Day 30, 10.17.08

Hi Team,

It's bright and early here in Atlanta but this morning, the members of Ground Team Ike were not complaining as they rolled out of bed around 5:35. We're leaving for home today and boy, do we have quite the journey ahead of us.

We're off to Wilmington to drop off the RV and rent a Uhaul truck to transport all of the chairs, supplies, computers, etc that have been stored in the RV for the last month. And then back to Winston-Salem to our nice comfortable beds for some much deserved sleepy time.

Thanks again to everyone who had a hand in all of this coming together. All in all the current members of Ground Team Ike think this project was a success and we hope you feel the same. It's certainly been a great adventure.

Day 28, 10.15.08

Hi Team,

Greetings from Atlanta! You'll be surprised to hear that we've actually been in Atlanta for 2 nights already. Kevin made the drive all the way from Houston, TX to Atlanta, GA in one long stretch. That's right, all 793 miles, in a drive that began Monday morning around 10:30 and ended early Tuesday morning around 4am. Kevin is the man.

After catching up on some sleep, Stella is once again in Nick's hands to have the wrap removed. While Stella is getting pampered, we're following her lead and helping Jane unwind after 4 weeks of being away from home.

We can all see the light at the end of the tunnel and are starting to experience a level of excitement to return to North Carolina that only Patricia may be able to understand.

Day 25, 10.12.08

Hi Team,

Ground Team Ike has certainly gone through quite a few shift changes, but I'm glad to say it feels good to be back on the crew. The current crew is formed by Jane Montoya (Can anyone really believe she's been out here for the whole time minus just one short weekend? What a trooper!), Kevin Corbett and myself, Laura Parewski.

Today has been like most other days in this journey. Not in the sense that we set up the computer lab and were focused to help people, but that we were reminded that we need to be flexible and creative doing seemingly simple tasks. In our attempts to drop of the U-haul trailer, find someplace for Stella to rest on her final night in Texas, and dispose of some leftovers in the fridge, we learned that anything that seems easy usually won't work out, the shortest route from A to B isn't necessarily the best for a 34-foot RV with a trailer (although I do have to say Kevin is handling Stella pretty well, being the only male on this all female crew) and Clorox wipes and Febreeze are two necessary items to have on board.

Tomorrow we're on the road again. I hope Kevin had time to have a little chat with Patricia in North Carolina about what it takes to drive this RV halfway across the country; I'm sure she had some good pointers to share and I have no doubt Kevin will be able to bring us home safely.

Con'd 10-9-08-Day 22- Beaumont, TX

I made my entry into the "Lone Star" state on Monday to join Crew for the last leg of the tour that will wrap up on Saturday.

"My Introduction to Stella Ground Team IKE"

People of the Gulf...
It was great to watch the people here in Texas talk about their experiences of the storm, dealing with government bureaucacy, beating the odds, and are still standing!!! People down here are a true inspiration! It reminds me of the work we did in Biloxi and Gulfport shortly after Katrina. Catherine is going to post a great story from one of the many great stories we have heard here in Texas. We helped residents sign up for FEMA, food stamps, and taxes.

The Ladies of Ground Team IKE and Stella... Oh Stella!
We drove into Beaumont yesterday and I must say I have gained valuable street cred with the crew. Prior to arriving in Beaumont much of my tasks was to learn the ropes of Stella from the Ladies of the Ground Team IKE (Cobi, Cassie, Zeninjor, Catherine, and Jane). These are the toughest women of One Economy. These ladies did it all from driving an RV/bus early in the morning/late at night to handling a 300lbs trailer at a single bound just to make sure these valuable resources get out to people that really needs them. Ladies thank you get props over here! That's also including Patricia and Laura the early crew of the team. These ladies got SWAG!

Back to the Stella...My tasks entailed learning how to drive the "infamous" Stella with Cobi. Man this girl don't play! Trust me when I say the pictures don't do Stella any Justice!! She is about the size of a city transit bus! Before I learned how to drive Stella I earned my stripes the hard way by jamming my thumb on the RV door and pushing back my skin and cuticle and getting a nasty blood blister! OUCH!!! Check out my picture with the wrapped up thumb... That's Hot! You never truly appreciate your thumb until you jam it against a door or lose it!

As I went through my training with Cobi outside I was cool as a cucumber, but inside (in the immortal words of someone I used to work directly with)... I was think "Oh this is a Disaster!!!" Cobi noted I was fine, but I couldn't help noticing she was holding her purse really tight and the beads of sweat from her brow! I figured hey this is a breeze.

After I took Cassie and Cobi to the airport at 6am Wednesday morning I had to return to my task at hand. I looked at Stella and thought, "Damn I can't do this... What if i wreack this thing?! I could just imagaine Sonja Murray's reaction during what would be a VERY LONG call and hear Rey yelling "CLYDEEEEEEEEE." But I then thought hey I'm PIC man I can do this!

