naval experience, and a whole of adrenaline, that enabled him to endure what probably seemed a never-ending besiege.

When the winds finally died down and the storm had finally passed, he threw a line on an oak tree, and as the water subsided, he let out more and more line. Finally, thanks to Miss Kate’s double keel (characteristic of Westerly sailboats), it came to rest nicely on the muck.

Not surprisingly, Miss Kate sustained no damage, thanks to Jim’s experienced handling. He credits much of his good luck to the fact that the sailboat had no mast. If she had been complete, Jim believes that the boat would have gotten hung up on something—a tree, a power line, any large object floating out there.

Would he ride out a storm as big as Katrina obviously targeting this area again? No way, Jim says. As does everyone in this part of the Gulf coast realizes now, Mother Nature has more punch than anyone can imagine and she certainly deserves to be revered. Before, Hurricane Camille, which struck in 1969, was the benchmark. But, in a year of unprecedented storms, 2005 will go down in the books as history making. Finally, the “Big One” struck.

(End Of Tor's Diary Excerpt)

Tor, thanks for sharing this amazing story with us!

Guest Commentary -- From Odee Ingersoll

2005-10-06T12:50:00.000-07:00

Today is Thursday and our time in South Central Mississippi is winding down. The remaining members of our group will all return home to our families on Saturday as Rick has already done. Until now, Rick has had the responsibility of reporting our daily events and interactions, both with clients and with each other. I thought it might be interesting to offer Rick and his reader’s commentary from another member of the group.

First, Rick’s absence has been immediately felt as has Craig’s. While we have been able to spread out the client contacts effectively, we have been together long enough that during the last two days, each of us have walked by Rick’s “cubical” and glance in, expecting to see him and disappointed that we did not. After work and during our down time, we miss both his wit and his serious expression… sometimes too serious . Rick has already reported on our Wednesday activities from his conversation with Patrick, so I’ll skip that. I would note that I’ve heard John has reported on some of our late Tuesday exploits and would say that none of my colleges were in immediate danger from my driving regardless of the claims they may have made – at least no more than when riding with Carlos.

It’s clear that the people of this region need the services that agencies like the SBDC and SBA are trying to deliver effectively through the region we have seen. Most are individual business owners with few larger industries present. The ability of Mississippi and programs like SBDC to keep these businesses in place is critical to the long-term ability of this area to recover and move forward. This is very apparent when you drive through the downtown area and see empty store again and again in an area that would be thriving with niche businesses if it were in a destination community or had mountains as a back-drop. This area cannot afford to lose one business and must not be allowed to lose hundreds or thousands. Yet I think each of us came here with various expectations of what we might find and how our skills might be utilized. Both Patrick and I brought jeans and even gloves expecting to spend our “off-time” working in various other ways to provide help – clearing debris, working at a Red Cross or some thing else. Our location away from the coast has made such additional out reach un-necessary or at least un-available to us. In the end, I know that each person we have assisted, face by face will have benefited from our time here, and our individual state SBDC programs and universities are to be commended for their support and willingness to reach out.

Regarding Rick’s departure, I would like to note that it was not a right-wing conspiracy that prompted his earlier than planned departure – despite his previous description of our friendly give and take. Rick remains a valuable member of our group and with in a few short days became a friend to each of us. Each of us would have liked to have spent more time with him, and I know that every person Rick worked with benefited from his experience and his desire to help them through this difficult time. However, as a group we believed that we could handle the existing or forecasted client demand, and wanted him to save what he could of his personal time to be used with his family. Rick has much to offer the people of the Flagstaff area as he demonstrated time and again here with us in Mississippi.

Personally, what I admired most about Rick was his heartfelt desire to see the lives of people made better – and the love we both share for our individual families. As hard as it is to see the destruction left behind in the wake of Katrina, it was similarly difficult to watch Rick look over devastated areas of the gulf and see the expression of anguish and sadness bourn across his face - for those who had lost so much. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family, and I look forward to a date in the near future when I will be able to again share time and stories with Rick - and maybe a few passionately held points of view.

He will also be impressed that I actually went out and purchased the “notebook” that he has referenced previously - as pictured below - so that I could record the wisdom and recommendations that my colleges have provided to me regarding music, movies, and all things important to the quality of life… now if I can just remember all of them

Rick, your time here was worthwhile and necessary, and I appreciate your sacrifice to have come to Mississippi. Be well my friend, and God bless you and your family in all you do. I look forward to our next meeting.

Odee (a.k.a. Mr. Incredible)

More Notes From the Field

2005-10-06T11:04:00.000-07:00

John Rainey just sent me an e-mail from the field...below are some highlights:

Wednesday was a very productive day for the group, with the 4 gentleman providing direct assistance to over 20 clients...I had some of the locations wrong...Odee & Patrick were in Columbia, Carlos was in Prentiss and John was in Hattiesburg.

John noted that Sam Kindrick from Hancock Bank helped him redraft a Promissory Note for a client involved in the dairy industry...the client received an on the spot loan from an association and the Promissory Note they provided was a bit confusing to the client (and us as well). John told me on Tuesday that he would try to get Hancock Bank to help him restructure the note...I thought it would never happen...but John worked his magic and Mr. Kindrick and his wonderful staff were very helpful in getting this done for the client. Kudos again to Hancock Bank and all they are doing to help.

Some winding down time was spent watching the Red Sox lose (John is inconsolable) and they caught a movie. Good times were had by all and it is good to see that the entertainment committee is still hard at work ensuring any down time is being used productively for boosts in morale.

John notes that everyone is pretty tired and ready to go home and see family. He wants me to add a special thanks to all the chamber people who have been so helpful and supportive of us. I can think of Debbie at the Petal Chamber of Commerce, Marie and Betty in Collins and Angela in Columbia. My apologies for not getting the name of the Waynesboro and Prentiss chamber directors...more thanks to come!

John also notes, "In restrospect I believe our group setup the model for the future visiting counselors and we should be very proud of the work of the Six Musketeers. I estimate we worked with between 120 and 150 people."

Please set two extra glasses at the dinner table tonight for Craig and I and clink them as I propose a toast to the Six Musketeers and add a big "cheers" to that comment.

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

2005-10-06T07:58:00.000-07:00

I have made it back to Flagstaff and I am home with my family. Of course, I am filled with joy at being reunited with my wife and children, but I have to admit that I feel that there is so much more to do in Mississippi and I wish I could contribute more to the efforts there.

I recently spoke with Patrick to get an update on their operations. Yesterday, they spent time in Columbia, Hattiesburg and Petal and saw a large client load. Wednesday evening they held an open house at the church in Columbia for non-profit organizations who needed assistance dealing with the impacts of the disaster. They had over 25 attendees. Church groups especially are expending so much of their available resources to assist with disaster relief, yet they are also faced with drops in donations as many of their congregations are economically impacted. While their mission is assistance, they still have the financial responsibility to live within their means to ensure solvent operations in the future.

Patrick noted that there was quite a bit of complaints about government efforts and how people are still not being reached who need assistance. Often in situations like this, there are instances of bureaucratic red tape, fraud or sometimes just plain incompetence that keeps aid from going where it is needed most. For non-profit groups with limited resources, watching well funded aid agencies bungle relief efforts is just a very frustrating experience.

