As we were finishing up this issue of Contracting Profits, Hurricane Katrina had just made landfall in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. While we won’t know for several weeks the extent of the damage and loss, meteorologists and emergency-management experts are preparing for many casualties and months of clean-up and reconstruction.

New Orleans was the site of last year’s ISSA/INTERCLEAN® convention and trade show, and we got to know a number of area building service contractors. They spoke of natural disasters in business terms — water-damage clean-up and restoration contracts keep them busy during hurricane season, they told us (the story was in our September 2004 issue). Post-Katrina, our thoughts are with our readers and friends impacted by this natural disaster.

Once the winds die down, the rain stops and officials get a better idea of the damage, BSCs will no doubt want to help. The American Red Cross is already taking collections, and we’ll keep you abreast, via the pages of this magazine or online, of any industry-specific action. The cleaning industry has a history of standing together and doing the right thing during tough times, and I expect the recent Gulf Coast devastation to be no exception.

Stacie H. Rosenzweig, Editor




POSTED ON: 9/1/2005