As we proceeded down I-10... with Stella and her 300lbs trailer all I kept thinking was, Please don't drive this thing off the road. Everything was cool when the highway was four lane, but then I approached Trinity River Bridge. A sky bridge with a very steep upgrade, two lanes and no shoulder on each side with huge tracker trailers honking at me roaring pass me at 80mph. To make things worse I can feel a cross wind blowing against her. All alone in Stella as I drive onto the bridge in my head and as my eyes start to sweat. I morph into Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and I'm thinking "There no place like home...There no place like home..." Driving 30 mph we make it over the bridge Stella and storage safe. With a shirt and face wet from sweat.

We got to Beaumont safe and sound ready to start our next day of Adventure... Well I hope I have bored you im off to sleep catch you tomorrow.

PS. I been given the record by the Crew for the male that last the longest on Stella sorry James I got you beat!!!


Breaker 1-9... Breaker 1-9!!!

Clyde

Day 22, 10.09.08

Greetings from Beaumont!

A snapshot of our computer set up at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church:



And an action shot:


Today, we were interviewed by the local news media. After collecting a soundbyte from Clyde, the cameraman launched into a story about faith and catastrophe. The cameraman's father makes rosaries and was reluctant to evacuate his home in Crystal Beach (an unincorporated region of Galveston County, which is one of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Ike). The cameraman chronicled his mad rush to get to his father's house. When he got there, the houses around his father's house were completely levelled. Surprisingly, the father's home was completely untouched. Not a one of the tschochkes on his cabinets had moved from their spots. His St. Joseph statue was barely uncovered an inch, but was still on active duty protecting the home.

See video of story here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9M2apI6KYQ

Explanation of the local St. Joseph statue lore courtesy of Wikipedia:
"Burying a small statue of Saint Joseph on a piece of real estate for sale is reputed to enlist the saint's assistance in finding a buyer. Some versions require the statue to be buried upside down. Some believe that the saint's statue should be disinterred once the house sells, to avoid the property repeatedly changing hands; others leave the buried statue in hopes that Saint Joseph will continue to protect the property"

An example of a "St. Joseph Statue Underground Real Estate Agent Kit":
http://www.stjosephstatue.com/



Stay safe,
Catherine

Day 21, 10.08.08

Howdy from Beautiful Beaumont,

Cobi and Cassi are on their way home today. Have a safe trip, ladies! It's time for the changing of the guard; with us now is Clyde Edwards:



We spent the whole day caravanning from La Porte to Beaumont with Clyde at the helm of the RV. Upon arriving in Beaumont, we were greeted by Chuck from AT&T, and Father Henry and Beatrice of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. The Church will be our home base for the last leg of this trip.


Watch the RV in action!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLzF1D0ATqc

Good night,
Catherine

p.s.:
The fried alligator at Pappadeaux is scrumptious:

Day 20 10.07.08

Wow, sadly I can't believe its been a week and a day already. At first it felt like the days were long but by the time the end got here I wasn't ready to go! I thoroughly enjoyed my time as part of ground team ike! This was one of those trips I will remember for the rest of my life!

Our last day was pretty tame we worked at the neighborhood center along side the food bank. We had a few clients but I think today food was more important and if we helped 1 or 100 its a few less people with a need. The food bank even gave us some of their leftover nectarines for crew c to pass out in Beaumont. We learned that the food bank gets their food from the 2nd Harvest Food Bank in Houston, and that they literally have 200 people visit them every Tuesday. It was truly a site to see, several elderly men and women fervently stacked and organized the various food groups and patiently passed them out in assembly line fashion. While the younger volunteers hauled the food to the cars of the elderly and moved the heavy boxes down from the 10 foot tall stacks of boxes. It was yet another example of how well this community works together to help each other, most of the volunteers Neighborhood Center t-shirts were tattered and faded so you could tell they were long standing dedicated volunteers.

One of the volunteers (he's Ralph from the video Cat posted) actually got a call directly after we helped him follow up with his FEMA application , which was a nice surprise! We got to see him today and wish him luck because he goes in for a hip replacement tomorrow, it brought our journey full circle because he had come in 2 days before for help as well.

Cobi took Clyde to the KOA to get him acquainted with the "dumping procedures" and let him get used to driving the RV. We all took turns for lunch and ended them with the sweet goodness of fudgecicles! After we said our goodbyes and thank yous to the Neighborhood Centers a few people went to the gym, Clyde nursed his battle wound (he smashed his hand in the RV earlier that morning and if you look in the door way you can see his mark on the RV LOL) and others did some work and used the break to rest.

