Katrina Rebuilding Requires Distributors

The stories of heartbreak and recovery following the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina have touched — and inspired — people throughout the United States.

Every resident of the Gulf Coast has a personal account of the storm. Many distributors along the coast have worked hard and been creative in dealing with the difficulties in rebuilding a region.

Just days after Katrina, much of the media’s attention quickly turned to the government’s response to the hurricane. In the weeks after, the focus largely switched to the massive clean-up effort that would be required along the Gulf Coast.

In this month’s cover story, “Picking up the Pieces,” writer Kassandra Kania speaks with distributors to get a feel for what their lives were like in days, weeks and months following Katrina.

Distributors indicate that two of the largest difficulties they have faced are employee shortage and customer attrition. While there is a general consensus that it will take years to clean and rebuild the area, there is also a unique sense of brotherhood and kinship that wasn’t noticeable, pre-Katrina.

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This issue also features the NJSSA Supply Line 2006 Show Guide. The supplement is a one-stop resource that combines exhibitor listings, thoughts from NJSSA president Fred Schimanski, show details and directions for getting to the Atlantic City Convention Center, the site of this year’s show.