Gulfport, MS: Hurricane Katrina Special Report

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UPDATE: Gulfport, One Year Later Available August 29, 2006 Coverage from 2005 Post-Katrina, Gulfport Goodwill CEO Senses Opportunity for Goodwill A year after Hurricane Katrina pushed a 20-foot wall of water onto the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Goodwill Industries of South Mississippi continues to recover from the storm’s effects, rebuilding its business lines, one store and one person at a time. Reconstruction efforts are moving on different tracks. While the rebuilding of casinos has moved forward at a quick clip, the rebirth of homes has been much slower. Part of the reason for that slow pace is the limited number of workers in the area. It nearly depleted the Goodwill’s contracts staff, during a time when some service demands actually increased. And it left many Goodwill employees—from senior staff members to front-line workers—homeless. The hurricane’s destruction also forced the Goodwill to close three of its five retail stores in Pascagoula, Bay St. Louis and D’Iberville. The Goodwill opened a store in Gautier in February, replacing the closed Pascagoula store, and a store in Orange Grove will open soon. In addition, the Goodwill staff is looking to buy a store in Picayune, which would double the size of the successful existing store in that community. Post-Katrina, Goodwill’s contracts staff had been nearly obliterated to just 12 people—one-fifteenth of the 180-member contracts staff working for the agency before the storm. But, as government buildings have been repaired, the jobs are coming back. Today, the Goodwill has 170 contracts employees and hopes to garner more in-house contracts that will specifically benefit clients with severe disabilities. “We’re trying to get in with some casinos to train employees,” says Gulfport Goodwill CEO Richard Mareda said. “We had some of that work before the storm.” A major factor contributing to the Goodwill’s recovery stemmed from the support it received from Goodwill Industries International’s Disaster Relief Fund, Yet, Mareda says the biggest reasons for the Goodwill’s recovery are the staff--many of whom lost their homes but continued coming to work. “I couldn’t be prouder of any other staff I’ve ever worked with,” he said. “They come in everyday with a big smile.” As the Goodwill and the Mississippi Gulf Coast community go about business in a post-Katrina world, Mareda said two bright spots have been the rebuilding process set forth by political and business leaders and the collaboration of social service agencies across the city. Currently, various social service agencies are trying to put together a consortium to continue work on post-Katrina recovery efforts. “It is nice to see the nonprofits working together—we’re trying to enhance what each other does,” he says.

Gulfport Staff Continues to Regroup after Storm  

Gulfport, MS (2005) — On September 20, the 14 people gathered in the office of Goodwill Industries of South Mississippi CEO LeRoy Modenbach Jr. looked like they might be undergoing group therapy.

In a way, they were. More than three weeks have passed since Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Louisiana coast, just west of Picayune, MS. But, while senior staff members are steadily getting back to business, they are continuing to look for lost employees – 30-40 are still unaccounted for – and making sure everyone's been paid.

At the same time, the Goodwill staff is handling new challenges, such as rebuilding their workforce, competing in a changed labor market and dealing with their own families’ recovery efforts.

“The staff is terrific,” said Modenbach on September 20. “Four to five days [after the storm], we already had two-thirds of our staff. Basically, people are ready to go back to work.”

So far, the Goodwill knows of no confirmed deaths of its employees or clients. However, one contracts employee is missing and presumed dead, said Community Relations and Marketing Director Jim Collins.

The hurricane that flattened parts of the Mississippi Gulf Coast did its own share of damage to Goodwill Industries of South Mississippi. On a good note, the Goodwill’s two retail stores in Picayune and Gulfport are open, and one in Pascagoula should open within the next month, saidBob Campbell, the Goodwill’s retail director. However, the store in Bay St. Louis got 18 inches of water, some sludge on the floor and significant roof damage. And the D’Iberville store was completely demolished, he said.

The Goodwill’s main headquarters also survived, suffering a neighbor’s roof resting on part of the plant, one lost roof panel and a knocked-down fence. Two of the Goodwill’s three attended donation centers also made it, although one in Gulfport was demolished.

Damage to employees’ and their loved ones’ homes is another story. Several of the Goodwill’s senior staff members lost everything or saw significant damage to their homes, and many of their family members are in the same boat.

The senior staff described the first week after Hurricane Katrina hit as being a time of “basic survival,” when communication was non-existent, lines for gas were long even in the middle of the night, and neighbors had to ask each other for water.

“The first week was pretty much hell,” said Don Smith, the Goodwill’s new director of human resources. “Things weren’t as bad as they were in New Orleans, but they weren’t that far off.”

Contracts Director Lou Colinet came to work immediately after the storm hit, and found some Goodwill staff members and their families, as well as some local people, crying, scared and dazed. “All I could do was pat them on the back,” Colinet said.

But there were some good signs, too. The power came on September 5 and the phone service was restored September 7.

Information Technology Director Trish Waugh, along with Accounting Manager Marcia Flagg, managed to cut 300 paychecks. So far, about 100 employees haven’t picked up their checks, possibly because the employees’ whereabouts are unknown, said Crystal Ely, a human resources support staff member.

Campbell also said that the vast number of retail employees have at least been given direction as to what they can do if their store is closed. Many of them are drawing unemployment, he said.

Some of the Goodwill’s NISH contracts are slowly coming back, although one – the switchboard at Keesler Air Force – continued even throughout the hurricane, Colinet said. However, a proliferation of hurricane recovery-related jobs in the community is meaning more competition for people to fill Goodwill’s contract positions, he said.

And, in terms of job training, the Goodwill currently has one of its vocational rehabilitation clients at work, and others are starting to call in to the Goodwill, Smith said.

Looking to the future, Modenbach seems optimistic. With the help of retired CEO Roger Matthews and his wife Bonnie, Modenbach is getting advice on how to best rebuild his Goodwill from the long-term after effects of Hurricane Katrina.

He envisions an improved donated goods program. He sees a role for Goodwill in helping storm victims best use some of the recovery funds they’ll be receiving. And he’s thinking of setting up a Goodwill service center in Pascagoula or Bay St. Louis, so those communities won’t be completely without Goodwill services.

“What I think the Gulf Coast needs is what we do,” Modenbach said. “They’ll need job training.”

“We can position ourselves to be part of the solution.”