When walls of water 30 feet high

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1 We will survive! Hearts for Hurricane Relief benefits Gulf area A fund-raiser for schools hit hard by hurricanes last year will help repair damage like that sustained by this school in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. Everyone hears about Katrina, but Rita wiped out whole parishes. Whatever we get out of this will be more than welcome. W.F. Freddie Whitford, executive director, Louisiana School Boards Association When walls of water 30 feet high and winds of 150 miles per hour first slammed into Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi last year, no one could have imagined that the need for relief would extend into the next spring and beyond. Eight months after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the area, many students along the southern Gulf shores of Mississippi not only still go to school in tents, they also live in tents set up on the cement slabs that once held their homes. In the peninsula area south of Mobile, Alabama, communities lost 80 percent of their businesses, including the area s entire shrimp fleet. As schools rebuild, communities wonder about the tax base that will be needed to support them in the future. And in Louisiana, Orleans Parish alone went from having 57,000 students one day to having none the next. Only one of 18 schools in St. Bernard Parish was usable after the storms left six to seven feet of water standing in buildings, many of which also lost their roofs. Districts like Baton Rouge have been affected, not by hurricane damage, but by an overnight influx of more than 5,000 students into an already overcrowded school system. But the message from school board association members and staff in those three states is one of hope that they can rebuild and profound C.H. Sonny Savoie talks about recovery efforts. gratitude for the assistance they con-

2 tinue to receive. Executive directors and association presidents from all three states, as well as representatives from Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, were on hand April 10 when the Illinois Association of School Boards partnered with Morton s, The Steakhouse, in Chicago for a fund-raiser, Hearts for Hurricane Relief. Funds raised will go to assist these schools that still need to be rebuilt, re-staffed and re-outfitted to accept the students that they hope will return. In addition, Illinois Association of School Administrators president Brent McArdle, superintendent at Lexington CUSD 7, presented a check for $1,000 on behalf of that association. From left, Michael Johnson, IASB executive director; Michael W. Waldrop, MSBA executive director; C.H. Sonny Savoie; Sandra SimsdeGraffenried, AASB executive director; and W.F. Freddie Whitford, LSBA executive director. Desire to help Michael Johnson, IASB executive director, said the idea for a fund-raiser with Morton s, The Steakhouse, on East Wacker Place in downtown Chicago began more than a year ago with encouragement and support from James Sandners, CEO of Brokers Risk Placement Service Inc. Once the national conference relocated to Chicago from New Orleans, the fund-raising idea evolved into an evening to benefit the hurricane-ravaged area. C.H. Sonny Savoie and Anthony L. Tony Wong, NSBA board of directors, Elkton, Maryland. General Colin Powell s story about the foreign students experience at a Chicago restaurant can be compared to the generosity shown by those at the restaurant tonight. This is reflective of his remarks about the American spirit. Jim Methvin, president, Alabama Association of School Boards We wondered if other states would support this effort, Johnson said. Michigan responded immediately with 20 reservations. The evening of food and camaraderie was highlighted with heartfelt thanks from the state executive directors and presidents, as well as a featured address by C.H. Sonny Savoie, NSBA Southern Regional Director and a board member in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, a hardhit area southwest of New Orleans. We don t want a handout, Savoie said. We want a hand up. In the aftermath of the storms, 49 states took in people and children from the Gulf. Illinois accepted more than 1,000 students. We will be forever indebted, Savoie added. Not since the Civil War have we had such a mass migration. Storms in his area often are measured against Hurricane Andrew that destroyed 2,800 homes in By comparison, 280,000 homes were lost in Louisiana to Katrina and Rita, he said. 2 continued on page 7

3 It s heartwarming to feel the response from school board associations across the country. The real beneficiaries are the children. Kudos to everyone who had a part in it. Sandra Sims-deGraffenried, executive director, Alabama Association of School Boards Michael Johnson, left, IASB executive director, with Jessica Geisinger, sales and marketing manager, Morton s, The Steakhouse, and C.H. Sonny Savoie, St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, board member. Tariq Butt, board member, Chicago Public Schools 299, and a member of IASB s Board of Directors, with John Mannix, IASB associate executive director, and his wife, Pat Mannix. Guests enjoyed sumptuous buffet tables, this one featuring fresh salmon, asparagus and tomatoes. Barbara and Alfred Green of St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. 3

4 In 300 years, New Orleans has survived plagues, pestilence, disease and hurricanes, but the Corps of Engineers took us down. But we will survive! Jimmy Fahrenholtz, board member, Orleans Parish, Louisiana Sharon and David Shipula, representing the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, with C.H. Sonny Savoie and Barbara Bolas, both members of NSBA s board of directors. Felicia Gomez-Walker and Kendall Stall, both of St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, enjoyed the evening. Ray Zimmerman, immediate past president, IASB, and his wife, Marge Zimmerman. Another buffet table featured desserts, including this scrumptious chocolate confection. 4

5 James Austin, president of Hinz Claims Management Brokers Risk Placement Service Inc.; Jonathan Howe, an IASB past president; C.H. Sonny Savoie; and James Sandners, CEO of Brokers Risk Placement Service Inc. Raki Mehra, general manager of Morton s, The Steakhouse, on State Street, presided over the salmon buffet. Cecil County Public Schools in Elkton, Missouri, were represented at the gala. This is the icing on the cake for people s enjoyment of the conference. I m delighted to have this as a concluding event. I m so grateful that we can do something to benefit those who suffered so much. Marie Slater, president, Illinois Association of School Boards Beautiful floral arrangements graced one of the many buffet tables. 5

