County Hurricane Katrina relief effort will reach from community-to-community
A community-to-community fundraising effort is getting off the ground in Presque Isle County to reach out to the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the flooding that followed. An organizational meeting was conducted last Friday at the Rogers City Area Senior Center to establish the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund. Eighteen various groups, including local service organizations, churches, and veteran groups attended the meeting to start the county-wide effort, which is being spearheaded by Jan Dullack of Calcite Credit Union and Erik Nadolsky of Huron National Bank.
Dullack said the idea for the meeting was very well supported and will be followed by another meeting September 30 to generate fundraising ideas and possibly decide on a community to adopt.
?THE IDEA was brought forth to adopt a city similar to Posen, Rogers City, or Onaway, down in Mississippi, Louisiana, or Alabama,? said Dullack. ?We?ll concentrate on that particular town and have this community do
?We just wanted to see if we could do something,? said Erik Nadolsky. He said there are many groups, business and organizations that have raised money, but this push will come from the citizens of Presque Isle County banding together. ?Ten years from now when we visit a reconstructed town, we can say we helped that community,? Nadolsky said. ?We might not necessarily focus on New Orleans, but perhaps some small burg somewhere that doesn?t get support,? Dullack said.
Putting the tragedy in perspective at the meeting was businessman Jeff Farmer of Michigan Midwest Marine of Rogers City, who answered the call to have people with boats respond to the area to help rescue victims in the flooded areas. He showed pictures of his two-week trip to the Gulf Coast to those in attendance. (See story on 8A). ?We will have a monetary drop off point at Calcite Credit Union, then we?ll go from there,? said Dullack. ?We would like to narrow down a town at the next meeting and then we want to get in touch with people and find out what they need.?