Today (Thursday), Patrick and Carlos are in Collins, which was one of my favorite places for counseling during my stay there. I am hoping that some of my clients return with their completed packages for them to mail off. Odee and John are working out of Columbia, where they have a good deal of appointments lined up for the day. I look forward to get a debriefing from them later.

I would like to add some more thanks to those who have made this all possible. At the top of the list is Mike Lainoff, my direct supervisor, Miriam Eber, Associate State Director of the AZ SBDC Network and Mike York, State Director of the AZ SBDC Network. I also appreciate the assistance of Donna Ettenson from the ASBDC and my good friend Diane, also with the ASBDC, who provided so much inspiration when we were discussing the need for assistance at the conference in Baltimore. I would also like to thank Jami Bradley and Dr. Thomas Jordan, VP and President and all of the staff at Coconino Community College for supporting my travel. I have only been at the college for a few months and the kind words I have received from my coworkers have really made me feel like part of the community here.

Most of all, I want to again express my sincere gratitude to John, Odee, Patrick, Carlos and Craig for being my surrogate family during my stay in Mississippi. I was expecting to have a rewarding experience when I volunteered, after hearing from Scott Daugherty, Chair of the ASBDC and State Director of the North Carolina SBTDC. But I did not expect to have such a good time and feel so at home, staying in a church with 5 people who I have never met before. The time we spent together was rewarding from both personal and professional development perspectives. I can only hope that others who volunteer for these assignments receive the same rewards that I have.

I am adding a few more picture below taken by various members of our team.

This boat was left stranded in downtown Gulfport

A former house in Bay St. Louis

Heading Home

2005-10-05T06:05:00.000-07:00

Our tour of duty in Mississippi is winding down. Yesterday, Craig finished his last appointment and headed back to Chatanooga. I began my travels back to Flagstaff. Carlos, Patrick, John and Odee remain in Columbia and I will be contacting them today to get a report on their journeys.

Yesterday, before leaving, we had to move our main office from the Hattiesburg Convention Center to Hancock Bank. Hancock Bank was gracious to let us set up shop in one of their conference rooms and I have added them as a sponser. Special thanks to Benny Waddle and Terri Phillips for being such accommodating hosts. Please remember to view links to our sponsors, as I can't thank them enough for supporting our efforts.

Unfortunately, there are always some snafus in transition and our crew has yet to be able to hook up to the internet. If you are from their home states and not hearing as much from our team members, it is probably due to this lack of connectivity. Hopefully that situation will be fixed today.

On Tuesday, John and Carlos were busy moving the base of operations and scheduling some appointments. John, wheeling and dealing as always, made some connections to help a dairy farmer with an interim lending program that is providing immediate loss assistance until the SBA or insurance companies sort things out. In addition, John and Ken Dupre were busy on the phone contacting other Chambers of Commerce and setting up appointments for the rest of the week. Odee and Patrick went over to the Petal Chamber of Commerce and were very busy meeting new clients. I hope to get a report from them later with more details.

Ken Dupre -- honorary Musketeer

I am awaiting a brief bio on Ken Dupre. Ken is a counselor at the Jones Community Junior College SBDC and our main point of contact in Mississippi. He has been running around like crazy trying to sort through all sorts of information, assistance requests and accommodation coordinating duties to make our stay as comfortable as possible. He is an honorary Musketeer and his personality lends himself to being a full blooded member of our team...but you have to spend a night on an air matress at the church in Columbia to earn that dubious honor. Ken also owns a coffee shop/cafe in Laurel, Mississippi and I regret that I was not able to check out his establishment before leaving. I know that he has a wonderful wife, who is a publisher for the newspaper in Laurel and three beautiful children...two of his daughters are soccer stars tearing up the fields in the Laurel vicinity and his son, at three, is a superstar in training.

Back To Work

2005-10-04T17:15:00.000-07:00

After a day of touring the Gulf Coast, we began our second week of work in Mississippi. This week, we were scheduled to cover the communities of Columbia, Petal, Hattiesburg, Collins, Prentiss and Waynesboro.

Carlos and I began the day at the Petal Chamber of Commerce and Civic Center. Petal is just adjacent to Hattiesburg. We couldn’t understand why we were manning a center so close to Hattiesburg, but one resident we met from Petal noted, “Petal is just five miles from Hattiesburg, but 100 years apart.” As we drove through the downtown area, many homes and businesses were completely destroyed from the storm. The damage looked to be tornado related, as there are swaths of complete devastation, yet also areas that seemed relatively unscathed.

Craig went to Waynesboro, Odee & Patrick manned the Convention Center in Hattiesburg and John went to the Chamber of Commerce in Columbia, fairly close to the church where we are being housed. John had a good amount of activity today at his location and he reported that many of the businesses he had were seeking assistance for the economic impact from the loss of power and also from the curfews that were imposed after the storm. This is the first time we encountered this issue. Once the storm passed through, many local communities imposed curfews from dawn to dusk to help minimize the looting. For businesses like bars, bowling alleys, pool halls and convenience stores, this can pose a serious economic impact on their businesses.

After debriefing for the day, the common theme was business assistance counseling rather than loan packaging assistance. Each of our contacts is facing unique challenges from this storm and it is hard for us to put a finger on how the SBA will respond to some of the Economic Impact loan applications. Furthermore, we are concerned about follow up counseling our clients will need once hearing back from the SBA. We will all be gone next week and other counselors will have to take over these files. Will they provide the same level of business counseling that we did or will they think their role is only in providing loan packaging assistance?

Continually, we find that basic business counseling is a deeper need to our clients and loan packaging is the least of their worries. Few are prepared to take on debt at a time like this. They want to rebuild, but they need the money fast and there are no assurances that their customers can wait as long as it takes for the SBA to process their loan. It creates a gentrification process in the local small business communities. As with many instances of renewal, the people with the deeper pockets have the ability to move faster and gain market share or capitalize on the temporary new market demands. They can withstand temporary losses in situations where customer bases have been reduced and they can leverage assets to rebuild or replace damaged inventory. Many marginal small business owners won’t be able to keep pace with them, as they wait for an insurance adjuster or SBA loan officer to make a decision that may take months and ultimately decide their fate. In some cases, “he who hesitates is lost” is a true maxim. But on the other hand, from a business counselor perspective, we don’t want our clients making rash decisions to borrow money, especially without projecting future cash flow with the drastic changes to the marketplace that this disaster has caused. Catch-22 situations are common to our clients and it is frustrating to see so many with plenty of opportunities, but with little access to quick financing or insurance settlements to capitalize on those opportunities.

We have already heard from some clients that were on the cusp of success, or just at the beginning stages of their business, who will probably not be able to recover from the interruptions to their business generated by this storm or from the uninsured damages they incurred. The tragic stories of opportunity lost pile up everyday.