6 We are certainly appreciative of Illinois for putting together such a magnificent affair. It s apparent that everyone has opened their hearts and now their pocketbooks to provide money and resources to our state. Brenda Shelling, president, Louisiana School Boards Association Brent McArdle, superintendent of Lexington CUSD 7and current IASA president, presented a check for $1,000 on behalf of that association. Merle and C.H. Sonny Savoie of St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, accepted mementos of their Chicago trip from Michael Johnson, IASB executive director. Among those representing the New Jersey School Boards Association were, from left, Kevin Ciak, vice president legislation/resolutions; Glenn Ewan, past president; Harry Delgado, vice president, county activities; and Patti Pawling, president. 6 From left, William Quinlan and Martin O Hara of Quinlan and Carroll law firm in Chicago with James Sandners, CEO of Brokers Risk Placement Service Inc.

7 I can t begin to tell you how much we appreciate Illinois putting on this fundraiser. Michael W. Waldrop, executive director, Mississippi School Boards Association continued from page 2 Hurricane Katrina actually hit hardest in Mississippi, said Michael W. Waldrop, executive director of the Mississippi School Boards Association. We just don t have a city the size of New Orleans. Waldrop described communities in the area where people still live in tents and children go to school in tents. We have some areas where the birds haven t even returned, he added. The salt water killed all the vegetation. Long-lasting effects also will be felt by the Louisiana School Board Association, according to its executive Thank you The Illinois Association of School Boards wishes to thank the owners and management of Morton s, The Steakhouse, for their generous offer to partner in this fund-raising endeavor. A heartfelt thank you also goes to Jessica Geisinger, the restaurant s sales and marketing manager, for her assistance with all the details and Raki Mehra, general manager of the Morton s on State Street, who agreed to assist with the evening at the Wacker Place restaurant. Thank you to Dawid Klimek for capturing the evening in pictures. And the evening would not have been a success without the partnership and assistance of James Sandners, CEO of Brokers Risk Placement Service Inc. director, W.F. Freddie Whitford. The dues structure of his association is based 90 percent on local board budgets. There are 64 parishes and four city school systems in Louisiana, he said. This is like having 68 children. Prior to the storms, 28 systems already were on the watch list because of unfunded state mandates. The storms merely exacerbated their financial problems. Whitford said LSBA, which has just eight employees, is looking at non-dues revenue sources to shore up association finances, including visits to all the exhibitors at the NSBA conference to describe the need and ask for assistance. This school year won t be as affected as next year, said Brenda Shelling, LSBA state president. The budgets were already set for this year. We re concerned about what will happen with funding for the school year, because this affects the disbursement of foundation level funding. Shelling said LSBA representatives are meeting with Louisiana legislators on behalf of the five parishes that were so hard-hit by the storms: Cameron, Plaquemines, Orleans, St. Bernard and St. Charles. We re work- Jimmy Fahrenholtz, board member, Orleans Parish, Louisiana Sandra Sims-deGraffenried, Alabama Association of School Boards, surveyed one of the lavish buffet tables at Morton s, The Steakhouse. 7

8 Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you to Illinois for reaching out as friends and neighbors to help us rebuild our schools. C.H. Sonny Savoie ing hard to help districts recover with moral support as well as financial support. We are making every effort to provide services to all the students, she added. We re hoping the students will come back. Jim Methvin, president of the Alabama Association of School Boards, said AASB received donations from eight school board associations money that went directly from the association to affected schools. While it might not seem important in light of all the rebuilding needs, the association recently From left, Jonathan Howe, an IASB past president; Maree Sneed, Hogan & Hartson; and Timothy Kremer, New York SSBA executive director. funneled $700 to a middle school so that eighth-graders could rent a facility for their graduation. For those children, it provided a sense of normalcy for their lives by allowing them to experience something that all students anticipate an experience they would have missed without the donation. Personal accounts In addition to a video presentation showing hurricane damage, the picture of devastation was punctuated with personal stories of loss and survival. Jimmy Fahrenholtz, an Orleans Parish board member, told about his daughter, an oncology nurse, who packed an overnight bag for her and her daughter when she was called into a lockdown at her hospital as the hurricane was imminent. They lost everything but what was in that bag, he said. Jonathan Howe, a past president of IASB, said his daughter brought her husband and daughter as well as the family dog back to Illinois to stay with him. LSBA s Whitford talked about middle school students from Maryland raising money to send library books wrapped in quilts. Ann Jolley, MSBA president, said people from the Michael Johnson, IASB executive director, and Barbara Bolas, NSBA board of directors, Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania northern part of Mississippi still come every week to help rebuild and bring in medical supplies. Students are planning spring break activities around clean-up efforts. The stories are endless, but all also speak to the resilience of a people and a culture that now must be restored to its home. We need to recapture our soul, Louisiana s Savoie said. If we don t get our people back, the city won t be the same. In 1871, fire destroyed Chicago, he said. You have built a great city since then. We will rebuild New Orleans! Published by the Illinois Association of School Boards, May 2006.