Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Rock for the Red
Friday, September 16, 2005
Senator McConnell Highlights The Generosity Of Kentuckians
Senator McConnell Highlights The Generosity Of Kentuckians In Aiding The Victims Of Hurricane Katrina
from the Office of Senator Mitch McConnell
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell today delivered the following floor speech highlighting the continuing efforts of Kentuckians to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina:
“Mr. President, it is difficult to find words adequate enough to express the emotions of so many Americans, all across our country, as we continue to learn more about the utter devastation of the Gulf Coast region created by Hurricane Katrina.
“Hundreds of lives have been lost. Thousands more have been ripped apart, as Gulf Coast residents have lost their homes, savings, or possessions. A great American city, New Orleans, has been reduced to a ghost town. In the months ahead we will have much rebuilding to do—although there is not a doubt in my mind that the Gulf Coast will be rebuilt, and rebuilt stronger than ever before.
“We have already made great progress towards assisting the Gulf region here in the Senate. In the last several days we have passed over $62 billion in emergency relief. These funds are flowing to the people who need help as we speak.
“The Majority Leader is working to clear a measure that would accelerate billions of dollars of payments to states under the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program. The House passed it by voice vote last week, and we ought to do the same right here in the Senate.
“This kind of important action is by no means found only in the United States Congress. In this time of crisis, it has been inspiring to see many millions of Americans moving quickly to help their fellow Americans’ in this hour of need.
“Individual citizens are making a difference. I would like to share with my colleagues an inspiring story about a group of officers from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Twenty-three officers, most of whom did not know each other when they set out, took 12 boats to New Orleans and scoured the flooded neighborhoods to rescue over 200 people.
“The men who volunteered for this mission came from all over Kentucky—towns like Somerset, Paris, Mount Vernon, and the tiny little town of Pippa Passes. They spent three days in New Orleans, searching flooded houses, rescuing survivors, and bringing food and water to many.
“Led by Captain Clark Boggs of Philpot and Captain Frank Floyd of Bedford, these men risked their lives and their health and their safety for people they did not even know. On the first day, they heard gunshots ring out next to them. The toxic water they steered their boat through was a breeding ground for who knows how many diseases. Some of these men still bear scars and rashes from their mission.
“But they returned to Kentucky with happier mementoes as well—Mardi Gras beads, given as tokens of thanks by New Orleans residents grateful that they had been rescued. When they spent their nights at a local church, or took refuge in a school, appreciative locals brought them hot plates of Cajun food. Most importantly, they will never forget the looks of relief on the faces of the people they rescued, people who thought they had been completely forgotten.
“Let me also speak about a group of Kentucky doctors and nurses who flew down to the vicinity of New Orleans to provide emergency medical services. When they arrived, they found two gymnasiums full of people requiring medical attention. They assisted in setting up an emergency shelter that has to date treated over 7,000 patients.
“One of those nurses, Addia Wuchner of Florence, Kentucky, is also a state representative. She spent seven days helping the people of New Orleans and told my staff about her experiences there.
“One of the hardest parts of her job was to tell the people she was treating, who had not been watching the news and had no idea of the devastation to New Orleans, that their homes were most likely flooded and unsalvageable. She also had the much more pleasant opportunity to reunite a grandfather and a granddaughter.
“St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Edgewood, Kentucky, donated the medical supplies that the team brought with them. And St. Elizabeth Medical Center is holding several fundraising drives and collecting employee donations, to continue to aid the people of the Gulf Coast region. The group’s airfare was paid for by a local Kentucky businessman named Bill Butler, who graciously stepped in when the medical team was unsure whether they would be able to afford to fly down to help.
“Let me share another story. Once upon a time, before Katrina, Charity Hospital in New Orleans helped the Pikeville Medical Center, in Pikeville, Kentucky, set up a drug detoxification program. So when New Orleans needed help, the Pikeville Medical Center responded. A nurse named Cheryl Hickman rounded up other volunteers willing to travel down to the Gulf Coast area, and within hours a team of nurses and EMS personnel were on the road, driving ambulances stocked full of medical supplies.
“Mr. President, stories like these, stories of generosity and charity, are so numerous in Kentucky that I could tell you many more. Churches, rotary clubs, and charitable organizations throughout the Commonwealth have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even two little girls in Louisville, 12-year-old Briana O’Holleran and 11-year-old Amy Williams, raised $60 by setting up a lemonade stand.
“Kentucky employers are also making a difference. Humana Inc., a health care company based in my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, has donated one million dollars to relief efforts—half of that to the Red Cross, and half to local relief agencies in the Gulf Coast who are able to use the money for food, clean water and other supplies and get it to the people who need it the most.
“UPS, a major employer in Louisville, has donated one-and-a-quarter million dollars to several different agencies. Also, since they are of course a shipping company, they have provided transportation services for relief agencies, and have hauled bottled water into Mississippi for evacuees.