Another thing that Patrick noted to me in passing commentary is the complete lack of media coverage of the issues facing Mississippi. We see the Mayor of New Orleans, the Louisiana Governor and discussion of the rebuilding efforts in New Orleans on the news all the time, but Mississippi is not receiving any attention. It is apparent that hundreds of thousands of people in this state have been affected by the fury of Katrina, but the news coverage is almost non-existent. For some reason, the media does not see the same drama that we are encountering everyday. One does not have to go far to find a heartbreaking story here in Mississippi. We can’t put a personal face on the stories we tell because of client confidentiality agreements, but I am sure a lot of people here would bare their souls to the media, if given that opportunity.

In light of the fact that I am adding quite a bit of editorial commentary to this blog, I would like to note that not all of my colleagues share my opinions or assessments of the situations on the ground. As I noted earlier, we are a very diverse group and we have engaged in some interesting debates in our times together. In the end, we all seem to respect each others opinions, even though we do not always agree. I would like to provide a little more background on our teammates, especially now that many of them have shared this blog with their friends and family. I provide another disclaimer that this is being posted without their approval for editorial content.

Odee -- the cheesey grin is due to the fact that Nebraska beat Iowa State

I will start with Odee Ingersoll, since he is the main thorn in my side and my arch nemesis in debates. During conversations, he continually needles me for my liberal views. Odee is from Kearney, Nebraska. He has been Director of the Nebraska Business Development Center at the University of Nebraska Kearney for the past five years. He used to own a hotel, restaurant and numerous other small businesses. He appears to have quite a few coals in the fire back in Nebraska and I am amazed by his knowledge of so many different types of businesses. Listening to him deal with clients, his expertise in small business is apparent, but equally important is his ability to communicate at levels the clients can understand. On the more personal side, Odee expresses very conservative views in our discussions and seems to enjoy a good debate (especially when he lambastes us mealy mouthed liberals). I designated him as one of the group leaders and he tells me that he is not accepting that label. But leadership is not something you can just shirk and anyone who displays the intelligence, confidence and conviction to do what is right, such as Odee does, can’t help but gain stature as a leader. He is a large man who can be intimidating at times, with his piercing gazes and his deep, made for radio, voice. His sense of humor is mostly satirical in nature and he grasps every opportunity he can to take a good natured jab at any one of us in the group. Probably the most endearing quality that I see in Odee is listening to him discuss his family. His genuine love for his wife and four children can be seen in his eyes every time he mentions one of them in conversation. He was heartbroken that he missed his youngest son’s birthday and he will use comments like, “my daughter gives me a look that melts my heart like butter every time I see her” in casual conversation. He loves music and I enjoy the playlists that he has loaded on his computer. One funny note about Odee is the rent-a-car that he ended up with down here. He has a little, beat-up, Chevy Metro that shudders every time he gets over 55 MPH. For those who have children, picture the movie, “The Incredibles” and Mr. Incredible cramped in his little family car…that is Odee in his little rent-a-car.

John, obviously working out some deal.

John Rainey is the elder statesman in our group and other designated leader. John is an SBDC Director at Clark University and I had the opportunity to sit in on a course that he taught at the national ASBDC conference in Baltimore. As I noted earlier, my sister graduated from Clark University, so I am somewhat familiar with his stomping grounds in Worcester, Massachusetts. John has a wealth of experience and has over 25 years experience in corporate accounting and finance. He has also done a fair amount of teaching, and having seen him in action, he has an infectious enthusiasm that I am sure is helpful in engaging his students in whatever the subject matter may be…especially in boring topics such as finance and accounting.

At first I thought I would have a semi-liberal ally in John, but luck would have it, he is part of the small minority of New England dwellers who is very conservative politically. Aside from being our social director, John also has the ability to schmooze and win favors wherever we go. The rest of us just take a back seat and let John work his magic as we venture to these different centers and make new contacts. When dealing with clients, John makes new lifetime friends and I wouldn’t be surprised if some to his contacts continue to call him for business advice well into the future.

John has also shares many stories of his wife, Maureen, and two children, Sharon and Johnny. While we have been able to get many of the Red Sox games on TV at our unofficial office at Buffalo Wild Wings, we can count on John’s family to give us inning by inning updates on the occasions that the games are not covered on the local cable stations down here.

Carlos - Don't let the picture fool you...he is not always this serious.

Carlos Cardenas is the Associate Director of the SBDC at Florida Atlantic University. Carlos grew up in Cuba and moved to the United States in 1995. He received his MBA from Rutgers University (my alma mater) and has held management positions at a telecommunications company that exported components to Latin America and he also worked for a food wholesaler involved in exports to Latin America. He owned his own insurance company for a few years, but had to close his business not long after the tragedy of 9/11/01. He then took his position with the SBDC.

Carlos is the only single member of our contingency and the best looking guy in our bunch (see girls, all the good ones aren’t taken). He is very easy going and has great stories to tell. He only learned English ten years ago and he notes how it was a struggle for him at first, as he loves to talk and it took him a while to feel comfortable in conversation. Luckily for us, he has become an expert conversationalist in English and he keeps us entertained every night. He has been one of my main chauffeurs during this trip and the only time he is not easy going is when he is driving. He gets a real short temper while driving through the unexpected traffic jams we encounter everyday in Hattiesburg and Patrick and I were in stitches yesterday watching Carlos in an intense stare down with a local woman in a pick up truck who cut us off.

Carlos also engages in our political conversations and I have a hard time pegging him either a liberal or a conservative. But I can also not label him a moderate, as he expresses a passionate argument for some liberal points of view and equally passionate arguments for conservative points of view. Whatever the case, he is extremely intelligent and always fun to be around.

Carlos has obviously found himself at home in Miami, FL. Throughout our travels, he often reminds us of how much he loves that city, the restaurants and the beaches. We can tell he is homesick and I hope to have the opportunity to meet up with him at his stomping grounds someday.

Patrick - Don't let the picture fool you...he is not always smiling like this.

Patrick Sullivan is the baby of our group and Director at the Los Alamos SBDC, which is aligned with the Los Alamos Commerce & Development Corporation. Patrick grew up in the Dallas area and has been working with the SBDC for a few years after receiving his MBA and spending some time in the banking industry. He has a pretty liberal outlook on things and has plenty of stories to tell about the local flavor in Los Alamos and many other topics that keeps the laughter at the table going.

For a young man, he is extremely well read and, much to Odee’s chagrin, knows more about classic movies, music and television shows than any of us. Odee continually talks about getting a notebook to catalog the wealth of information that Patrick has for us.

He appears to be taking a larger client load than any of us and his demeanor with his client’s is a textbook example of how to make the client comfortable and be an active listener before providing any input. His enthusiasm for SBDC counseling is apparent and he has many interesting opinions on how to improve the network. Hopefully, he will work himself into a position of influence in the near future, as he has displayed excellent organizational skills in helping us coordinate things and he is always the voice of reason when our discussions move towards the emotional side. When conversing with Patrick it is interesting to note how he can be completely, deadpan serious one second, and the next just say something that has us rolling on the floor in laughter. I also caught him singing along to some radio songs on the way back to the church from Hattiesburg one day and he actually has a nice singing voice.

