Louisiana Small Businesses Dare to Prepare

Louisiana SBDC Disaster Kit

As residents of Louisiana anticipate the approach of Hurricane Gustav, I am reflecting on my most recent trip to the Louisiana Gulf Coast. The occasion was a series of “Dare to Prepare” workshops sponsored by the Louisiana Small Business Development Centers in mid-August. The workshops received very kind attention from the New Orleans Times-Picayune.  Participants in the workshops were given a number of takeaways, including a disaster kit. One of the participants in the second workshop in Slidell, Louisiana announced to the group that she had worked at 225 Broadway in Lower Manhattan on 9-11-01. Having lost her job, she moved to London and then re-joined her family in New Orleans to help with their business, just in advance of Hurricane Katrina. She and her sister were seated in the front row at the workshop, eager to share their experiences of disaster recovery and preparing for the next one. I cannot think of a better example of resilience and like all Americans, I am praying that Hurricane Gustav spares the Gulf Coast.