“General Electric, which has its appliances division based in Louisville, has donated $6 million to the Red Cross, and their employees have raised another $1 million which will be matched by the company. They are also working to donate $10 million worth of generators and equipment to aid relief workers.
“And I am sure that all of my colleagues could stand up and tell us of similar stories from their states. Kentucky is certainly not unique when it comes to the outpouring of such goodwill. But by sharing these stories, I hope I have reminded my colleagues that the compassion of ordinary, everyday Americans is a stronger force than the winds of any hurricane.
“So, Mr. President, as we continue our vital work here in the Senate to get the Gulf Coast region back up on its feet again, I hope we will be guided by the giving spirit of the Kentuckians I have mentioned. Just as they, and so many others, are working tirelessly to restore hope and mend broken lives, so should we.
http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=245704&start=1
Thursday, September 15, 2005
AOL's Time May Be Up
A new way to search blogs
Well this is an interesting development... not a surprise, just interesting. It is likely to force bloggers to kick it up a notch, (myself included) by inspiring them (us) to publish relevant and useful information. I'm not sure how they are scoring the results yet because some of my initial testing has produced some really strange results, but it is beta so time will tell. This may be a whole new category for blogs.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
9/11 Tip Of The Day - What's the plan, boss?
What if disaster strikes while you're at work? Do you know the emergency preparedness plan for your workplace? While many companies have been more alert and pro-active in preparing for disasters of all types since the September 11, 2001 attacks, a national survey indicates that many employees still don't know what their workplace plan is for major or minor disasters. If you don't know yours, make a point to ask.
Know multiple ways to exit your building, participate in workplace evacuation drills, and consider keeping some emergency supplies at the office. Visit www.ready.gov and click on Ready Business for more information about business preparedness.
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Final follow up on BGDailynews.com
This will be my last entry on this blog about the Bowling Green Daily News. Because this is my personal observations and opinions, they are more appropriately posted at my personal blog @ http://blog.davidfrancis.org
Note: While I may be critical of the new Daily News website, I have written several articles that are complimentary to the local newspaper. I still like the Daily News and will continue to purchase advertising in it. For the record however, and for those who have misquoted me otherwise, I have never written anything that was less than respectful about the local newspaper, it's owners or it's staff.
Also, please note: I am posting this on my personal website instead of my business blog. I offer my impressions, opinions and general rants from time to time but do so as an individual not representing any company, customer or entity other than myself.
My #1 issue with the "Park City Daily News" online? Story links. I predicted before the new website went live (see prediction at this blog post on July 20th) that links to old stories would be broken. I had no idea that they would be this broken. Stories that are published online are transferred to the archive server (newsbank.com) when the next edition is published. This means that if I find a story of interest to a fellow business owner and try to send a link to them, if they don't click on it in the next 24 hours, the link will not work. Furthermore, the way the new archive server works prevents links directly to articles of any kind. The reason? They require a session cookie in order to view an article.
Read the entire opinion at blog.davidfrancis.org
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Tired worn out blogs
To blog or not to blog... that is the question! I was making my rounds this morning, visiting websites and blogs of people and businesses that interest me, and I noticed something. I noticed that if I visit a blog that hasn't been updated in a few months, I rarely read it. I find that my own surfing habits are a good indication of others and in this case I must conclude that if a business has a blog, they should keep it updated.
I've been recommending to my customers that a good website is updated frequently to offer fresh and current content for all who find their website. For businesses who markets to consumers, this is even more important in my opinion. But a blog by design is supposed to be a current and fluid resource. So that begs the question; Is having a blog that is a few months old truly helping my companies reputation or harming it? From a PR and marketing standpoint I would have to say hurting it. Though there are some solutions.
Here is my opinion on the matter. If you are going to create a blog for your business, keep it updated or drop it from your website. Many of the free and fee blogs out there offer a draft save of your articles and also the ability to change the dates. I would say that if you are not willing to update the content then at least update the dates. This is not the preferred solution, but it is a possible solution. The draft copies can be saved for later publication so when you're in the mood or have time, you can create a number of articles/entries and stole them away for future use.
In the end however it's about dedication to the resource just like any other resource or marketing effort. If a blog is part of your online presence, then by all means keep it updated and offer your readers a reason to visit and hopefully a reason to buy.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Disaster Preparedness
I'm responding to the many opinions I have read about the slow response to hurricane Katrina. I have several opinions on this but will admit that the response did seem slow on the surface. My own "digging" provided evidence otherwise. That said, my data comes from US Military and Government sources such as FEMA and the Red Cross. I may post some of the "proof" on a web page someday but I'm currently overwhelmed with requirements. I have compiled some great photographs with a time line.
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Katrina - there is a right way to help
| These two links come from http://www.FEMA.gov/ |
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| Important information about helping and charity fraud. |
