Member news: Hurricane Katrina evacuees--one year later.

Last September, Financial Executive wrote about the experiences of two FEI members of the New Orleans Chapter just 10 days after Hurricane Katrina hit the area. For this followup feature, we asked the two to submit a brief on how they are doing; here are their stories, in their own words: From Stan Smith (former FEI Southwestern Area Vice President):

I am pleased to report that my wife and I continue to do well one year after Katrina. We are clearly among the fortunate. We have good health and a home that suffered moderate damage. Also, since my position before and after the storm was based in Houston, I was not impacted by relocation or loss of positions, as have been peers and associates.

Hurricane Katrina is an event that will impact and shape the remainder of our lives. We lost a personal friend to suicide and three others to stress-attributed deaths. We continue to fight with the frustration of negative publicity for a city we love. We struggle with finding and dealing with contractors. Despite this, we are committed to New Orleans and excited about the opportunities that come with reconstruction.

The city clearly faces a long path for reconstruction, but the signs are promising; and while progress is slow, every day brings more improvement. My wife is involved in the tourism industry, and while it is running at about 50 percent of pre-storm level, it appears to be picking up. In fact, New Orleans recently hosted its first large convention since the storm, receiving favorable responses.

As for my career: since the storm, I have continued my search for opportunities that would allow me to return to New Orleans, and am pleased to report success. I will be reporting to work in early August as CFO of the New Orleans Public School System. This opportunity comes with challenges--with a reduced and unknown revenue base, I'll be rebuilding the labor force and the facilities. Personally, I'm transitioning from 20 years in manufacturing to an entirely new field. However, my largest challenge will be adjusting to living with my wife full-time!

From Tom Sandeman:

On Aug. 28, 2005, my wife, Barbara, and I packed our computers, a lifetime of pictures and a few family heirlooms and evacuated to Atlanta to escape Hurricane Katrina. I continued to operate my consulting business from a hotel room in Marietta, Ga., from Aug. 29 until October, when I returned to my home in New Orleans. FEI was the first organization to contact us after the storm and continues to play an important part in our lives.

Eleven months later, we still walk in the shadow of the storm. My son and I live in an apartment in Baton Rouge (72 miles west of New Orleans), where I now work full-time as CFO of Piccadilly Restaurants, LLC. Barbara visits us, but most of the time she lives upstairs in our home in Metairie, La., while trying to rebuild our lives and our home. She is truly a "woman of the storm."

My new boss at Piccadilly, CEO David Green, has been unbelievably supportive of our family and all of the employees affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Fifty-two of our 130 restaurants were affected by the three storms; 49 of those will be reopened by the time this article appears in print. Despite the chaos caused by the storm, there have been no lay-offs at Piccadilly. Our company was fortunate. Many businesses remain shuttered, and thousands of residents of the Gulf Coast are unable to return to their homes or jobs due to the devastation.

Despite the devastation, the business community in Louisiana is leading the recovery. I reserve my greatest respect for the corporate leaders in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas who have had the courage to face the storm and who are rebuilding their companies without fanfare or headlines.

Among these are members, friends and supporters of FEI such as Tom Kitchen, CEO, Stewart Enterprises; Richard Bachman, CEO, Energy Partners, who moved his business back to New Orleans after temporarily operating in Texas; Bob Galofaro, senior vice president, Wellington Cos.; Bill Hines, managing director, Jones Walker; Andrew Bruns, CFO; Stan Smith, CFO; Laurence Oertling, CFO, Laitram Corp.; Ray Jeandron, KPMG; Tim Woods, CFO, Taylor Energy; Ashton Ryan, CEO, First NBC, who raised the capital and opened the first new bank in Louisiana after the hurricane; Bob Levine; Harry Smith; and Ann Rogers.

The aforementioned, and countless other members of the business community and their families, are setting a courageous standard of leadership in rebuilding our city.