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FRIENDS
IN NEED
USMS Katrina Relief Grants
Boost Weary Southern Swimmers
by Michael J. Stott
arly on, it was easy the coasts of Mississippi and The victim testimonials are
E for those not directly
affected by
Hurricane Katrina to
have a detached
perspective. Sure, the TV
networks bombarded viewers
nationwide with images and
Alabama.
Total damage estimates top
$80 billion (and continue to
grow), nearly double the cost
of the previous most expensive
storm, Hurricane Andrew,
which hit South Florida and
stunning, numbing and tragically
similar. Betty Russo has been a
member of Elmwood Sharks
since the team’s inception 10
years ago. She is 75. Her home
and rental property were
located a half block from the
pleas for help, but TV Louisiana in 1992. Seven break of the 17th Street canal
Mike Stott, always does that. As months after Katrina’s assault, levee, and each property
a contributing
writer for the days turned to New Orleans housed slightly received 10 feet of water.
SWIMMER, weeks and the more than 100,000 people—less On a micro scale she says, “I
is a member magnitude of the than a quarter of the pre-storm lost everything—furniture,
of Virginia
Masters. storm’s wrath population. As of April, the appliances large and small,
mounted, it became Bush administration had clothes, luggage, mattress, CD,
clear, however, that those sought $105 billion for repairs VCR, DVD, TV, tapes, dishes,
sound bites from the edge had and regional reconstruction. At etc., including Speedo
a much more personal least 1,836 people lost their swimsuits, fins, towels, swim
connection for everyone...and lives. Many others lost their hats, goggles and gym bags. It
not just because gas prices lives as they knew them, and has been a battle to relocate
went through the roof. their livelihoods as well. since prices of property and
To recap, Hurricane Katrina A year later the devastation rentals have increased
ranks as the most destructive remains, still widespread and enormously. My house is up for
and costliest natural disaster in very personal. “It’s hard for sale and I am staying with a
U.S. history. On Aug. 29, 2005, most people to comprehend, friend. Both of my children are
Katrina’s storm surge breached and, circumstantially, things out of state. I lost my main
levees around New Orleans. aren’t a whole lot different than income from my flooded rental
Flooding ensued for most of they were months ago,” says property.”
the city, as compromised Dave Miner, coach of the On a macro level, her take is
drainage and navigation canals Elmwood Sharks Masters in both poignant and pungent. “The
allowed water to flow from New Orleans and member of damage here is unbelievable.
Lake Pontchartrain into low- the USMS Ad Hoc Katrina Task You have to feel it and smell it:
lying areas of the city and St. Force. “That’s the backdrop
Bernard Parish. The powerful you have to have to see how
storm also wreaked havoc on people have adjusted,” he says.
Betty Russo (right) has been a member of Elmwood
Sharks since the team’s inception 10 years ago.
She is 75. Her home and rental property were located
a half block from the break of the 17th Street canal
levee, and each property received 10 feet of water.
36 USMS SWIMMER | september - october 2006 | w w w . u s m s s w i m m e r. c o m
Joyce Constance (below), another Elmwood Shark,
lost her home and virtually every worldly possession
after her house of 50 years in Lacombe, La., (47 miles
north of New Orleans) was underwater for 30 days.
the 3-D effect. Then it really
hits you.”
It really hit Joyce Constance,
another Elmwood Shark, who
lost her home and virtually
every worldly possession after
her house of 50 years in
Lacombe, La., (47 miles north
of New Orleans) was underwa-
ter for 30 days. Replacement
cost of possessions alone is
$150,000 plus. “The emotional
toll is great and keeps coming
back in waves. I’m in a FEMA
trailer on my daughter’s prop- Hoc Katrina Task Force was
erty in Lacombe,” she wrote in formed with Rabalais as its
March. At least she was alive. chair. Looking to upcoming
Two of her neighbors rode out events, the task force sought
the hurricane to their deaths. and gained approval from host
Long before these letters O*H*I*O Masters to add a
were written to the USMS Katrina fundraising component
Katrina Task Force, Americans to the USMS One Hour Postal
were grasping the magnitude of Championship in January. The
the disaster. While recognition, USMS House of Delegates
realization and mobilization by ratified the action.
