Please send letters to Michelle Hucal at hucalm@bnpmedia.com. Letters will be posted at the discretion of the editor.

IIDA TX - OK Chapter getting the word out for job opportunities

Dear Ms. Brown and Ms. Hucal -

I currently volunteer as the VP of Forums for the IIDA TX - OK Chapter in addition to my day job as a design professional. We (as well as the rest of the gulf coast) have been monitoring Hurricane Katrina and the devastation that it has created. The latest news that we have heard is that it may take anywhere from 1-4 months for people to be able to get back to the devastated areas. Additionally, many are out of work and don't know if they have a job to go back to. As an organization, we are in the process of working with design firms to identify temporary positions for evacuated professionals. We have hopes that ED+C can help us with “getting the word out” to the community at large.

Here is the process:

1. Volunteers are contacting design firms and asking if they have a need for contract / temporary help.
2. Firms that do have a need are posting their ads onto the job page at www.iida-texas.org. The jobs are sorted by city, and identified by the following title: “Contract work for Katrina Evacuees”
3. The potential employees will need to contact the firms as defined on the job listing.

The IIDA TX - OK Chapter feels strongly that working together through these tough times helps people keep their dignity, as well as benefit the industry and helps to give back to the design community.

Sincerely,
Andie Moeder, IIDA, LEED AP
, Associate, Interior Designer

student suggests green building technology for rebuilding

Hi There,

I am an environmental science student at the University of Oregon. I have been thinking about the Katrina tragedy and am doing what I can to help. However, I feel that once the victims get back on their feet homes and towns will be rebuilt which opens up a great opportunity to implement green building technology. I just want to suggest that there be a push to use these technologies when rebuilding. It seems like the perfect opportunity to do so. Take Care.

Thank you,
Carina Zevely

Katrina: Don't Forget Our Family -- A Personal Letter to Our Industry from Stephen Ashkin

BLOOMINGTON, IN—September 16, 2005—The devastation in New Orleans and along the entire Gulf Coast has been catastrophic. For those who lived in the area or have family and friends there, out heart and prayers go out to you.

Many organizations are accepting and funneling donations to the victims, and it is gratifying to see the worldwide outpouring of support for the victims.

But what about “our family?”
By “our family,” I mean those working in the cleaning industry who have lost everything. Who is going to take care of the school custodians, the cleaning personnel who worked for the area's facilities and contract cleaners, the environmental services workers in the healthcare facilities, and the sales and support staffs of the janitorial supply distributors, whose jobs are gone and lives have been disrupted by this horrific disaster?

I suspect that the doctors, lawyers, engineers, and other professional people will do just fine. But who's looking after our family?

I am sending this to our industry's product suppliers, distributors, cleaning contractors, and trade associations asking them to consider how we might band together and target our relief efforts. Let's try and take care of our own family. If we don't, who will?

Please visit my Web site, http://www.ashkingroup.com, for helpful links and information on how we can help those in our own industry affected by this catastrophe. Additionally, the National Library of Medicine has compiled a new Hurricane Katrina Web page, http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/hurricane.html that discusses toxic chemicals, which may be released because of the Katrina disaster, information on wind and flood damage, and environmental health information resources for health workers and the interested public.

Stephen Ashkin
Stephen P. Ashkin is president of The Ashkin Group, a consulting firm specializing in greening the cleaning process. In the new book Environmentalism Unbound, Dr. Robert Gottlieb describes Steve Ashkin as the “leading advocate for a stronger environmental profile among cleaning product manufacturers and suppliers” and “the most visible industry figure advancing the cause of environmentally preferable products.” The Ashkin Group provides green consulting services for school districts, building owners, product manufacturers, and cleaning contractors and can be reached at 812-332-7950 or visit the Web site of the Ashkin Group at http://www.ashkingroup.com/index.htm