Patrick is a newlywed by our standards and tells proud stories about his wife, Erica, and their two dogs (the smart one and the dumb one). Patrick has been telling us about his plans to go to Europe with his wife in the near future and we are all envious of his adventures ahead.

Dr. Craig Harston is the final member of our bunch. Craig is a bit of an enigma to me and I really did not get a chance to know him as well as the other gentlemen. He spent a few nights out camping, as he took on some of the more difficult to reach assignments and upon his return, he got food poisoning from some local fare (future SBDC counselors…check with Ken Dupre or Reverend Montgomery before trying a local eatery).

His background is in the psychology and he continues to own a research based small business. I know he has seven children with a huge gap in ages, but I did not spend enough time chatting with him to provide any details. We all marvel at his planning for this trip (he drove down from Tennessee) and he seems to be prepared for anything that may happen. Last Sunday, his car had a flat tire and we all marveled at how his had the tire repair kit and compressor and he went about fixing his own flat tire. Jeff Gordon’s pit crew does not have to worry about him taking anyone’s job, but he was very efficient and precise in getting the job done.

I have had the opportunity to watch Craig interact with clients and he is very helpful and he also has this fatherly, comforting side that I think his contacts appreciate. On our very first day in town, he was probably dealing with one of our most emotionally challenging clients, as this gentleman had significant damage to his business from Katrina and then lost two close relatives from Hurricane Rita. Yet Craig was able to get him through the loan paperwork and console him at the same time.

Visiting the Gulf

2005-10-02T18:28:00.000-07:00

Today we were tourists, traveling to the Gulf Coast to see what it looks like in some of the waterfront communities. First, we traveled to the town of Gulfport and met up with Don Fisher of the Mississippi SBDC. Working with Don were visiting counselors, Tor Ostensen, Ft. Meyers, FL; Peter Tulk; Saint Vincent College (PA) SBDC and Camilo Lopez, Miami, FL (from the same SBDC as our comrade, Carlos).

(From left: Camilo, Don, Patrick, John, Carlos, Tor, Peter, Craig & Rick -- Photo by Odee)
On the way to Gulfport, the damage became more and more severe. There are train tracks that run parallel to the Gulf Coast about 15 blocks from the shore. Just south of those train tracks, the area is closed and checkpoints are still manned by Gulfport Police and National Guard Units.

Almost everything south of tracks is completely devastated. A month after the Hurricane, they are still in the clean-up stages and the rebuilding effort has not even begun. About 35 blocks north of the tracks, most businesses have sustained some damage, but the restaurants, hotels, hardware stores, drug stores and gas stations were back in business. Everything else seemed to be boarded up. For the businesses that were open, there were help wanted signs everywhere. Every fast food place, restaurant and open store seemed to be filled with people. Any shopping center that was closed to the damage of the storm had their parking lots filled with tent cities, or in some cases, mobile emergency services bases. There was evidence of Red Cross, FEMA and National Guard assistance in many of these areas. A number of insurance companies had emergency assistance centers set up and there were signs for disaster assistance everywhere. Wherever we passed an apparent assistance distribution center, there were lines of people waiting for aid. Again, this is over one month since the hurricane hit.

After touring Gulfport, we headed about 30 miles west to Bay Saint Louis. This is where we saw the greatest damage from the storm in Mississippi. Cars were thrown along the side of the road from the powerful storm surge. A bridge over the bay was completely washed away and a section of railroad tracks was warped from this same surge. Whole blocks of houses were completely swept away, leaving nothing but piles of rubble strewn across the foundations. As we walked around, the inhabitants of the houses spray painted notes so their neighbors, friends and/or relatives would know that they survived the storm.
(This used to be a house...obviously, their insurance came through for them.)

(Notice the house blown onto the train tracks...the rail bed was warped for two miles by the storm surge)

(This used to be a bridge across the bay...when you see the torn concrete, rebar and asphalt up close, you can start to get a grasp of the fury of this storm)
The magnitude of the damage is unfathomable and I can’t help but to wonder how some of these people will be able to pull their lives back together. While walking by one of the houses in Bay St. Louis, I notice remnants of children’s toys sitting among the wreckage. Someone placed a toy soldier on the steps that led to a pile of rubble that was once a family home. I try to remember my childhood and imagine how I would react if all of my toys were suddenly taken away from me.

Looking at all the tents in the Gulf region and all the filled hotels all the way up to Jackson (over 100 miles north of the coast), I wonder when these families will be able to resume some sense of normalcy in their lives. It is heartbreaking to see so much damage and so much need.
As I noted earlier, we saw the Red Cross, church groups and countless other volunteers making a difference down here. The people that we met cleaning up their yards and such seemed friendly and there were "Thank Y'All" signs throughout the area and many who have lost their homes have put up American flags and other signs of survival. I know we will hear stories about what went wrong and investigative reports will find stories where aid may not meet its intended purpose. But things are happening on the ground here. There are definite signs of hope.

A Weekend in Mississippi

2005-10-01T07:30:00.000-07:00

Today we are all working at the Hattiesburg Center. Remnants of the difficulties from the storm are still very apparent...today in the form of a sewer system back-up that makes our office must less comfortable than usual. We are not expecting too much of a client load, so we have decided to work in shifts and during our off times go to the Laundromat to wash some clothes. Later in the day, we plan on setting up our office at Buffalo Wild Wings so Odee can catch the Cornhuskers, John can watch the Red Sox and Patrick can check out Texas Tech (although he is pretty sure he will be finding the game on streaming internet radio). Rutgers took down Pitt last night, so I am covered for the day and will probably just eat too much and enjoy the fellowship of our team.

I can't express enough the value of networking with other center directors. This morning, Odee shared a success story about one of his client's in Nebraska who had trouble achieving financing for their business. They had a strong business plan, good personal financial statements, yet they were turned down by their local bank for financing. So they went to about 20 businesses in the same industry within a 50 mile radius and wrote checks for all of their transactions. When they received the cancelled checks, they looked at the endorsements on the back and approached those banks for financing. They were financed the next month.

All of us have over 30 years of SBDC experience and client contacts, that makes for very interesting conversation. You just can't get information like this from text books or resource guides. Plus, all of us have a sense of humor, which makes the educational lessons more enjoyable.

Tomorrow we are heading down to Biloxi. Yesterday, Carlos and I made a contact with the sister of a prominent person in Biloxi, so we have someone to take us to where help is needed most. She told us the city is completely devastated and they have had a hard time getting aid agencies to get even basic relief to that area. According to her, there is a strong resentment in Biloxi in regards to the aid agencies and the attention that region has received compared to New Orleans. As she put it, "New Orleans is still underwater and everybody is focusing on relief there...what for? Most people aren't there anymore. Biloxi, the flooding is gone and the people there can't get food, water, supplies. Why aren't the aid agencies coming here? The only groups that have been helping us are the churches and the Salvation Army."

Please note, this is the sentiment of one person at this time. It does necessarily mean it depicts the actual situation and I will report further after meeting with some other people in the area. Again, I would like to provide the disclaimer that I do not want to disparage any particular agency. But I do want to try to capture the "mood" of the people with whom we meet here.

