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Phone+ Magazine
August 1, 2008 Tim Wise
As professionals in the telecommunications industry, we all can appreciate the complexity of managing an enterprise’s overall communications environment and expense. With today’s challenging economic conditions, enterprises are even more likely to consider telecom expense management solutions in hopes of achieving cost savings and improving efficiencies. That’s good news for the channel. The bad news is that many of them will fail.
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Find out how Chick-fil-A is embracing the VoIP Workforce with assistance from Advocate Networks.
Team,
Congratulations team! We have completed the service project with MTBH that we set at the beginning of 2008. The Wood Shop is renovated, electrical and safety repairs are made, the roof leaks are healed, and the Wood Shop has been washed and now has a fresh coat of stain! The MTBH staff is working with the Wood Workers Guild to start training for the boys this fall.
We had a great day at the Mountain Top Boys Home yesterday. Building off the great team effort on 9/11/2008, April, Bob, Jeff and I completed the exterior painting of the woodshop -- a significant milestone in our overall plan for 2008!
We had a lot of help from Marty Vess during the day and couldn’t have completed the painting without him. April and Jeff did a fantastic job painting the high areas under the eaves that were not accessible with the paint sprayer. Bob proved to be a master paint sprayer has the woodshop siding became his canvas. We will have some pictures to share shortly.
We also had a chance to meet two the newest residents --- Fred and Dalton. Both boys are 16. Dalton has been in numerous foster homes and is excited that he sees MTBH as different and a place he can stay and grow. Fred most recently arrived from a jail term for theft, and has no family to care for him. He was born in jail to a cocaine-addicted mother. Fred is a hard worker, and will hopefully find the discipline, support, and education he needs to take on a positive role in society. We hope to meet more of the boys at MTBH.
Thanks again to everyone for your efforts this year. We are now working on additional projects at MTBH and areas we can serve them over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
Scott
Team,
I am happy to report that our electrician has completed the electrical and safety improvements to the Woodshop at the Mountain Boys Home this past weekend. We also got the power-washing of the exterior started on Saturday, and completed 2 of 4 exterior walls. While on-site, we also updated the punch list of items needing attention to get the Woodshop looking good and fully operational.
I have asked Brette to post the latest pictures on the S Drive under Company Pictures in folder “MTBH 08.02.08”.
NEXT STEPS:
We will be organizing teams to tackle the remaining work in phases. The next phase will include the remainder of the power-washing of the exterior, organizing the wood storage area, and moving debris and unwanted wood, logs and other items to a construction dumpster. A following phase will consist of staining/sealing of the exterior, and organizing the paint room. Another team will return to put a 2nd cost of stain and work on landscaping.
We are going to select the team leaders this week, and get the next phases organized. I will be communicating these next steps that you will be able to volunteer to a team to contribute to the overall project. One of the teams will be working on September 11 in memorial of the tragedies of 9/11/2001.
While on-site this weekend, I also met the new MTBH Director, and discussed other interests we have in serving other needs of the Boys who reside at MTBH. He greatly appreciates our offer and asked that we discuss the next time I am back at MTBH. He just started two weeks ago and is still getting his arms around the priority list.
Thanks,
Scott
Fellow Team Members,
We took the next step in our MTBH Community Service Project this week. As you will see in the attached Community Service Plan presented to the Board of Mountain Top Boys Home, we are working towards renovating an existing Wood Shop on the 500-acre property of MTBH. The Wood Shop is not currently usable due to roof leaks, electrical problems and safety issues. The MTBH has accepted and approved our plan. Advocate Networks donated $5,000 to MTBH to help fund this project.
After several months of delays due largely to rain on the days planned for the roof repair, the first step was taken last Saturday at MTBH. Our project manager, Jerry Fogle (yes, my father – he got inspired and volunteered to help us!), worked with John Norris, President of American Roof-tech Systems, to perform a complete roof inspection and repair. Jerry contacted Mr. Norris in February and he volunteered his services at no charge – a great volunteer and supporter of our mission! Mr. Norris noted during the inspection that the roof was well-constructed and should last another 10-15 years.
