Back from the Gulf
I'm back from my trip to the Gulf area this past week with the Turnaround Management Association. As I previously mentioned, we did a series of workshops in Baton Rouge and New Orleans for businesses in the area. Dan Dooley, CTP of Morris-Anderson (Chicago) was our fearless leader, Anu Singh, CTP of Huron Consulting Group (Chicago) spearheaded the process of combining all of our presentations into a great program. Also presenting were Pat O'Keefe of O'Keefe and Associates out of Detroit, Vince Liuzza from the local TMA Chapter, and yours truly. The amazing staff of TMA headquarters in Chicago and the leadership of the local TMA chapter coordinated the activities ensuring a worthwhile event for everyone who participated.
We led the participants through the basics of the turnaround process, how to deal with bankers, lenders, the pros and cons of filing for bankruptcy protection and employee retention and other issues.
Despite our frenetic schedule, we managed to go on a tour of devastated areas early Thursday morning. The devastation was unbelievable. I think its true that the media has all but forgotten as the news we see in no way portrays the reality of the situation down there. Some amazing things we learned and saw while there:
- Around 200,000 homes were destroyed
- HALF of the area is still without power
- The homes of MOST of the people I spoke with were completely destroyed
- The population of Orleans parish is now at about 70,000 (down from about 400,000)
- The lack of employees is incredible - Many restaurants and other stores are operating with only one shift and limited hours. Burger King is paying $10/hour and offering $500 monthly bonuses.
- The largest park in the area is now a garbage dump as a staging area for the 40 YEARS of garbage created by the disaster.
- And the list goes on....
Suffice to say, almost 4 months after Katrina hit it looks as though it happened yesterday! Thankfully, TMA will continue its work to help businesses in the area. For those interested in continuing TMA activities in this area you can visit the TMAssist Blog here.