A Day in Covington

2005-09-30T15:44:00.000-07:00

As noted below, today Carlos and I were assigned to Covington County, about 25 miles north of our “headquarters” in Hattiesburg. On the trip to Collins, there were some areas where remnants of the storm damage are glaringly apparent. Plenty of 60 foot or larger trees are completely uprooted or snapped into pieces. Some roadside business and houses are completely ripped apart and debris of all sorts is scattered about open fields.

Pulling into Collins, we are reminded often on billboards and signs of their favorite son, Gerald McRaney of television fame (Major Dad, Simon & Simon, Promised Land…married to actress Delta Burke). We turned right on Gerald McRaney Street to reach the Covington County Chamber of Commerce, where Betty Hollingsworth was filling in for Mrs. Shoemake. Ms. Hollingsworth was so helpful in arranging our appointments and finding us some odds and ends that we needed. I had some time to chat with her at lunch time and she just had wonderful stories to tell. We have a number of appointments set up for today, and in the first hour of our arrival, we received many calls for information and scheduled some appointments for next week.

In between appointments, I walked across the street to check out the Collins Cemetery. Reading the headstones, it is apparent that this is a long standing, close-knit community. In the small section that I viewed, there were family plots with birthdates that date back to the early 19th century. The houses in this neighborhood are quaint and nicely maintained, with the exception of neat piles of storm related debris that is still awaiting disposal. I had the opportunity to take a quick tour of the Okatoma River, after passing through the nice downtown center of Collins. This small river is obviously a strong contributor to the economy in a series of small towns in Covington county, judging by the number of canoe rental businesses and campgrounds in this vicinity.

Our client load today was steady and Carlos and I worked with some very friendly people who have suffered significant physical and economic damages from the storm. We obviously had a different group than they had yesterday. Most of our clients were very appreciative of our services and appeared much less emotional than those who we met at the Hattiesburg center. Our contacts today had a very positive outlook towards their future, despite having what seemed to be serious storm related impacts. The locals here just seem to have a country sensibility that is very refreshing. Sure, they are effected by the damage and they have suffered some significant hardships, but they aren’t going to let it stop them moving forward towards success in the future.

We also met with a FEMA representative today. There are going to be a series of grants administered in the near future and FEMA has recommended that a prerequisite for any grant request will be a declination of financing from the SBA. Once word of this gets out, we can expect our client load to increase significantly.

More From Our Team

2005-09-30T06:40:00.000-07:00

Today I will be going to Collins to the Covington County Chamber of Commerce office, which is where Odee and John went yesterday. When they arrived, no clients were there to greet them, but the Chamber Executive Director, Marie Shoemake, made some phone calls letting her community know that there was some assistance available and the clients started filing in to the office.

Upon returning, they filled me in some more details of the trip. If you scroll down and look at the previous pictures I posted of the storm coming into Mississippi, you can see some funnel clouds dropping to the ground. As they explained it, in Collins, a swath of the community was completely obliterated, apparently from a tornado that dropped down from the storm. There is a thirteen mile stretch of creek, a major component of some of their clients businesses that is completely filled with trees and other debris. Not only is this posing an immediate economic impact, the natural damning of that water way is creating a vulnerability to the community from future storms, in effect creating a new flood plain.

Odee and John noted that they had a significant number of agricultural and outdoor recreation businesses. It is already a fairly poor region of the state and many of their clients are struggling to keep food on the table. In addition to the farmers losing some of their livelihood from the hurricane, they are suffering further economic damages by making sure their neighbors have enough to eat. This goodwill among neighbors is common in close knit communities and certainly shines a ray of sunshine on the dark aftermath of this disaster.

John warned us ahead of the arrival that a good portion of the clients will say, “I’m sorry, I forgot my glasses,” which is a euphemism for the fact that they are unable to read. We will probably have to do a lot of extra hand holding with these clients, many of whom can be helped with what are considered “micro loans” in the lending community, to help come up with plans to help get them back on their feet.

We have already been exposed to some very sad stories from clients, but John and Odee came back visibly impacted by their emotional encounters in Collins. There was a much greater devastation in that area and people are not as concerned with these economic impact loans as they are with just surviving this disaster.

Mobilizing Some Troops

2005-09-29T13:37:00.000-07:00

Today, Carlos, Patrick and I reported to the Hattiesburg Convention Center for our duties. There have been a few clients for us to see, mostly in service related industries, so they were looking at more of the Economic Impact Disaster Loans.

Odee and John went to Collins which is about 35 minutes North of Hattiesburg. They are expecting to be there most of the day and at their last call, they had seen over 12 clients. Apparently, in their conversations with clients, they received contact information on the owner of Buffalo Wild Wings, so it looks like Odee is prepared to negotiate a better leasing arrangement for his office so he can work in style while watching football this weekend.

Craig, who drove down here from Tennessee, has been the real adventurer in this group. Craig went to Waynesboro, which is about 1.5 hours east of here. Receiving his assignment yesterday, he spent last evening finding a spot and he camped out in that vicinity. He will be camping out again tonight (he notified me that he found a closer campsite)and he will be reporting to duty in Waynesboro tomorrow. He checked in early this morning for some information and said he had a few appointments set up for today, but he is not sure yet of his schedule for tomorrow.

Ken, from Mississippi, sent us an e-mail today with some locations that we will be visiting over the next few days. It appears as if we will be going to Waynesboro, Collins, Columbia, Petal and to Prentiss for some counseling. We should be getting more specific details later this afternoon. I should also have more reports from the field later when John and Odee return and Craig is expected to call in with an update on his travels.

Some More on What We Are Doing

2005-09-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday wound down with plenty of follow up phone calls to clients, who visited the center prior to our group’s arrival, to see how they were progressing with their applications. A common response is that they were intimidated by the package and could not get to filling out the paperwork. We explain to the clients that the deadline for the physical damage loan applications is October 28th (the Economic Impact Disaster Loans have a deadline of May, 2006) and they should begin filling out the applications soon, so we can review their packages for completeness.

The SBA application itself is a very simplified loan application. In addition to basic contact information, they ask for a Personal Financial Statement, schedule of liabilities and two optional forms to fill out if the client is seeking Economic Impact loan money (a basic profit and lost projection during the period of Economic Impact and 3 years of sales history information to show business growth). Other documents that the SBA wants submitted with the loan is a form for verification of property owned, a release form allowing them to review tax documentation and copies of the last three years tax returns. This is typical information that any bank would ask for prior to reviewing a loan package. The fact that some clients are intimidated is not due to there being reams of paperwork to fill out, but more so from just plain inexperience…some of these people have never needed to seek financing before, or if they did, it was with a great deal of hand holding from helpful bankers, accountants, bookkeepers or financial advisors.

And I guess that is really our main focus. We are here to do some hand holding with our clients. There are no special talents involved in what we do. Just a basic understanding of a personal financial statement and, in some cases, the ability to create a projected profit and loss statement based on historical performance. Like Ken Dupre (Mississippi) and Paula Roberts (from Tennessee) told us on our first day, the most important thing we can do is spend some time being very good listeners.