Houston was our goal for the night so we all got dolled up for a night on the town. We ended up at the Galleria mall district. The Cheesecake Factory was our unanimous choice! What a treat the food was wonderful and it was a good time for us to reflect and let go. (hmm I think I left my leftovers in the RV sorry guys!)

Jane, Laura and Patricia thank you for paving the way for crew B. Everything went very smoothly for 3 main reasons:

1. We had great partners AT&T-BARRY BEASLEY!!!!!! Neighborhood Centers of La Porte, Eloy Gonzalez from the public works building in Shoreacres, The Rec Center of La Porte and ACORN and the church in Pasadena!




2. A great community. Pasadena, La Porte and Shoreacres were amazing we cant thank you enough for all the hospitality and support.




3. Our team with the leadership of Cobi! You girls were so much fun and such hard workers. And Clyde the last day and half was fun!

Cobi encouraged us to view this trip as an adventure, and it really was. I think this was a very innovative idea to bring technology to the people in desperate need of it just after a natural disaster. It would be a great signature response for One Economy to keep alive, and a One Economy RV, similar to the USO RV's that travel around the country, would be epic! In a several ways the computers seemed to be a release for the people... they could use them and vent to us at the same time.

Thanks to everyone that made this possible I had and absolute blast in Texas!

Day 19, 10.06.08

Hi Team,

Today we're back at La Porte Neighborhoods center. We've seen a transition from a majority of the individuals using the computers to file FEMA forms to a more diverse range of activities: checking FEMA/insurance status, finding social service offices, checking email/social networking sites, filling out loan forms, looking for home restoration services, etc.

A month has passed since Hurricane Ike crashed thru this area. Residents are still waiting for FEMA agents to come out to assess their properties. As with Ralph, a La Porte native:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH3w4yD9ABk
[interview with Ralph]

He was helping his fellow neighbors, hauling food and supplies around to handout at the Neighborhood Center. In the interview, he mentions how Hurricane Ike has positively brought the community together.

According to Ralph, the town of Shoreacres looks like it was bombed. Although a full month has passed, debris is everywhere. See images below, and these two youtube videos filmed on our flip cameras while driving around:

1) Shoreacres, TX: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHBZY5D52og
2) More Shoreacres, TX: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzJsOY5VDIw








The piles of refuse have yet to be cleaned up because residents are still waiting for insurance and government agencies to come out to assess damages. They cannot start renovation and cleanup until the assessments are finished. Note the "you loot we shoot" slogans spraypainted across the boards, to discourage anyone who would even think of stealing or scrounging for scrap metal.

Overall, there is a desire for the return to normalcy. People are trickling back into town, and everywhere you go, you can hear neighbors greeting and welcoming one another home.

Day 18 10.05.08

Shoreacres was our location for the day and as always we were greeted by Barry's smiling face once we arrived on site. Since the USO RV was gone we were able to park on the more scenic side of the old firehouse. The weather was absolutely gorgeous 70 degrees with a nice cool breeze. A hammock would have been ideal! The small park between the old firehouse and Shoreacres town hall had benches and a picnic tables and a small gazebo, it was a cozy spot.
To our surprise we actually had more people come today than yesterday. At this point most people used the computers to buy drywall, water heaters and other basic necessities to get in there homes and repair them so they are livable. A few clients also filed their SBA loan forms which is quicker online. Also something I noticed that was heartwarming was everyones encouraging and helpful spirit. The survivors were giving each other advice about which companies to use and how to get things accomplished and since we don't live there it was great to see the community help themselves. This hurricane has really shown how tight knit the community is and how they are all working together. Its a sight to see especially considering how much they have been through.
We got to take a drive through their community today and see the damage that IKE caused. Houses would look completely undamaged from the outside but then you would see the 4 foot tall piles of debris spread across their lawn and know they lost just as much as the neighbor with a caved in roof. Its hard to describe in words how it feels to see peoples whole lives scattered along the streets. We took some video and a few pictures so you can get an idea of what we saw.
After work we headed to the local Washeteria to get some sheets and clothes washed and it was surprisingly a quick trip. After that we had a taco night and watched the Amazing race. It felt so good to have an early night in to just chill and wind down. Get ready for long days everyone, I would suggest lots of rest before you head down.

Tomorrow we'll be back at Neighborhood Centers and hopefully we can help some more people! Oh and our threesome will become a 5 as we welcome Clyde (the first guy to join the crew) and Jane M. back for another round of GroundTeamIKE work.

Day 17, 10.04.08

RePorting from La Porte:

Today, Barry from AT&T so generously surprised us with a breakfast of kolaches, a regional dish. Fillings can range from sweet to savory, but in this particular instance, soft dinner rolls are stuffed with sausages and cheese. I would say they are like as if pasties and corn dogs had babies. Cobi is absolutely in love with them and wishes that they would catch on in Portland. As she was eating, I am sure she was imagining the excuses she would have to give to TSA agents when they open her kolache-lined carry-on bags.

