Special Message from IEEE-USA President Alphonse
on Hurricane Katrina
2 September 2005
Dear U.S. IEEE Members,
The United States is currently facing one of the
greatest natural disasters in our history. We
empathize with the pain and suffering of tens of
thousands of Americans in the Gulf region
including Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and
Florida. And we worry about those IEEE members
in the affected areas of Region 3 (Southeastern
U.S.) and Region 5 (Southwestern U.S.). They are
all very much in our hearts and minds.
Now, the focus is on delivering humanitarian aid
to the affected areas, and the greatest needs
are financial. On behalf of the IEEE's U.S.
membership, I am pleased to announce that
IEEE-USA will contribute $5,000 to the American
Red Cross to support Katrina relief efforts.
IEEE President Cleon Anderson, Region 3 Director
Bill Harrison, and Region 5 Director John
Meredith join me in encouraging U.S. IEEE
members, who want to make personal donations to
relief or reconstruction organizations, to give
to any of the organizations identified by the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),
listed online at:
www.fema.gov/press/2005/resources_katrina.shtm#donate.
Further, IEEE-USA will make available
Professional Activities Committee (PACE) project
funds to organized groups of U.S. IEEE members
in Regions 3 and 5 requesting funds to support
local volunteer recovery efforts, especially to
help sustain local IEEE activities and volunteer
networks in the weeks and months ahead. For
information on how to obtain IEEE-USA PACE
Project Funds, contact Scott Grayson at
s.grayson@ieee.org;
or go to
www.ieeeusa.org/volunteers/pace/funding.asp.
I know that many of our U.S. IEEE members are
looking for opportunities to volunteer their
time and skills. FEMA is currently advising that
no one go to any of the affected areas unless
directed by a voluntary agency. FEMA has an
ongoing need for engineers, but only volunteers
who have registered and completed agency
training will be deployed on its disaster
response teams.
The American Red Cross also has a continuing
need for engineers wheeeusa.org">
feedback@ieeeusa.org.
Most Sincerely,
Gerard A. Alphonse
President,
IEEE-USA
Updated:
15 February, 2008
Contact: IEEE-USA,
ieeeusa@ieee.org
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