Through this listening, we have found that many of the people who come in for applications really do not need loans. Many of them need the same business counseling that SBDCs provide throughout the nation. Most of all, clients need to understand the process of business planning to think about what their business can expect in the future. A lot of times, people make emotional decisions and before proceeding with any financing arrangement, there needs to be that general mapping of a course for the future. Why borrow money if you are uncertain whether there will be enough cash flow to cover the loan payments?

Business planning to clients is just as and intimidating process as filling out loan applications. There is this feeling that there are reams of paperwork to go through and all sorts of complicated mathematical formulas to figure out. In reality, it is just a simple process of identifying likely sources of income from the business and likely expenses that business can expect to incur. Then there is the comparison process that will hopefully paint a picture of more income than expenses.

From my perspective, it seems that whenever financial assistance is publicized, there will always be almost a pack like mentality that brings people to check out this resource. They figure that since they are in business and this is a business assistanc package, they should go through this application process. Many of our contacts haven’t really though about their businesses future first and part of our counseling consists of helping them think through what they really need to go forward. From our contacts, we are finding that the emotional loss is playing a key factor in clouding judgements as to what may be the best business course for the future.

Getting Acclimated

2005-09-28T14:30:00.000-07:00

This is my first time visiting Mississippi and I was not sure what to expect. Certainly the first thing that I felt was the humidity. The air is thick and heavy with moisture and there is a blast of heat every time we step out from the air conditioned conference center. It has been in the mid-90s just about every day, but it does cool off to the 60s at night. I believe it is seasonal, but right now is the season for "love bugs." Swarms of these bugs are everywhere, two black winged bugs adjoined at the rear of their abdomens and flying everywhere we go. They do not bite or sting, but are quite the nuisance as they immediately fly into your car upon opening your door. Every drive, we slaughter these bugs by the thousands and their smashed carcasses cover our windshields and front grills.

We have been trying to get the "pulse" of the economy in this area, but are having a hard time figuring out the economic drivers in some of these communities. I am by no means an expert on the economy in Mississippi, but it appears as if agriculture, trucking and timber are some of the more major industries in this area. We have seen a good amount of food distribution warehouses and obviously, the major educational institutions such as Ole Miss, University of Southern Mississippi and Mississippi State University contribute heavily to the vitality of the communities where they reside.

Hattiesburg is where you can find the University of Southern Mississippi, as well as Wesley Hospital. Wherever there are colleges and hospitals, there are bound to be support service businesses, most notably, restaurants! We have noted that the Buffalo Wild Wings has quickly become our office (Odee has his own booth reserved in a back corner of the restaurant), but we have found a couple of other nice dining establishments in town that I would like to point out to people who may visit this area in the future. Today, lunch was at the China Garden, your typical Chinese buffet, but the quality was very good. Yesterday, we had lunch at the Cane Creek seafood buffet, which had fried catfish, collard greens, red beans & rice and some of the best Southern fried chicken that I have ever tasted. Needless to say, the SBDC Volunteer Mission Diet that was promised is not working as there is too much good food at low prices. My cholesterol levels and weight levels will be increasing unless I exert better self control at these establishments!

As for clients, today started out with a nice influx of people, with a few people waiting to be seen on our arrival. I met with one client and my colleagues have helped others. In between clients, we call back on people who have started files and check to see if they need more assistance putting their loan packages together. John and Odee have stepped up to the plate as our group's designated leaders and they do a good job in ensuring that we keep busy. But throughout all of our counseling efforts, it has been a true team effort. All of us feel comfortable sharing information, answering each other's questions and providing support wherever necessary. John fondly refers to us as the "Six Musketeers" and I feel that label suiting to the dynamics of our group. There is a definite diversity in personalities and backgrounds, but a real cohesion in regards to staying true to our mission.

The Mississippi SBDC State Director showed up today to see our little base of operations. Doug Gurley took some time out from talking to us counselors to talk to one of my clients. Mr. Gurley gave the client an evaluation form to fill out and explained that he would be reviewing the comments and forwarding them to the State legislature. I am not sure if Mr. Gurley is aware of how much of a positive impression that made on my client. So many of our clients are frustrated and they do not feel they are getting responses from these agencies. This particular client needed to tell his story and left here feeling he finally is making headway towards recovery. Hopefully, he will continue to get questions answered and achieve success getting his business operating again.

Mike Vanderlip, the Associate State Director and Brian Reithel, a Dean at the University of Mississippi also visited with Mr. Gurley and spent some time talking to other counselors. There presence here today was very much appreciated and they filled us in on some of the plans they have for us over the next week and a half. I did not get the story in full, as I was still working with a client, so I expect John will fill me in later.

Things have slowed down a bit this afternoon, some of us are making more follow up calls to clients, although a few visitors are sitting in with counselors as I write. The Mississippi SBDC has provided us with cell phones and we are also getting some calls from clients. We are not sure where these phone numbers were publicized, but the volume of calls coming is increasing rapidly.

A Report From McComb/Summit

2005-09-27T20:34:00.000-07:00

The Group Unwinding at Our New Office -- Buffalo Wild Wings--Free Wireless Internet & Great Food -- Notice John fretting over the Red Sox score

Two of our colleagues, John and Odee traveled to Southwest Mississippi Community College in the Summit/McComb area for their assignment. They contacted 12 different clients on potential disaster packages. From the field, they reported less apparent physical damage from the storm, but significantly more issues with infrastructure loss and longer lengths of time until power was restored and water was safe to drink.

They dealt with restaurants, beauty salons and some service related businesses. John also dealt with a client who had a very frustrating experience with an insurance company's. We did hear that the State Attorney General has been working on some of these issues, but these are issues that will not be addressed in the near future and these people just want results. Many of them have been struggling to rebuild their lives over the past month and they need answers faster. Again, this is not to disparage any one agency or industry, but there is a need for a better way to help.

Thanking Those Supporting Our Efforts

2005-09-27T17:24:00.000-07:00

I have attached a sponsorship link in the right sidebar for organizations who have pledged financial support to our cause. I have been trying to thank all the people who have helped to make this effort possible as I go along in these postings and I apologize if I left some people out.

As I noted in an earlier post regarding the financial implications of my travels, the Association of Small Business Development Centers and Mississippi SBDC have offered to cover my travel, room and meal expenses. Every dollar that they spend towards reimbursing my travel is one less dollar that would otherwise go towards direct relief to businesses who need assistance. Therefore, my goal is to have as much of my expenses covered by Flagstaff sponsors as possible. This way, the local assistance agencies, who have a much better perspective of where resources are needed for hurricane impacted clients, have more available for those efforts.

I cannot thank my financial sponsors enough for their support and I hope all who read this take the time to visit the links to my sponsor's websites. I would also like to extend my thanks, again, to all who have visited this site and the countless people who have provided moral support over the past few weeks. Your comments are welcomed and I appreciate you forwarding links to this site to your friends.

I have only shown a few pictures of some of the devastation in this area. Over the next couple of days, I expect to travel more towards the Gulf and will try to capture more photos of the damage this storm has caused (but remember, I am an amateur photographer at best). My colleague, Patrick, forwarded me these photos of what the storm looked like as it approached Mississippi. Pretty powerful images.