We set up shop today next to Shore Acres City Hall. We were joined by the Red Cross and a United Service Organizations (USO) truck. Both nonprofits were distributing hot meals and supplies. The morale-boosting USO RV ("mobile canteen") was decked out with large screen TVs and video game stations. The trickiest part of the situation is getting the word out; there are so many well-meaning organizations scattered about but it is hard to broadcast this resource location information to the residents.

We began our morning by helping a mother and daughter, who came to check on their FEMA forms and to submit an United States Small Business Association (SBA) loan form. The mother was 80 years old, but in better health than her daughter. The daughter had suffered a stroke, which resulted in her becoming nearly blind and losing the ability to read. The daughter had been living independently in her own home wherein everything had been custom built and designed to accommodate her needs. After Hurricane Ike, the insurance company short-shrifted her. Although she had been paying extremely high premiums, they refused to pay more than an assessed value well below what the home and possessions are really worth. To add insult to injury, the insurance company called a demolishing company (without notifying her) before she could rescue her possessions. As she was telling the story, she was crying the whole time. However, she wanted to impart upon us the positive changes in her life that were precipitated by Hurricane Ike. At present, this is the first time in 40 years she is living with her mom. Her mom is determined to encourage her to take better care of her health. Mother and daughter are learning to reconnect.

We offered them some kolaches. At first the mother politely declined, until the daughter gently nudged her to take one. They bit into them and smiled, at each other and at us.



Miscellaneous:

1) We have been using AirCards to connect the laptops to the Internet. The Internet connection is spotty out here, between one and three bars, more often the former.
2) The only KOA campsite (where we can service and recharge our vehicle) is 48 miles away near Houston. It is approximately one hour each way. We have to go to the KOA every 2-3 days. The owner of the KOA seemed proud that his was the only location where RVs could possibly go to get these services in this part of Texas.
3) En route to the KOA, we saw a dog running on the freeway. We stopped and the car in front of us took him in. The dog had a collar, so they are hoping to return him to his owners.
4) We'll miss you Zeninjor, have a safe trip home.
5) Stay tuned, more videos to come.

Day 16, 10.03.08

Friday was very eventful so here are some highlights:

Top Ten List

10. Meeting Mrs. Paula the Director of Neighborhood Centers she was so sweet and took such good care of us that day. Her church even brought us bagged lunches to eat, with BROWNIES! Oh and congrats to Neighborhood centers for all the funding they received that day! Mrs. Paula was really excited and you could tell she worked hard to get funds for the center.

9. Being called FEMA all day and finally getting the point across to Mrs. Paula that we weren’t FEMA.

8. Seeing Cobi drive up after her 4 hour search for a tire to replace the flat she acquired on her drive back from taking Jane to the airport. 10 tire stores, 4 cities, and an hour wait on the freeway for AAA, she was still ready for our next adventure.

7. Finally getting a decent internet connection at a site(also part of the reason for the delay in our highly desired blog entries)

6. The fact that people actually came to the lab to get help and use the center we had maybe 3 dozen users, which is a lot better than none.

5. Meeting 3 mayors and 4 city council members in one day. Only in a small town can you call the mayor and have him be somewhere in 15 minutes.

4. The entire day, and especially the Rodeo experience, was the epitome of every Texas stereotype you could ever imagine. From the Sunday best couples to the bowlegged cowboys; the country music with the fiddles and “she left me twang”; the smell of horses and fried pickles, the big belt buckles, and overall the true southern hospitality. Needless to say, our crew stood out like sore thumbs, but we were welcomed with open arms.

3. Watching Katie Hongle (aka Cat) ride the bull. She was the only one brave enough to try!

2. Hearing everyone’s stories. We had a lot of survivor interaction on Thursday and it was really rewarding to hear everyone thank us for just letting them vent. A mom and a daughter who lost everything and were frustrated with FEMA, a family whose mobile home was damaged and they had no food and a mother, niece and son who needed help creating resumes and printing documents. One of our patrons, Derrick Drew(26), actually stayed for 3 hours, he recently had a pre-stroke(3 days ago because of IKE stress) and I think spending time away from it all really helped him because he thanked us dozens of times and we all got big hugs as he left.

1.The Pasadena Rodeo and Livestock Show in a suite with lots of tasty goodies (ribs, potato skins, cheese cubs, fresh fruit, rolls and honey butter) and the best seats in the house with AC and no smell of horses, courtesy of “Barry the man Beasley”. The show was mesmerizing, those cowboys and cow girls really know how to put on a show, from barrel racing to the calf wrangling and of course good ole fashion bull riding.

A cowboy and a bull. We had a great view of the process to get the bulls ready and of the cowboys from our suite!