FEMA and the federal Organizers of the Postal
government was slow, Masters Championships had no feel for
leadership was proactive in its the amount of funds they could
assessment of the damage and expect. O*H*I*O Masters con-
the need for organized relief. tributed $1 for each One Hour
USMS concern coalesced in Swim entrant who donated to
Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in early the cause and gave participants
September 2005 at the the option of contributing addi-
American Swim Coaches of tional monies. These sources
America conference. Casual produced $3,059.50. The USMS
conversations on the way to Endowment Fund offered
workouts morphed into action $5,000; an additional $5,000 from
plans spearheaded by former the USMS operating budget
USMS Vice President Scott swelled the fund to $13,059.50.
Rabalais, now coach at Although targeting potential
Savannah College of Art and grant recipients was relatively
Design but formerly Crawfish easy, communicating with them
Masters coach, and, until five was not. E-mail was a start, but
years ago, a life-long resident phone and mail service disrup-
of Louisiana. tions, fractured family units
The mechanics of an aid and the pressures of resurrect-
effort progressed as Walnut ing lives made the notification
Creek, Calif., Masters coach process unsatisfactory at best.
Kerry O’Brien recalled that “Communication with swim-
event-based fundraising had a mers became a real problem,”
past history of success. At the says Miner, who is also chair of
USMS Convention in mid the Southern LMSC. After the
September last year, the Ad storm, many normal practice
w w w . u s m s s w i m m e r. c o m | september - october 2006 | USMS SWIMMER 37
“We gutted the home immediately, beginning remain connected when
otherwise they may choose not
Sept. 1. Under very spartan conditions to be,” says Miner.
we returned on Oct. 3 to live in a gutted house In the Task Force’s wisdom,
with electricity, some plumbing and a few a grant was also extended to a
facility that serviced tens of
bare necessities.” —Pat Arnold (right) thousands of swimmers
annually. The University of
New Orleans Aquatic Center at
the Lakefront Arena, with its
eight-lane, 50-meter pool, has
groups simply ceased to exist. three straight weeks of 14-hour long been a venue for large
Although the Elmwood Sharks days, scraping inch-thick muck meets and always offered
were up and running within off floors that had been sub- reduced workout fees for walk-
seven weeks, attendance was merged by three feet of water. think people are being cautious in Masters swimmers. Katrina
reduced from 60 regulars to “We were homeless for five and really want to see what this inflicted severe roof and
about 10. weeks, residing with relatives. hurricane season does.” subsequent water damage to
As national concerns about Everything in the house below In an effort to effect more the facility.
funds reaching the needy three feet was ruined,” Arnold wide-ranging relief, Southern “The pool looks as if you
surfaced, the Task Force was wrote. “We gutted the home LMSC registrar Baker Kearfott could swim in it tomorrow,”
adamant that USMS aid directly immediately, beginning Sept. 1. submitted a request for 2006 says manager Janice Roth, who
benefit swimmers rather than Under very spartan conditions dues relief for all Southern will use USMS funds to offset
be funneled to a general fund. we returned on Oct. 3 to live in LMSC members, citing more scoreboard repairs. Getting the
“That’s why we took it to a a gutted house with electricity, pressing demand on aquatic center up to speed
more personal level,” says some plumbing and a few bare membership resources, demonstrates the federal
Rabalais. “Even so, I was necessities.” reduced registrations and government’s Catch-22
concerned we didn’t meet Here’s the good news: uncertain long-term LMSC response to disaster. Infighting
people’s needs in a lot of cases.” Arnold was one of the lucky prospects. “This action will between Homeland Security
In the face of disaster, needs ones. Insurance covered all of cover those members that are and FEMA “who don’t speak to
are relative. USMS was not in a her repairs and content replace- truly needy,” he wrote. “It will each other,” says Roth, only
position to ante up $150,000 to ment except about $1,200. also enable me to announce the exacerbates the fact that her
replace Constance’s lost The bad news is that she had program to persons who have pool is “way down” on the
possessions or Miner’s two lost planned to retire this past sum- not registered, thus stimulating priority list.
