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ed twenty inches in multiple parishes. In
fact, rainfall in the southern Louisiana
area equated to more than four trillion
gallons of water, enough to fill six million
Olympic-sized swimming pools. As the
rain subsided two days later, the devastation
became apparent. At the request of
Vice President LoCicero, Local 478 Benefits
and Media Coordinator Shira Landman
began contacting Local 478 members
living in the Baton Rouge area to
assess their safety and well-being.
On Monday, August 15th, Local 478
created a Flood Response Team, which
sprang into action organizing staging
areas for the collection of supplies and
materials for affected members. With the
assistance of the General Office in New
York, the Team contacted members from
the following Locals: 39, 161, 540, 600,
695, 700, 798, 800, and 840. Each member
was contacted in order to assess their
immediate needs, and determine those
who needed shelter or temporary housing,
food, supplies, or other assistance.
The Team learned that approximately
thirty members had either their
own house, or the house of a close family
member flooded. In addition, approximately
seven members’ cars were flooded.
Through their efforts, the Team was
able to provide temporary housing, and
collect and distribute gift cards, clothes,
supplies, and other necessary items to
members impacted by the devastating
flooding. The Team also helped gut and
clean homes, furniture, and personal belongings.
Sister Miller noted that it was
heartwarming to see so many members
come together quickly to pool their resources
and skills, and systematically address
the needs of the areas hardest hit by
the flooding.
General Secretary-Treasurer Wood
contacted Sister Miller to inquire about
the ways the International could assist
with the aid relief effort. The International
was able to assist by spreading the
word about how members could assist
the Team with their efforts. The General
Executive Board also approved a $10,000
donation to the relief efforts. That donation
was followed with matching donations
from Locals 52, 478, and 479,
a $5,000 donation from Local 798, and
donations from Locals 154, 848, and 917.
Coupled with many other donations from
individual brothers and sisters, the Team
raised nearly $50,000. This was truly an
incredible accomplishment.
International Vice
President Phil
LoCicero, Louisiana
Governor John Bell
Edwards and
International
President
Matthew Loeb.
Local 478 member Simonette Berry-
Whatley shared an email report she provided
to the Local 487 Response Team
during their response to the flooding.
Sister Berry-Whatley recounted how
grateful people were to receive assistance
from the Team, especially in the more
remote areas of Louisiana and Southern
Mississippi.
Secretary-Treasurer Miller thanked
the following members of Local 478 for
their work on the Flood Response Team:
Aly Aducci, Joshua Anderson, Heidi Bayer,
Cassie Catalanotto, Gilbert Charbonnet,
Ken Conner, Jr., Byron Denson, Shannon
de Vergnette, Ida Floreak, Kristi Fournier,
Rob Gray, Wendy Guerrera, Bonnie Haase,
Brandon Holland, John Jabaley, James
Johnson, Nicole LaBranche, Charles Lavoy,
Nicole Lefevre, Kristen Lekki, Michael
McHugh, Matthew McLellan, Ricky Molnar,
Derek Moody, Craig R. Serody, Michael
Smith, Patric Sullivan, Hayes Taylor,
David Tory, Katelyn Tyree, Gabriel Wimmer,
and Tony Ziegler. In addition, the
following individuals served as Local 478
Response Leaders: International Vice President
LoCicero, Shira Landman, David
Whatley, and Simonette Berry-Whatley.
Vice President LoCicero expressed
his sincere and heartfelt thanks to the Response
Team, and noted that the first call
he received after the flooding was from
President Loeb.
President Loeb stated that the response
to the flood is what being a Union
is all about, and commended everyone
who gave of themselves to help brothers
and sisters in need. He expressed his personal
and professional gratitude for setting
an example for all members of the
Alliance for what we can do. President
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