Day 15, 10.02.08

Howdy from La Porte!

After our first night in our new home sweet home the RV we all walked to the Rec center to take showers and get ready for the day. The rec center has been nice enough to give us access to their facilities for showers and even to work out, so when all come back super buff you’ll know why! The day started off a little slow once we got set up and ready to help no one showed up. We took the opportunity to run our errands and get the RV stocked up for the next few days and grabbed some yummy lunch from Chili’s. Also our trip allowed Zeninjor to get some great footage of Cobi driving the RV.

[Barry Beasley and Cobi Jackson]

With the help of Barry (from AT&T) and his connections in the community and Cobi’s ideas we were able to devise a back-up plan to better serve the community with our services. Since the word didn’t get out about our set-up at the rec center we will be moving to the neighborhood center in La Porte tomorrow so that we can get the resources to more people. We stayed in the classroom for the rest of the afternoon/evening preparing signs and flyers to spread the word about our locations for the next few days. Catherine made us Ground Team Ike t-shirts:

Afterward we chilled in the RV with the much coveted generator (we can only use it until midnight so we cherish the time because it gets hot) and Zeninjor and Catherine cooked some vegetable stew for dinner as we watched the Vice Presidential debate.

It was a long day but we made it through.

~Toodles Lauren Latrobe (aka Cassie)

Day Fourteen, 10.01.08

Hi Team,

Greetings from Pasadena, TX!

Bringing fresh faces and energy to Ground Team Ike, we are:




Jane Montoya



Catherine Hong Le



Cassie Reid



Cobi Jackson



Zeninjor Emwemeka


After just one full day of (wo)manning the mobile Ike Help Center, let us just say: we are absolutely in AWE of Jane, Laura and Patricia. With unflagging enthusiasm and dedication, these ladies have been there every single day at the mobile computer lab, 9am-7pm, 7 days out of the week. This is in addition to all of the extra hours taken up by transporting/setting up/maintaining equipment and troubleshooting logistical issues as they travel from town to town across this lonestar state. Laura and Patricia, get some well-deserved rest! We hope we can live up to your example.

Today, we were set up in a church and helped more than 130 people who came by to fill out their FEMA forms. To put the situation into context, imagine what it's like to be someone whose home has been hole-punched by Hurricane Ike. Due to heavy traffic, some social services offices are swamped and no longer accepting applications by phone. And, if the physical offices near you have been closed, your only recourse is to fill out an online form. In the case of FEMA forms, if you don't have a social security card, you can't file online. Even if you try to file your child's name because he is a natural-born citizen, it doesn't work because only social security numbers of adults aged 18+ are accepted online. You can try calling FEMA on the phone...but, good luck. It can take hours to days to reach a representative. When you finally do get thru to file your application, it'll be another 10-14 days for these forms to be processed and for a FEMA agent to come out to assess damages.

It is a frustrating and time-consuming process. Some families are so grateful that we are there to sit next to them and to simply listen while they are going thru this process.

We will be sharing more snapshots and stories...thanks for your help and support!

Day Thirteen, 9.30.08

Hi team,


As I look at the title of this blog posting, all I can think is 'Wow, how is it already the end of day thirteen? Where has the time gone?' There are so many words that come to mind to describe the path this journey has taken. (Sorry to get a bit sentimental on you guys today, but this is my last night on the RV for a while and although I'm looking forward to a day off, part of me is going to miss being here despite all of the frustrations and emotions from being 'stuck' on a 34-foot vehicle for the past two weeks.) Its been a roller-coaster ride of emotion as well as a test on each member of Ground Team Ike's stamina and personal endurance. I'm glad to have been a part of it and share the home-sweet-home Stella has provided with Jane and Patricia; I hope the next round of GTI members has just as great an experience as I, and I believe Jane and Patricia, had. And, just for the record (back to the reference from Day One), I have no desire to drive this RV off a cliff, as Thelma and Louis did to finish their journey, although I can't speak for Patricia who's had the hassle of driving this thing around Texas and its neighborhoods as we went from site to site.


Today was a great day in Pasadena. Our site was great and the staff was so accommodating and friendly. We were also able to help a fair number of people in the morning and hand out even more applications for food stamps. Everyday it amazes me how many people do not receive enough help from FEMA to cover their losses or even make ends meet. Tomorrow should be another great day, at another new site.


Thanks again to everyone both on the ground and along the way who has helped all this come together, from advanced planning to brainstorming about the Ike Help Center website to the great volunteers who have brought us coffee in the morning. We all really appreciate the effort you're putting in to help make everything run smoothly.

Days Eleven and Twelve, 9.28.08 & 9.29.08

Hi Team,

Greetings from Pasadena, TX! It’s only a short 35 minute drive from Houston but a transition into our journey to southern Texas, more significant destruction, and greater numbers of people who will need our help.