The second step is to engage a licensed electrical contractor to make the electrical system and safety repairs. We have identified that contractor, he has made an estimate of the repairs needed, and Jerry and the contractor will probably be going to MTBH the week of June 9 to complete the estimated 2-3 days of work required to complete this part of the project. This team will also replace the heating system for the Wood Shop.
The next steps are where you come in! Very shortly, I will be looking for volunteers to work on project steps 4 and 5 (clean and organize the interior, and clean and seal the exterior). We will likely complete these steps in 3 to 4 team visits to the MTBH property. We may also plan some follow-up landscaping steps in the fall.
Get ready to put your work-gloves on, roll-up your sleeves and help the Boys of Mountain Top!
Glad to discuss if you have any comments, questions or new ideas for the project,
Scott
VolunTourism is a novel idea that gives busy people an opportunity to combine travel, adventure, and service. Atlanta residents Wayne and Ann Webb became familiar with the concept when they were looking for ways to help the recovery effort after Hurricane Katrina. Wayne Webb had grown up in the Gentilly area of New Orleans, and his parents still live just across Lake Pontchartrain. His wife, Ann, grew up in the Lakeview area, another devastated part of New Orleans like Gentilly and the 9th Ward.
Shortly after Wayne Webb joined Advocate Networks in 2006, he attended a meeting where Advocate Networks leaders were brainstorming ideas for giving back to the community. Seizing the opportunity, Webb proposed a company-sponsored VolunTourism trip to the New Orleans area.
“The goal was to show the local people some support,” Webb says. Webb and his wife had already made several trips to the Lakeview area of New Orleans, where they had been helping the parishioners of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church rebuild their flood-damaged sanctuary and nursery school.
The St. Luke’s property was inundated during the hurricane and remained flooded with up to 8 feet of water for weeks after the storm. Along with the physical damage, the church lost half its 200 family membership as displaced residents relocated to other parts of the country. Worship services for those who remained had to be held in a courtyard located on the church grounds, and electricity wasn't restored to the church complex for 9 months.
“About 80 percent of the homes in the greater New Orleans area had flood damage,” says Bonnie Happel, one of the church’s lay leaders. “A year and a half later, Lakeview is 30 percent inhabited, including people living in FEMA trailers.“
Advocate Networks co-founders and co-presidents Scott Fogle and Tim Wise had discussed going to New Orleans shortly after Hurricane Katrina. Wise had previous experience with Hurricane Hugo disaster relief – both wanted to help with the revitalization.
“We were ready to go,” Fogle says. “But FEMA said at the time it was too dangerous.”
By January 2007 conditions had improved and security was less of an issue, particularly for visitors staying in the New Orleans historic district. With support from Fogle and Wise, Webb organized a three-day trip to help with the St. Luke repairs.
They stayed in local hotels and ate in local restaurants to help the economy. The VolunTourists included Scott Fogle, Wayne and Ann Webb, Marco Kuysten, Gwyn Grafe, Bob Landstrom, Juergie Landstrom (Bob“s 13 year old son), Rick Smith, and Ryan Hankinson.
As soon as the team arrived, they got to work on multiple projects across the church grounds. By the end of the trip, they had scraped, primed, and repainted a wrought iron fence that had been completely submerged by flood waters, raised a new fence along one side of the property, painted halls in the church's nursery school, and identified the source of damage to the building's sprinkler system.
The Advocate Networks team also took a disaster tour of the area to see the storm’s effects first-hand. Everyone agreed the scale of the devastation is overwhelming and hard to appreciate from newspaper reports or even video footage.
“This is a long road,” Webb says. “People are fighting their way back and there are a lot of challenges.”
To find out more about the VolunTourist movement, go to www.voluntourism.org.