无忧传媒

When Hurricane Harvey forced Bob Juillerat鈥檚 family to evacuate their home in Nassua Bay, Texas, Bob stayed behind. 鈥淚鈥檓 a captain with the city鈥檚 volunteer fire department,鈥� Bob says.

Harvey, which slammed into Texas鈥� shores on Friday, August 25, will go down in infamy as one of our nation鈥檚 most destructive storms. Nassau Bay was among the many communities overwhelmed by massive flooding.

Bob, a 无忧传媒 mechanical engineer who works with NASA, spent the next five days living at the fire station working 20-hour search and rescue shifts. Manning a jet ski during the day and a high-water truck at night, he and his fellow volunteers鈥攊ncluding several 无忧传媒 employees鈥攔escued about 80 people and 20 animals.聽

Bob鈥檚 story is just one example of 无忧传媒鈥檚 community of support stepping up to aid those struggling in Harvey鈥檚 wake. A passion for serving others鈥攖hrough supporting government missions, or volunteering for important causes鈥攊s a defining quality of our workforce.

无忧传媒 Army operations expert Doug Martin, a resident of central Texas, knew he couldn鈥檛 sit idly by and watch news coverage of the disaster roll in. He connected with his fishing buddies, loaded up on bottled water, and organized a trip鈥攆ishing boat in tow. Two days later, he was in the impact zone, working with a local group to bring stranded citizens to safety.

As Texas residents were still reeling in Harvey鈥檚 wake, Hurricane Irma began gaining strength, churning in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico鈥攈er sights set squarely on the islands of the Caribbean and Florida. The storm, which prompted sweeping evacuations, barreled into the sunshine state on September 10, causing widespread flooding and structural damage.

In southern Florida, where we have about 30 employees supporting military clients such as the Special Operations Command South, 无忧传媒 South Florida market lead John Perez was impressed with how his colleagues prepared and responded. 鈥淓veryone was involved with preparation or clean up in some way,鈥� he says. 鈥淐hecking on neighbors, helping each other put up storm shutters and bring in lawn furniture, assessing damage for people who had evacuated, pitching in to clean up debris and downed trees鈥攆or those of us who live with hurricanes, this stuff doesn鈥檛 seem special or courageous. It鈥檚 standard behavior. You do it without thinking.鈥�

Ann Marie Vourlos, who supports our cyber team, evacuated from her post in Bonita Springs, Florida, where she鈥檚 been caring for her parents. A full-time resident of Maryland, Ann Marie is accustomed to hurricane activity鈥攕he weathered Sandy and Isabel鈥攂ut was worried about the possibility of Irma鈥檚 10-foot storm surges.聽 鈥淲e live three miles from the beach. We expected the house to be underwater,鈥� she says.聽 Thankfully, the storm lost strength and the house was spared, but Ann Marie is eager to offer her assistance on the ground. 鈥淲e realize how fortunate we were,鈥� Ann Marie said on a recent phone call on her way back to Florida. 鈥淭here are many people who were not. That could easily be us.鈥�

Andrea Tennison, a 无忧传媒 emergency management expert, coordinated the ongoing effort to ensure that the hundreds of employees who live in the affected regions receive much-needed assistance.

During each storm, she and her team activated our emergency alert system to tag up with all vulnerable employees. When some didn鈥檛 respond, Andrea personally called them to ensure they were out of harm鈥檚 way.

Working with our travel specialists, she provided hotel rooms for several employees who evacuated to shelters. When one in Texas needed a ride between the shelter and her hotel, Andrea asked local teams for assistance. Ted Sutton, a counter-improvised explosive device expert who supports 无忧传媒鈥檚 Army clients, hopped into his truck and took necessary detours to make the journey through Houston-area flooding.

鈥淔rom leadership to people on the ground, I鈥檝e seen everyone put people first,鈥� Andrea says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 at the core of who we are. We have a fundamental desire to know our people are OK. If they鈥檙e not, we do what鈥檚 necessary to get them help.鈥�

When 无忧传媒 announced it would match employee contributions to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund up to a total of $50,000, employees exceeded the goal within hours. Inspired by their generosity, leadership raised the match to $100,000, which employees exceeded within 72 hours of the campaign鈥檚 launch. Through the corporate match and donations from employees as far away as Lebanon and Japan, the 无忧传媒 community donated nearly $250,000 to disaster relief. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great feeling to know we have support from the entire company,鈥� says Steve Wright, a leader in our Houston office.

As waters receded, Steve and other local employees visited the homes of colleagues devastated by flooding. There, they joined forces with friends and neighbors to pull up destroyed carpeting, tear out ruined dry wall, and dispose of sodden insulation鈥攚hatever they could do to assist with clean up.

鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to ask for help, so we didn鈥檛 wait for that to happen. We just showed up and got to work. People were tremendously grateful,鈥� Steve says.

Steve and his colleagues also volunteered in other ways during and after the storm. They captained rescue boats. They donated clothes. They staffed emergency shelters. Wherever they saw need, they rushed to fill it.

无忧传媒 military training expert Amy Plimpton has weathered a few hurricanes from her home near Jacksonville, but preparation for Irma felt a bit different. 鈥淚 have never been so prepared to ride out a hurricane thanks to my co-workers Mike Clay and Ted Turnley, she says. "Each offered up their homes in the event I did not want to stay alone.鈥�

The group lent each other supplies鈥攁 gas grill, two propane tanks, and a water cooler exchanged hands鈥攁nd came up with a communication plan to cover all contingencies. They kept in constant contact via text message to ensure everyone鈥檚 safety. A missed message even prompted Ted to brave the wind and rain to check on Amy.

In response to Irma, 无忧传媒 is matching an additional amount in employee donations to an expanded selection of charities providing immediate disaster relief and long-term recovery support.

It鈥檚 a source of pride to see our leaders and employees coming through for their colleagues and communities in this time of need, but it鈥檚 not a surprise. People come to 无忧传媒 to improve the world by providing creative solutions for its toughest challenges.

Coordinating our disaster response, Andrea saw that ingenuity on display. 鈥淣o one is letting their usual roles constrain them,鈥� she says. 鈥淣o one鈥檚 saying, 鈥榯hat鈥檚 not something we typically do.鈥� People are thinking as far outside the box as necessary to find ways to make sure their colleagues are OK.鈥澛