dwellings. But it was gifted mer. Those plans are now on additional interest and Roth believes that the pool
enough to consider the hold because her retirement registration. This will assure will not open until January
requests of each of the eight vehicle, a “grossly underin- that the LMSC remains 2007. This, despite the fact that
applicants and issue checks to sured” double townhouse rental financially sound during this her facility also taught water
start the rebuilding process. property in New Orleans, took period of rebuilding and lower safety skills to more than 300
Pat Arnold of Slidell, La., on 7.5 feet of water. As a result, participation.” disadvantaged people from the
used part of her grant to she was forced to take out an Grants were awarded in hardest hit Lakeview, Gentilly
participate in this year’s XI SBA loan to complete the early June and Kearfott hopes and New Orleans East areas—
FINA World Masters repairs. Short-term, she will be the availability of funds will some of whom used their
Championships. “The fact that unable to retire with the new stimulate participation. At that newfound aquatic skills to save
Masters was willing to use [the loan obligation. time, registrations were off by themselves during the storm.
Postal Championships] as a An unsettled life also about 30 percent and meet While life in the Gulf states
fundraiser to help the Katrina continues for Constance, 73, attendance was down goes on, it is clearly not the
victims alone just blew me who has been swimming considerably. “We hope this will same. “It’s a very different role
over,” says Arnold, 67, and competitively since age 55, make a psychological that Masters swimming seems
perennial Top 10 distance earning more than 200 medals. difference and allow people to to be playing than it did pre-
swimmer. “Psychologically that She was able to salvage two of
just put me over the top. I was them along with some dishes
overwhelmed. The help people from her destroyed home. USMS Katrina Relief Task Force Members
>>>
have given us from around the Currently she is living with a ••• Rob Copeland, USMS president
country has just been terrific. daughter in an Atlanta suburb ••• Scott Rabalais, Ad Hoc Katrina Task Force chair
The emotional help alone is and has finally gotten back into ••• Doug Church, USMS Endowment Fund Board of
appreciated.” an Olympic size pool three days Governors chair
If bad things come at good a week at the North Cobb ••• Traci Grilli, USMS national office administrator
times, Katrina showed up when Aquatic Center. She does not ••• Mark Gill, USMS vice president of member services
Arnold was at her fittest. Fresh intend to return to Lacombe ••• Dave Miner, Southern LMSC chair
from USMS Long Course until the conclusion of the 2006 ••• Baker Kearfott, Southern LMSC registrar
Nationals in Mission Viejo, Calif., hurricane season. Speaking for ••• Ed O’Brien, Southern LMSC treasurer
she was quickly plunged into many others she observes, “I
38 USMS SWIMMER | september - october 2006 | w w w . u s m s s w i m m e r. c o m
Katrina,” says Miner. For By fall, Pat Arnold will have
Arnold and many others, a pleasant memory of Worlds
swimming remains a form of as recovery continues at home.
stress release, but Miner, a But more Southern LMSC
long-time coach, is seeing members will still be grinding
people who have never gained hard to recapture some
weight adding pounds, and semblance of a pre-Katrina
swimmers who’ve always lifestyle. Masters swimming is
maintained weight losing it. aiding that process. “It has
“I also have people who have helped people to reconnect and
never had an interrupted to instill a sense of order and
training cycle dealing with the control in their personal lives
emotional and physical issues when everything seems
of getting back in shape again,” overwhelmingly out of
he says. “I tell them to trust the control,” says Miner.
training process itself and do For many, swimming has
not worry about the clock. They been a reaffirmation of the
have to block out the memories human spirit, both their own
of how it used to feel.” and those around them. <<<
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w w w . u s m s s w i m m e r. c o m | september - october 2006 | USMS SWIMMER 39