Getting Our Feet Wet

2005-09-27T15:49:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day of dealing with the one on one counseling. We have been seeing some clients, not as many as we had expected, but we are getting our feet wet. Of course, our counseling sessions are confidential, so we can not share details, but we have been dealing with a variety of business types. Today we had some rental properties, retail, agriculture and transportation related businesses from various regions of the state. Some suffered minor damages and are still operating at diminished capacities, while some others were completely destroyed.

There are three disaster loan programs that the SBA is providing as a result of this declared emergency:
• Home Disaster Loans
• Business Physical Disaster Loans
• Economic Injury Disaster Loans

We are only assisting clients with the Business Physical Disaster Loans and the Economic Injury Disaster Loans. Both of these programs are loan programs that the clients need to be able to pay back. They are at low interest rates and for long terms, but the business does have to have the ability to pay back these loans. This does create a problem in dealing with some of these clients, as they see us as one of the centers where they can apply for relief funds that they see are being donated for Hurricane Relief. We have to explain that these loans are also only for any damages or economic impact that insurance won’t cover.

My particular client was very frustrated that these were loan programs. The client claimed that, “I have credit, I can get a loan…I need to get back what I lost.” Well, that is really the role of insurance companies, but in many instances we are faced with clients who have already run into some roadblocks with their insurance companies, or other relief agencies that they have contacted. This is not meant to disparage the insurance companies or any particular agency…they have hundreds of thousands of claims to process and the ability to respond to so many claims, ensure the legitimacy and provide a proper response is just an incredible task to tackle. But in many cases, we are faced with clients that feel as if they are hitting too many obstacles wherever they turn and it is difficult to offer some ray of hope to them that this route will be any more helpful. With my client, I gave some information, but I suspect the client was looking for significantly more than the information that I was able to provide. I would like to give a more positive assessment at this point, but I like to call things as they are and, right now, I have a bit of empty feeling about that session and what I was able to do to provide assistance. I still have plenty more time and I have seen some more positive results from some of our colleagues counseling sessions. I just hope to be able to jump on that bandwagon soon!

More on Our Team

2005-09-27T06:57:00.000-07:00

After finishing our orientation and meeting with some clients yesterday, we headed out to our home at the church in Columbia. We set up our air mattresses in the existing glass enclosed cubicles (I feel like I am in a fishbowl)and grabbed some pillows and towels that were provided by Reverend Terry Montgomery. There is one shower for us to use and they even left us a brand new coffee maker. Below is a picture of my room. We certainly aren't living large by any means, but from my perspective, the accommodations are significantly more comfortable than the conditions that we were told to expect during our recruitment for this volunteer effort.

After setting up our rooms, we decided to head back to Hattiesburg and find a place to eat where we can watch some sports (Columbia seemed a bit short on sports bars)...John was especially hoping to see the Red Sox game (his son took over his ticket and would be in attendance at Fenway Park), but the game was rained out. So we watched the LSU/Tennessee game at Buffalo Wild Wings, which was mainly packed with LSU fans (although there was definitely a contingency of Tennessee fans as well). We had some nice hot wings (I recommend the spicy garlic sauce) and great conversation.

We left just after half time of the LSU game and decided to call it an early evening. Upon our return, Reverend Montgomery was waiting in the parking lot to greet us. He is a very friendly gentleman and he and his family are wonderful hosts. We are not sure who has taken part in providing the supplies for us (bedding, flashlights, towels, etc.), but we are very appreciative of their efforts. They just came from watching the Columbia High School football game at the ball field adjacent to the church property. I did not know that we were in such a historical spot, but the Reverend told us that was the football field where Walter Payton played high school football. The scoreboard at Walter Payton Field was blown down during Hurricane Katrina, and pictured is below is a statue honoring Columbia's famous son and the scoreboard.

Also of historical significance is that we pass the home of Brett Favre on the way from Columbia to Hattiesburg (hopefully, this will help recruit some Wisconsin SBDC folks to this relief mission).

I have been lucky to be assigned with a nice group of fellow counselors. For me, traveling is difficult and lonely, but there seems to be some good comraderie with this bunch. But we are not here just to make new friends and there is a definite consensus among us that we want to be effective in helping out clients and strategies are already being discussed to deal with possible road blocks toward our assistance efforts.

Below is a picture of our group of counselors (from left - Carlos, Florida; Odee, Nebraska; Patrick, New Mexico; John, Massachussets; Craig, Tennessee).

Rolling Up Our Sleeves

2005-09-26T11:55:00.000-07:00

This morning I met Carlos Cardenas (pictured above in front of our new temporary digs in Columbia, Mississippi) from the SBDC at Florida Atlantic University. Carlos explained to me how he waited at the airport in Jackson for my flight and was twice ushered to the airport basement due to tornado sightings in the area. After hearing my flight was going to be diverted, he was relieved of his duties by Henry (thanks again Henry) and got one of the few remaining hotel rooms available.

So Carlos brought me down to Columbia where we would both be staying over the next few weeks. We checked into the church to find noone there and made a few phone calls to find our assignment. We got in touch with Ken Dupre'from the Jones Junior College in Hattiesburg (and Ellisville) Mississippi and he told us to meet at the Convention Center in Hattiesburg. There we received a training on the disaster loan package and were introduced to some other volunteer colleagues, including Odee Ingersoll from the University of Nebraska Kearney SBDC; John Rainey from the Clark University SBDC (my sister's alma mater), Patrick Sullivan from the Los Alamos, NM SBDC, Dr. Craig Harston from Chatanooga, TN and Paula Roberts from Nashville, Tennessee.

At the convention center, we are holding workshops on the applications to help give people a head start in what information to gather and how to begin filling out the applications to help reduce the one on one counseling time necessary. The convention center has provided fairly luxurious accommodations for us to meet with clients and hold our presentations, but many of us will be assigned to different areas on the gulf coast over the next days.

Ken and the staff at the Mississippi SBDC have proven to be very effective in setting up a good system for addressing clients needs and organizing counselor assignments. Now we await our assignments for tomorrow. As I write now, some of the counselors are handling one on one counseling sessions at this location and we have another presentation coming up in a half an hour.

But the real test will be tomorrow when we are sent to some of the harder hit locations. When I say harder hit, it is almost too much to imagine. In this area, there are trees down everywhere, billboards and signs that are partially or totally destroyed and countless homes with major damage.

Ken and Paula prepared us for some of the emotional issues we can expect to face over the next two weeks. While assisting with preparing loan applications is fairly easy work, part of the application is a financial assessment of their current net worth, which can be devastating to some people who will see in a different light how much they lost financially from this event. There is no way we can shield our clients from this deeply emotional process of assessing value, which will probably remind them of those things that they consider priceless and may have lost... including the lives of friends and family members. Both Ken and Paula noted instances of clients who just broke down while discussing their situations and I can only hope some of the advice that I received from Bill Hitte (from the College of Southern Maryland SBDC) will help me in those situations. We will be assisting with loan packaging, no doubt, but they keep reminding us that we have to be prepared to be good listeners.

