The First Word: New Jersey Takes A Punch, But We’re Still Standing

I fully intended to use this space this month to tell you about all the great enhancements being made to NAFA’s 2013 Institute & Expo (I&E) that are going to make it the best conference ever. That I&E, as you hopefully know by now, will take place in Atlantic City, New Jersey from April 23-26, 2013. 

If you’ve been watching the news the past week, you know that Atlantic City – and the entire New Jersey coastline – was ravaged by Hurricane Sandy. Sandy was the largest storm to ever hit New Jersey and she seemed intent on leaving her mark in the record books. Hundreds of homes along the coast have been destroyed, literally obliterated, leaving behind no trace of their former shapes. Thousands of trees, large and small, and utility poles are down. Floodwaters are feet deep, not inches deep, and gas lines are rupturing, making a stressful situation life-threatening. Entire neighborhoods are gone, either from storm surge taking houses off their footings or fires burning them down. It is, quite frankly, what I imagine Hell to look like. To add insult to injury, for the past few days temperatures have plunged below the freezing mark, leaving those with no power shuddering and shaking below what blankets and coats they could find.

And yet, through all the mess, despite the calamity, the stress, and the tired bones, I’ve seen people at their best over the past few days. In particular, the first responders from the police, fire, EMT, and emergency operations divisions across this State have been outstanding. There are countless stories of their heroic efforts saving residents trapped in their homes or, worse, being pulled underwater by the strong tide.

There is also NAFA’s own Gary Wien, our Communications Manager who lives in the shore town of Belmar, one of the hardest hit by Sandy. Gary and his wife Sherry were lucky in that their home did not sustain much damage, but they are still without power. Still, Gary spent all of last week helping the town’s residents by ensuring they knew about all of the help available to them – a daunting task considering there is no power or cell service.  Gary literally walked door to door handing out flyers and talking to neighbors throughout the entire town. He was the modern-day town crier and we couldn’t be more proud. 

There are also thousands of utility line workers (11,000 at last count) who came to New Jersey in advance of the storm from 12 different states and Canada. They have been simply amazing and are truly a Godsend. While some of us were safely hunkered down during and just after the storm, these heroes were working 16-hour shifts doing everything they could to help us get our lives back to normal. They are still hard at work today and will likely be so for the next few weeks. All of New Jersey owes a huge debt to these selfless and tireless workers!

So that brings me to another point, which I repeated "ad nauseum" to my wife and kids during our special time together at home with no lights or heat: all of those first responders, police officers, firefighters, EMTs, emergency operations personnel, and utility line workers, are doing their jobs because of the outstanding work and foresight of fleet managers! Fleet professionals from cities, counties, states, and utility companies all along the eastern seaboard, and as far west as Missouri, leaned on each other and created an intricate web of dependency that is allowing New Jersey and the surrounding states to get back on their feet in record time. I’m pretty sure nearly every member of NAFA’s newly formed Utility Line Clearance Tree Equipment Committee – the folks who clear trees away from the utility lines – is hard at work somewhere cleaning up Sandy’s destruction.  We all owe a great debt of gratitude to the fleet managers who planned ahead, put plans in to action, and are working around the clock to make sure we are whole again.

Hurricane Sandy’s brute force was like nothing we’ve ever seen before. Her impact was and continues to be devastating. Power is getting restored to the more than 2-million homes and businesses left without electricity, but the process is slow and laborious. Patience is a virtue, but it is in short supply these days. We have a lot of cleanup and rebuilding still to do in New Jersey. But folks in New Jersey are strong...and we have an attitude that won’t let us accept defeat. I am positive that Atlantic City will be a tremendous host for I&E 2013 in just under six months. 

Please keep New Jersey and the entire area impacted by Hurricane Sandy in your thoughts and prayers.

If you are inclined to help those impacted by Hurricane Sandy, there are many ways to do so:
Sincerely,




P.S. It is a coincidence that just last month NAFA published its outstanding Emergency Operations Manual which provides step-by step instructions to develop effective emergency operations or business continuity plans.