The past couple days have been quite the adventure. We've been lucky enough to be able to set up our lab inside for most of our time in Texas thus far, but the last two sites we've been scheduled at have not had the capacity to host us indoors. Thankfully, Ground Team Ike has come prepared for such occasions! One of the main visions of what this project would look like on the ground, in all its glory, was to form a lab that could basically be set up anywhere to help people, and I say with confidence that this has become a reality. GTI has been able to successfully set up a computer lab in a parking lot, with the use of a generator and tents, to offer help! How amazing is that?!


Check it out!

Tomorrow's another big day, we're setting up and another great site and being hosted by a director with a great sense of humor (Patricia especially loves her jokes, you'll have to ask her about them next time you run into her). Well, we're all going to head off to bed, it feels like we've been gone for a couple months; its hard to believe this project is only about a third over.
G'night.

Day Ten, 9.27.08

Hi Team,

Yesterday was day five of setting up and running the computer lab, and Jane, Patricia, and I all agreed that it was the best set up we had experienced yet. We were set up in the lobby area of a gated apartment complex that contained about 1000 units. We set the table up around the perimeter of the space so as anyone entered the room all the computer screens were facing them. This open setting helped the volunteers work with the people coming in for help very effectively and easily. Although the numbers yesterday weren’t through the roof, we were able to help people with a variety of issues from filling out FEMA forms to applying for loans to searching for a new job on craigslist. We were even visited by two news station; what excitement!

Last night for dinner, we went out to this great little Mexican place, Ninfas (thanks Lee! And if you’re even in Houston, or Texas, find one of these places and check it out) and after some delicious guacamole and a couple margaritas, the drain and stress of the last week had melted away and we all felt ready to take on another day here in Houston.

Thanks for all the comments guys; keep them coming, they’re great motivation for us!

Day Nine, 9.26.08

Hi Team,

First of all, can any of you believe we left 9 whole days ago? Where has the time gone?

Secondly, be sure to check out the newest video, especially all you up coming GTI members, you know who you are... This video is a little look at what our lives are like after the lab is taken down and the RV is all packed up. Please also note that I'm leaving GTI on Oct.1, so there will have to be a new blogger, any takers?

Thirdly and finally, today was by far our busiest day at the lab. I think the word is getting out about what we're doing and what we're offering. We had some great help from Acorn today, which was really nice. Tomorrow is supposed to be even busier because it’s Saturday and I heard a rumor that a Spanish TV station might make an appearance. If they do show up, hopefully our press on Spanish TV will be as warmly received as Jane's radio interview was. (Way to go Jane!)

Thanks again to everyone out there, still in their offices, who has had a hand in helping this all come together or supporting GTI since we've been gone. Even though it feels like quite the struggle being out here, I can't imagine how hard and unorganized it would be without all of you behind us.

Cheers!

Check out our lab setup!

Hi Team,


Words can only describe so much, especially when I'm typing them after a long day, sitting in bed. Here are some pictures showing our computer lab set up. We have been fortunate enough to be able to set up inside the last couple days, but we've found its more effective to have a small set up outside to help people as well as setting up inside. Although setting up outside wouldn't be too bad. The Houston weather has been beautiful and we've even bought some tents to help with the awful glare that would be on the laptops due to the sun. Enjoy!

Day Eight, 9.25.08

Hi Team,

Just a quick update tonight: we're all exhausted after a long day of setting up, helping people trouble shoot their problems, and trying to keep up with our other office work and tomorrow is another early morning for us all. On a positive note, things in OE's IT lab went much better today. We were able to set up inside in less than an hour, with very few technical problems. The hot question of the day seemed to center around unemployment issues more than support for filling out FEMA forms as the power came back on for most of the residents of Houston. Hopefully, I'll find some time tomorrow to post some pictures!

Thanks to Lee and the Trifusion guys, Donald and Carl, for all your awesome support. We're really going to miss having you around.

G'night.

Day Seven, 9.24.08

Hi Team,

So much has happened since Ground Team Ike last posted, it’s hard to even know where to begin and what to include. When we last updated, Jane, Patricia, and I were just entering Mississippi. Patricia successfully completed the grueling 536 mile drive, with only 1 break for gas. Patricia definitely is a trooper.

Once we arrived in Houston, we were able to meet up with a couple temporary Ground Team Ike members from One Economy and one of our partners, Trifusion. Jane, Patricia, and I were so happy to have finally made it to Houston, know we weren’t going to be going at this alone the first day, and see a familiar face. So happy, in fact, we promptly parked the RV and jumped into James Gore’s (another One Economy employee) rental car to grab some dinner and spend some much needed time away from Stella.

