Whew--this is a big relief effort--all I can say is that Red Cross will be here for a long time. It's day eight for me at the Joint Field Office (JFO) here in Austin, Texas--I'm not sure when I'm coming home to St. Louis (don't say that to my 6-year-old :). I'm serving as the National Public Information Officer (PIO) at the JFO. The JFO is set-up by FEMA to bring all leadership of the fifteen relief arms of FEMA together in one location--while Red Cross is a charity, not a government agency, in the spirit of partnership the Red Cross is invited to be here too. My job is to coordinate information between FEMA and Red Cross.

While I've been on the Red Cross Advanced Public Affairs Team for a while, I haven't served in this position before. My learning curve was fairly large when I got here, with all the acronyms that FEMA uses--I felt like I walked into a foreign country--FEMA actually publishes a little 150 page booklet filled with page after page of acronyms (I've calculated that there's 4,500 acronyms, abbreviations and terms) and I am fortunate enough to now own one of these books (the acronym for the book is FAATbook--FEMA Acronyms, Abbreviations and Terms). So now I speak a second language :)

Once you get the lingo, the job gets much easier. I concentrate on collecting, absorbing, filtering and disseminating key information to decision makers. My work is mostly about establishing relationships/communication with FEMA's 15 different ESF units (Emergency Support Function). Here's an example: ESF1 handles transportation--they take care of aviation, recovery of transportation infrastructure, etc. ESF6 handles Mass Care, Emergency Assistance, Housing and Human Services--that's where Red Cross has a primary responsibility and presence. Last night in the State of Texas, Red Cross made sure that 13,000 people had a safe place to stay in 27 shelters across the state--and we made sure that folks had good food, providing thousands of meals and snacks. We have 20 great big mobile kitchens that are now moving into the hardest hit areas (we had to wait until the authorities said it was safe to go in)--and I'm glad to say they started cooking like crazy today so lots of people are getting the nutrition they need to be strong during this disaster. All together, Red Cross has more than 4,000 workers right here, right now, helping people deal with the destruction left by Ike. ESF9 is Search and Rescue--over 3,000 people have been rescued so far--and they're still searching...let's hold a good thought for them.

So, that's just a glimpse of what's happening here. Bottom line is that we're trying really hard to coordinate what we're doing in the relief effort so that we're as efficient, effective--and helpful--as possible. Goodness knows it will take all of us to help the folks who've been devastated by Ike. All of us have a role in this--Red Cross, Texas, FEMA, Salvation Army, Goodwill, Southern Baptists, Catholic Charities, local churches and community centers, media partners, neighbors--and you--and me. We all need to do whatever we can to help--thanks to you for anything and everything that you are doing.