In Transit

2005-09-25T15:19:00.000-07:00

Today started bright and early with a shuttle from Flagstaff to Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix. The shuttle ride was comfortable and I slept most of the way. My flight from Phoenix to Atlanta was completely booked and it was a somewhat uncomfortable flight. Upon arriving in Atlanta, I found my plane to Jackson was delayed just for 10 minutes. I watched some football with a nice bunch of fellow passengers and then received word that our plane was having electrical problems, so the pilot requested another plane.

They were actually pretty quick in getting another plane and we took off just an hour past schedule. Unfortunately, we had to circle around Jackson as there were some severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. After being in a holding pattern for about a half hour, the pilot chose to land in Monroe, Louisiana to pick up more fuel. We sat on the tarmac there for about an hour before heading back to Jackson for a brief 20 minute flight. All said and done, we arrived in Mississippi at 9:15 PM (my travels started at 4:15 AM in Flagstaff).

Henry from the Jackson State SBDC picked me up at the airport with his lovely wife, Lorna, and daughter, Haley. It was good to see some friendly faces and I apologize to their family for the inconvenience of my delay. The plans were for me to head down to Columbia, Mississippi to stay at a church, but it was too late and Henry managed to snag me one of the last hotel rooms in town. He noted that Carlos from one of Florida's SBDCs was staying at a Ramada Limited next door and Carlos would bring me down to Columbia tomorrow morning. I called Carlos and made arrangements for tomorrow's travels and then grabbed a quick dinner.

It has been a long day and I am pretty tired. The upside to my late arrival is I have a comfortable hotel room my first night here, access to the internet and a TV to watch some football. The downside is the Giants took a spanking from the Chargers.

But I am here for a purpose and tomorrow the real fun begins.

Preparing to Leave

2005-09-24T18:02:00.000-07:00

Today is my last day in Flagstaff before the two week journey to Mississippi. It is also my anniversary with my wife, Lori. We spent some time together with the children just walking around downtown Flagstaff. It was a beautiful, relaxing afternoon.

Then Lori had to go to work, so I began packing and organizing some home finances for the weeks that I am gone. I am a bit on edge right now, as I do not travel well without my family and it is starting to sink in that this will be quite some time until I see them again. The children are doing their best right now to keep me from getting too misty by being pretty ornery, but I will miss them nonetheless.

Mississippi is one of five states that I have yet to visit. The hopes were that Hawaii would come first, but to quote Rotary International, "service above self." I really don't know what to expect there. My travels will begin with a 4:30 AM shuttle bus from Flagstaff to Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix. I arrive in Jackson at 6:00 PM tomorrow and someone is supposed to pick me up at the airport and take me to Hattiesburg. So far, the only information that I received is that I would be housed in a church and my meals would be taken care of by the Mississippi SBDC.

I don't know what to expect and I am a bit scared by stories I heard from other SBDC personnel about past relief efforts. Organization is always a challenge in situations like this and sometimes things just aren't as effective as intended. I would be crushed if that were the case with this mission, but I am pretty confident with the leadership in Mississippi and at the ASBDC. All I can do is my best and try to help wherever help is needed most. I did receive some good pointers from Bill Hitte at the College of Southern Maryland and some spreadsheets that I will bringing with me to assist with the SBA loan applications.

I am real anxious about tomorrow and hope I have the ability to continue on with this blog, but like I noted earlier, I have no details about my accommodations and my access to the internet.

Friday, September 23, 2005

2005-09-23T20:44:00.000-07:00

Today was spent doing some housekeeping before heading out of town on Sunday. I had two weeks of appointments to reschedule and needed to find coverage for a number of engagements. Again, Mike Lainoff was ready to step into the batter's box and go to bat for me. For everyone who is inconvenienced by my departure, please accept my sincere apologies.

I did have time to talk to some colleagues today to discuss some challenges that I was having with the planning. Included in that list was Miriam Eber, the Associate State Director of the AZSBDC Network; Mark Engle interim Director at Northlands Pioneer College SBDC and Rich Senopole from the Maricopa College SBDC. Miriam, Mark and Rich -- thanks for the kind words, sage advice and good laughs!

On Rich's suggestion, I did get a cell phone...so Rich, I may take you up on your offer...don't be surprised if I call!

On Mike Lainoff's suggestion, I set up this blog. While the process is fairly easy, I am still indebted to Rob and John in IT Services at Coconino Community College for their technical assistance with this and some other past issues, as well...Thanks guys!

I also received an e-mail with from my Mom with a suggested supply list...there were some real helpful hints and I followed her advice and am well prepared for just about anything now!

Call to Arms

2005-09-23T15:34:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, September 22, 2005, Donna Ettenson from the Association of Small Business Development Centers contacted me and asked if I would be able to go to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to assist the Mississippi, SBDC with counseling services on preparing disaster recovery loan applications. They want me to arrive in Mississippi by Sunday, September 25th. Noting this was quite short notice, Donna was quick to point out how urgent these services were needed. For those who don't know Donna, she is very persuasive and it is just difficult to say "no" to someone who always manages to say "yes" to getting things done for the ASBDC.

While I had volunteered to provide assistance, the short notice began an immediate chain of events to help coordinate my travels to Mississippi. First, and foremost, on the list was to check with my better half, Lori, and gain her permission. Lori works an evening job 4 nights a week, and getting coverage to watch our three children is quite a burden to put on her, especially on such short notice. Also figuring into the mix is the fact that September 24th is our wedding anniversary and we were hoping for some quality time together this weekend.

Lori, being the saint that she is, was a quick sell and we understand that the small sacrifices we will make over the next two weeks pale in comparison to the sacrifices small business owners, SBA loan officers, FEMA, Red Cross and so many other volunteers have made towards rebuilding the Gulf Region after Hurricane Katrina.

Next on the agenda was to contact my direct supervisor, Dean Mike Lainoff at Coconino Community College. Mike, saint that he is, was another quick sell and put his support 100% behind our representation to assist our comrades at the Mississippi SBDC. Mike was aware of this call to arms since September 7th and has been instrumental in making arrangements for this travel possible. Still, under such short notice, I felt that he may ask me to delay this travel to give him some more preparation time to cover my absense. But trooper that Mike is, he understood the urgency of the matter and he started assisting me in my planning immediately.

So with those key approvals in place, I booked my airfare, which was no easy task, as the online travel agencies don't bode so well on short notice flights. Each time I tried to make arrangements, I would get sent back to square one. But finally I prevailed and my travel plans were made shortly after 5:00 PM, Thursday evening.

Upon my arrival at home that evening, the immediate plans were to find some coverage for Lori's work nights to make the next week easier. We went to Strombolis and asked her General Manager, Karina, for some flexibility with her schedule. Karina was very accommodating and understanding. We also had some great pizza while we were there!

Next in our plans was arranging for Lori's mom to come out and visit from Yardley, PA. She is going to take some time off from work and I used my Continental One Pass miles to book her a flight to check out our digs in Flagstaff from October 1 -- 10th.
So in short order things really seemed to be falling in place.