This morning, the real adventure began. Jane, Patricia, and I were all up promptly before 7am, showered and ready to go (after some great pancakes courtesy of Patricia) before 9. Together with a couple Trifusion volunteers, a couple AT&T volunteers, and some excellent extra OE support (thanks Lee!) we were able to put together a temporary set-up station to prep the computers and get everything else ready for an afternoon open time on our big first day.

Although none of us expected everything to run absolutely flawlessly, little did we know the adventure we had in store. Despite the fact we started putting things together as early as we could manage after a draining couple of days, we realized were well behind schedule after only a short while of working to get everything ready. The Ripley House, the predominantly Spanish speaking community center we’re located at, had been a FEMA pod location so almost immediately people were coming up to us looking for help. Hearing their stories breaks your heart and everyone helping us set up wanted to do anything we could to help these people.

After experiencing some significant delays, that should only happen this one time according to the two amazing AT&T tech people that came out to help save the day(!), we were up and running by 1:30 and at full speed with all the computers hooked up by 3pm! By the end of the day, everyone on Ground Team Ike agreed that despite the problems and obstacles today had been a great success. Thanks to the food and water Trifusion brought (6 pallets in total – all gone before noon), we were able to feed 60-70 families today. Thanks to the computer and cell phone charging we were able to help 20-25 people. I realized these numbers may seem a little low for the first day, but keep in mind that was 20-25 people without any advertising, media, or prior knowledge about who we were or what we were doing. I think its going to be a really great several weeks we have this RV down in Texas. We going to be able to help tons of people fill out FEMA forms, file for insurance, find relief, and help get their lives back on track.

I guess the best thing for us to have taken away from today and keep with us, no matter who the people composing Ground Team Ike happen to be, is rely on each other. There is no way one person or one team can do this alone. Without the AT&T team, Ground Team Ike would have been pretty useless today and that’s just one small example of how much we were reminded that none of this could have come together without everyone who has been and will be involved. We all need to remember to listen to whomever we’re speaking to and work together to find the best solution. This RV IT Lab is going to cause a lot of good for those who come use the computers and helping people get relief and piece of mind will help ease our frustrations and keep us motivated.

We’re going to keep on, keeping on. Thanks for all the support!

Day Six, 9.23.08

Hi Team,

Good morning for Mississippi!

Last night we were able to tick off the miles, 320 in total, and head all the way from Hoschton, GA to just crossing the border between Alabama and Mississippi. We pulled off into a well light rest stop, around 5am (!), to try to catch some sleep so we all could be some what rested by the time we needed hit the road again. Believe me, we were all ready to head to bed by that time, even the beds and fold out couch in the RV felt oh-so-comfortable.

But now, for the thing that is burning on everyone’s mind, the pictures of our now fully completed, beautifully wrapped, pride and joy.

Well, its time for us all to hit the road again and start planning the nitty-gritty details of how this lab with be set up and become fully functional. More pics and video to come over the course of the next couple days, whenever we have a free minute.

Day Five, 9.22.08

Hi Team,

T-minus 3 hours and we’re headed off toward Texas. Jane, Patricia, and I went to go check on Stella this afternoon and boy, does she look amazing! There is still so much to do before we leave, but I wanted to let you all know that we’ll be well on our way while you’re enjoying your nice, warm beds. Check out how good Stella looks and she isn’t even completed yet.

Day Four, 9.21.08

Hi Team,

Not too much new to report back today, just more of the same from yesterday. Jane, Patricia, and I were zooming all over town gathering more supplies to fill the RV, sustain Ground Team Ike for the next month, and make this IT lab a reality. But our little car (we’ve rented a Nissan Versa while the RV is MIA) is sure getting full; poor Jane has barely any room left for her in the back seat she’s sharing with 11 folding chairs!

We’re all trying to get as much sleep before the long, draining drive into Texas. We figure once we hit the road, its going to be straight work until its time for us to return back to good ol’ North Carolina.

So, for now, we’re off to rest up.

Day Three, 9.20.08

As we awoke this morning, knowing that Stella (the RV) was in the gentle, loving hands of Nick getting prepped to be decaled, Jane, Patricia and I got to work this morning almost immediately. We stretched and grabbed our laptops even before our feet touched the ground, to catch up on the work that had fallen aside when bringing relief to the people affected by Hurricane Ike took precedence.

Throughout the morning, as we took note of what still needed to be done before we arrived in Texas, the fact that once we’re back on the RV, we’re on the RV for the next month, set in. Lists were made and plans for gathering the supplies we needed were formulated. Stella’s a big girl, but we’re still restricted on space. It makes me wonder just how creative Ground Team Ike is going to have to be by the end of this journey.

Don’t get me wrong, Jane, Patricia, and I still feel the excitement. As we were roaming the aisles of Staples and Target, tons of different scenarios were playing through our minds. Would we need scissors? What about paper clips? How many rolls of duct tape? Even during dinner our excitement stood out. Patricia excitedly told our waitress about our journey toward Texas and even left the address to this blog on the check.

