Central PA! We Did and Are "Doing Our Part."
STATE COLLEGE, PA - KRTF Director Perry Babb
13 July 2006

"Thank You Central PA!"

I've heard this many times on 6 trips to the Katrina devastated Mississippi and Alabama coasts. Mayors, Police Chiefs, Fireman, Librarians, Shrimp Fisherman, boat builders, Doctors, book-lovers, young moms, old men and complete strangers who would simply notice the PA license plate and come over to say, "Thank You for coming to help us."

I am proud of Central PA
As 'Doing Our Part - Central Pennsylvania's Katrina Reconstruction Task Force', more than 70 volunteers, on 7 teams, ranging from age 10 to 65, from State College, Tyrone, Pennsylvania Furnace, Oceola, Reedsville, Curwenville, Lewistown, Bellefonte and PSU have traveled to rural Alabama and Mississippi to help. Many individuals, companies, and community groups have joined with us through donations of time, expertise, materials and money.
In addition, several other great organization and many churches from the Region have collected items and funds and sent a variety of very affective teams to the Gulf Region. Well over 175 volunteers, student and non-students from several organization, including Penn State Departments and classes traveled South, over spring break alone, to help.
Central PA, we did and are 'Doing Our Part'.
We, like many fellow Central Pennsylvanian's, watched the slowly unfolding Katrina catastrophe awed by the scope of the devastation, angered by images of so many waiting so long for help and eventually saying 'Ok, Let's do something!'.
We gave money, as we should, to the Salvation Army, Red Cross and other national agencies. An industrious few of us, lead by the Ryder Organization and others, in the first week mobilized immediate relief convoys of water and supplies. Eventually 'rescue & recovery' efforts turn to 'shelter and resettlement' and then, the last and longest phase, 'reconstruction'.
In each phase it became glaringly apparent that this job was too big for government, yes, too big! It would take too long and cost too much if left to the public sector. The ingenuity, mobility, sacrifice of many, many private citizens and groups working, nose to nose, with local Gulf officials, business leaders, regular people could do it...easily, yes easily!!...and in a fraction of the time and cost. We, as Central PA just needed to do our part.
Bureaucracies allow large entities to function, but they can be slow and sometime unwittingly put up barriers preventing others from getting something done. Government and large agencies were regularly telling people and groups, 'Do not go. You will be in the way. You will not be allowed to get close enough to help', even, 'You are not needed.' Politely speaking, this proved to be bureaucratic non-reality.
By mid-September, a group of frustrated local builders, bankers, engineers, media experts and business people met to make a way to be able to make a difference. The focus was to be the repair and reconstruction of public buildings, which were not covered by flood insurance located in rural areas or small towns. We would organize the engineering and planning and mobilize workers, equipment and materials for 'turnkey' reconstruction and repair. 'Doing Our Part' was formed and the project entitled 'Central PA's Katrina Reconstruction Task Force'.Congratulations, Central Pennsylvania!
A Mississippi fireman told me, 'The thing that amazed me was the people who would just show up to help. There was a father and 2 sons who drove down from West Va. with a back hoe and said, 'We've got off for a couple of days, how can we help? The many, many people in Fl. and Ga., N.C. who just loaded up their trucks or trunks of their cars with water and ice and drove right into the most devastated areas...and the many, many church groups who would just show up...with food and clothes, generators, fuel...'A Police Captain's statement after 3rd team to his town; ' I still can't believe you people would come all the way down here to help us, but I tell you, the next blizzard you have, I'm coming.'
That's it, 'Doing our part'. We don't have to do more and shouldn't do less. Let's just do our part.
Perry Babb
Director
KRTF