The first draft of this blog was actually written in La Guardia Airport, where I was en route to Nashville for an exciting Tuesday and Wednesday at CSCMP EDGE.
This is a conference that the ALAN team looks forward to every year, because rarely do we get to visit with so many of our partners in-person. This year, however, we arrived in the midst of this year’s biggest hurricane response (so if you saw any of us typing away on our laptops, know it’s because we were hard at working fielding requests for logistics assistance and getting the word out about ALAN’s relief efforts, not because we weren’t happy to see you) – and remain heartbroken by the devastation affecting so many communities.
But being surrounded by the supply chain community (even if we do have our faces buried in computers) is a constant reminder of all the incredible individuals and organizations we have advocating for our work.
ALAN was formed at CSCMP in the wake of Hurricane Katrina after all – a true testament to how the supply chain industry decided to act when it saw how disaster affected so many.
These next few weeks and months will continue to provide opportunities to bring our industry together as we work collaboratively to help get supply chain operations restored and to match relief organizations with the donated space, trucking, logistics supplies and MHE they need to assist Hurricane Helene survivors. And if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that everyone will rise to the occasion in an amazing way.
Any organization or individual looking to support Helene relief efforts should visit ALAN’s official Hurricane Helene landing page at https://www.alanaid.org/hurricane-helene/. It provides information on how to make in-kind and financial donations, as well as an overview of how we’re working with the non-profit and private sector to aid affected communities.
Even in the heaviest of times, I look forward to seeing and hearing from so many supportive members of the ALAN network – and give thanks that I am part of such an extraordinary community.
Emilee Martichenko
Communications Coordinator
American Logistics Aid Network
