Our NACD family is hurting – in Texas and Louisiana. The good news so far is that in talking to a number of our members in the areas affected by Hurricane Harvey, they and their employees are safe and accounted for. We all pray that they remain safe until this storm passes and the recovery and rebuilding process begins in earnest. And on behalf of NACD’s Board of Directors and entire membership, I want to thank all those first responders and citizens who have demonstrated incredible resolve and heroism to help out the folks affected by this historic storm.
According to news reports, some parts of the Houston area have now received over 50-inches of rain as it slowly moves east into Louisiana and beyond. NACD has been participating in a number of federal, state and local coordination calls to try to keep abreast of the latest developments and resources that can be tracked via the association’s Hurricane Harvey web page.
The sheer amount of rainfall alone is beyond startling and the immediate question many ask is how can we support the good people in Texas and Louisiana recover? NACD is working with our members and the supplier community to support the industry, but with the recovery process just now commencing there are still a large number of unknown questions - including when access points will allow re-entry into communities so product can move safely as well as when many plants and facilities will come back online to start producing again. As the best courses of action to support our members and the overall industry become clear, we will let our members know what steps we will take to help those recovery efforts in the coming days.
For the immediate time period, in talking to a number of NACD company owners in the Gulf region, all of them strongly encouraged continuing support of the emergency services personnel as well as helping employees and their families that have been displaced due to flooding. Until options about how best to assist our members are finalized, we encourage all NACD members to support the American Red Cross directing their contribution to the Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.
For those members affected by this storm, we welcome any and all updates so that we know that you are safe. The association is in regular contact with the various government entities overseeing relief efforts so we can and will certainly raise issues that might need addressing with those folks as well.
I hope everyone in the path of this storm remains safe and we continue to pray that the situation improves quickly so that the rebuilding process can commence. Any members affected by this storm that would like to talk to me directly can contact me via email at ebyer@nacd.com or my work line at (571) 482-3048.