Tomorrow’s another day of planning and preparing. Its just a couple short days until the RV is completed and we’re on the road for good. And I can hardly wait.

G’night y’all.

Day Two, 9.19.08

Hi Team,

After a refreshing night of sleep, we were able to hit the road ahead of schedule at 8:55am and were headed off toward Hoschton, GA, a small suburb of Atlanta, to see another of Jane’s boyfriends about decaling our beloved RV, Stella.

As we entered Hoschton at about 2:30pm, we were greeted by hundreds, no thousands, of scarecrows. All were the typical scarecrow built on a cross and fully clothed but some were imitating human activities like working on a car or even playing a game of football across a field. These disturbing looking creatures were in front of almost every building, church and open field. We were beginning to wonder if there were any clothes left for the actual citizens of Hoschton.

When we arrived at the decal place and greeted Nick, Jane’s other boyfriend, one of the first questions out of our mouths was “What in the heck is going on in this town with all the scarecrows?” Nick reassuringly informed us that we had entered Hoschton in the midst of their attempt to enter the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most scarecrows in any city at one time. Hoschton is currently the host of over 5000 scarecrows. With our curiosity subsided, we left our baby Stella in Nick’s care to get all gussied up for the big show down in Texas. We decided to get a hotel in another small town, Winder, without scarecrows and for our own sanity.

Now, you may be asking yourself, who is crazy enough to journey through all of these miles, leaving the office behind for several weeks and heading all the way down to Texas to rough it, with little but a hair tie, in a RV? Let’s introduce the current rotation of Ground Team Ike:

Patricia Olmstead:

She may have just celebrated her 60^th birthday, but don’t be fooled. She is the everlasting bunny on this trip while Jane and I struggle through the long days and ride along throughout the 1000s of miles.

Jane Montoya:

The planner-organizer-extraordinar. She puts on the charm and has organized most everything, the generators, RV, decals, that will help make this project the memorable event everyone is hoping for.

Laura Parewski:

I’m recording video, still pictures and word descriptions of this great adventure, helping out with whatever I can, however I can.

We’re out, Keep on truckin’.

The First Day, 9.18.08

Hi Team,

Jane, Patricia and I have made it on the road and boy, what an adventure it has been already. We left Winston-Salem, NC at 11am after packing (I mean stuffing) all of the comforts of home generously provided by Sonja into the back of the rental truck with the two generators. We made good time on the road and made it to Wilmington, NC by 3pm, even with two pit stops along the way.

Once we had arrived in Wilmington, it was (drum roll please) time to pick up the Winnebago RV and put a face to one of the guys Jane has been sweet talking all week, Mr. Kevin. Mr. Kevin was patiently waiting for us to arrive and had the RV prepped and ready for our 1.5 hour walk through and training session on how to use and utilize all of its fancy-shamancy features. The 34-foot long Adventure Winnebago is spacious, clean, and meets the ground team’s standards for calling this vehicle home-sweet-home for the next month of so.

By 7pm, the three of us we back on the open road heading out of Wilmington, NC to Atlanta, GA, our next stop to get the RV wrapped and looking beautiful. I have to be honest, at first Patricia was a bit, okay…a lot, hesitant to be driving this boat of a car. However, a mere 17 minutes after Patricia got behind the wheel we were cruising at a full 57 mph. Not soon after, by 7:24, we were full speed ahead at 60 and by 8:09 she was feeling comfortable enough to pass a car and reach 70mph! Way to go Patricia!

At 8:53 we crossed the South Carolina boarder and decided to stop shortly thereafter in a small town, complete with all the small town charm and values, by the name of Dillon. Our waiter at dinner at the local Shoney’s, a charming high school senior by the name of Channin, was proof enough that small towns are still able to instill values and manners into their young adult population that seem to be missing so commonly these days.

After a good 11 hour day and a full 335 miles, Gound Team Ike decided to call it a night and recharge for another exciting day tomorrow. One final thought to leave you guys with: During the planning stages of this journey, someone mentioned to me that this whole excursion reminded them vaguely of the movie Thelma and Louis. As the miles were passing and I had time to reflect on this a bit more, I realized that right now, I couldn’t agree more. Three girls with a lot of energy and excitement driving into the unknown with a whole lot of open road ahead of them, as we head closer to Houston, TX in order to bring some relief to people in need. We’ve already been reminded that one of the best assets on our side is the ability to be flexible and work together as a team both on the ground and through the company. I just hope that, unlike in the movie (if you haven’t seen it, you really should check it out this weekend) we don’t end up driving off a cliff after all this is said and done.

We’re out to, as they say in the south, Git’er done!