An email I got today from the President of Nine.com… interesting read…
Hello everyone…as you may or may not know, Nine.com was able to deliver 2 semitrucks full of supplies to those affected by the hurricane. I just wanted to thank again those people mentioned in the press release below as well as all those people we met along the way…like the lady from the Red Cross blood bank who when she saw the trucks parked on the side of the road near the Astrodome while we duct taped our Nine.com signs to the sides……inquired what the heck we were doing….then walked a mile around the Astrodome to find out where we we could bring the trucks in the easiest because she was working inside the Astrodome for 48 hours straight and knew these people were in desperate need of what was in our trucks……… that effort alone probably saved these trucks fuel and an hour of driving around aimlessly because these trucks cant turn around that easily as I found out when we stopped to put the signs on em ………….and of course to Mike Nichols especially who approved my request to do this at great expense……. wouldn’t have been done without the money to buy the supplies………. and to Jimmy Mason who planted the idea to do this.. Let me assure you what we accompolished from conception to execution was nothing short of a miracle. We did in twelve hours what the US govt took days to do. We were the only company that as of Saturday delivered the amount of supplies we did directly to those people who needed it!!!!. While of course many US companies donated millions of dollars, I can tell you it is not what the people need right now…. They need food and water, and blankets…!!!!!! We were able to deliver those needed items directly to them. The only other truck that pulled up was a Wal Mart truck and all they had was pallet of femine hygiene products and some soup…. (I’d like to see how they expect the people to cook the soup) (they did give 17 million cash though so they can’t be that bad)
When I pulled into the ASTRODOME parking lot at 2 pm on Sat. (right on schedule) with 2 semitrucks behind me..there was a bit of chaos at the entry gate…. the US Army, and Houston Police who were manning the gates were asking “Who are you People? you dont have clearance….. .radio calls were going out.. no one really knew what to do with us……….they were flabbergasted that a company…. not a charity or the government……. was delivering this quantity of supplies. They did not believe us because we weren’t a Fortune 500 company that they would have heard of and probably let us in no problem….(even though we are an Egaming Review Power 50 company!!!) .. They finally got the director on the radio who excitedly said “If there is two truckloads of food and water..you better just let them in!!!! We were then cleared and allowed to pull up to the loading dock and the director announced over the PA system that 2 truckloads of food, water and blankets had arrived, and whoever could get out there to help unload it please go…..it seemed everyone in the donation center started clapping and hollering..
These volunteers were there sorting, organizing and distributing the tons of donations coming in from the general public….. used clothes and toys mostly, to the evacuees directly through a shopping list procedure that seemed a little chaotic…….. evacuees would put in their request via a shopping list and runners would run around the donation center filling it as best they could………… ……….. I assure you it is not a job I would have wanted to be in charge of. but I met the man who is.. he hadn’t slept in 36 hours……. his name was Jason a young kid (prob 27) ……….who took his time to come meet me and thank me.. (his picture is included below)… A Houston police officer also came over to me and said “you guys just saved some lives” I about broke down….His face told me he wasn’t joking. and shook my hand. … When I regained my composure and told JAson our story and that we were from Costa Rica he was all the more shocked.. He asked how in the world did you do this? and I told him the story…. ………..it all started with my plan to ship bananas and oranges…….(that’s a whole other story)……
While I did not see the destruction, devastation or death in New Orleans directly.. I was allowed to enter the Astrodome itself (thanks to Jason) where 20,000 plus people displaced from New Orleans and Mississippi were transported to. What I did witness was the largest room in the world maybe …….filled with crying and sadness. It was an emotional experience I will never forget.. This is why no cameras are allowed in there any more I assume.. but this is what people need to see even thoughTV does not do it justice….beeing in there walking around is another whole level of disbeleif. I can tell you that there are people who are angry, sad, mad, glad, happy, distraught, ecstatic and every other emotion imaginable..that they are there………. everyone has a different story……. I only heard a few… it was enough…….
…..The link to the pictures below are taken at the Reliant center right next door to the Astrodome. They were just starting to fill it up when I was again allowed to walk in there.(note I am the only person walking around basically) 20,000 more cots were laid out for those who were displaced. I talked to few people who were settling in… They were dazed and confused…..didnt even know what day it was…..They were shivering, hungry and thirsty I assume too….our blankets were being placed one on a cot by the staff….. I will bet you that these people will be there a very long time. Seeing the signs…… Lost Kids and Kids with Missing Parents section of the building is the most disturbing for obvious reasons…. Not to mention the banner for a Reliant Arena sponsor called WM or as their gigantic sign on the wall of the building said WASTE MANAGEMENT…. North Americas’ leading waste and enviornmental network…It seemed to be a little out of place at this point…I hope only I realize that….
…. I cannot stress enough what we accompolished was amazing. As we unloaded the last bit of merchandise…I was jumping down from the platform ready to head back to my cozy hotel and someone yelled “Hey Bob…..as I turned around there was a man I did not know all sweaty and dirty from helping unload the truck I thought… he said.. “hey man……. I dont know if anyone told you this yet …….but there are a lot of people inside who are eternally thankful to ya………………..I’m one of them… I wanted to just let ya know…” I again almost lost it…powerful words from a stranger………… maybe that said it all………….. Even our truck drivers who drove from NAshville to Dallas to pick up our supplies to Houston for barely nothing more than gas money would not even accept a cheap $20 gratuity from me … they both said ” No way man ….this was the best thing we’ve ever done”……..I think they were right…..
Robert Evans