http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060502/NEWS/605020450/1002 Volunteers, Sterling firm do part to help Katrina victims rebuild
STERLING— On Saturday, the Cook family of Mandeville, La., will get a delivery from Sterling Surfaces: two vanity tops and an L-shaped countertop in mont blanc, a popular speckled gray in the Corian countertop line.
And though Louisiana is a little outside the usual customer base for the Sterling business, the Route 12 shop has produced 22 such projects for families whose homes were damaged by Hurricane Katrina last August.
Grant R. Garcia and Philip T. Fair, employees at Sterling Surfaces who are Jehovah’s Witnesses, head a group of up to 50 volunteers from the Jehovah’s Witnesses regional building committee that is fabricating the countertops from donated sheets of Dupont and Aristech Acrylics material.
The volunteers are trained how to use the shop’s machines to cut, assemble and sand the countertops, part of an effort involving similar groups from the church, said Mr. Fair, disaster relief coordinator for the regional committee. Other groups from the church are helping homeowners in Louisiana rip out damaged and moldy flooring, walls, counters and ceilings.
Church members are measuring spaces in the homes for new countertops and vanities and sending the information to another church group in Kentucky, which is drawing up computer-assisted design programs for the fabricating crews, said Mr. Garcia, managing director of Sterling Surfaces. Teams of installers from the Houston area spend weekends putting in the finished products.
“When we knew there was a need, we knew other shop owners in Brockton and Norwood, and one in Virginia,” said Mr. Garcia, who is chairman of the regional building committee. “We tapped into the regional committee and got volunteers who have expertise in the building trade.”
Once permission was granted for the regional committee’s project from the national organization, the Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mr. Fair and Mr. Garcia trained church volunteers to use Sterling Surfaces’ equipment to cut and prepare the countertops to specifications.
Founded in 1984, Sterling Surfaces is a division of Kitchen Associates Inc., a kitchen and bathroom showroom and installer.
The volunteers have already spent portions of three weekends cutting and assembling countertops at the Sterling shop. More sessions are scheduled, for every other weekend through as least the end of June, with the goal of making as many countertops as needed.
Prior to Saturday’s work session, the group had fabricated replacement packages for 22 families, Mr. Garcia said.
“These folks are getting something of real value, and they can use it,” Mr. Garcia said. “Due to the donation of the manufacturer, they’re getting something that would cost $2,000 to $6,000. These companies jumped at the chance to be part of it. They were hesitant to just send stuff down there, because it might end up getting stolen or in the hands of a contractor that would then sell it. “This way, they know it’s going to a nonprofit that’s going to go right into someone’s home,” he said.
So far, about $250,000 in materials have been donated by the participating companies, including EOS sinks, he said.
The committee has solicited volunteers from a 30-mile radius, but some have come from as far away as Holyoke and Springfield, Mr. Fair said.
“We have some Spanish-speaking congregations helping,” he added. “It’s quite a diverse group. They don’t mind coming so far. Once they see what we’re doing, they’re excited to be here.”
Photographs on an office window show truckloads of fabricated countertops arriving in Louisiana and being installed.
“We want to put a human face on this,” said Mr. Garcia. “It’s a long-term effort. We want the volunteers to see where this is going.
“There was a woman in Louisiana who had planned to replace her counters, but couldn’t afford it. Then, the hurricane came. When she found out she was going to get free Corian, she was beside herself. These people have been through so much, it feels good to be able to help,” he said.
On weekend days, volunteers spend time sanding the assembled counters and vanities, removing beads of adhesive that squeeze out from between pieces of acrylic components. Others are cutting pieces while others glue parts together.
“We’re fortunate to have a volunteer spirit. The owner feels it’s valuable,” said Mr. Garcia.
“We had people in Texas say they’d do a weekend a month. It’s an eight-hour drive for them. But when they got there, they wanted to go every weekend,” he said. “Once they’re done and assembled, they’re easy to install.”
Once the countertops and vanities are delivered, teams of up to 16 people from the Houston area install them, he said. Another 60 volunteers are donating and preparing food for the workers so they can spend more time on the effort, he added.
Mr. Fair pulled a folder with a house order, looking over a disaster relief solid surface work order, which contained the specifications for each piece for that home.
“They take measurements of where the countertops will go,” he said. “They’re sent to Kentucky and they transfer it into a format our computer numerically controlled machines can understand.
“We’ve cut out eight for this weekend,” Mr. Fair said. “We’ll do another 14 for Saturday. We have a little bit of a backlog.”
The group’s next sessions are slated for May 13 and 14.
Mr. Garcia said that he hopes the program will encourage others to volunteer when there are disasters.
“People should be encouraged to volunteer, to help. They sometimes don’t think what they can do will make any difference, but it does,” he said. “Some people don’t think very much of corporate America, but here, they really stepped up,” he said. “We’ll use what we’ve learned. Now we have a base of people who have been trained.”
Contact business reporter Martin Luttrell by e-mail at [email protected]. ****************************************************************************************************** http://tinfinger.blogspot.com/2006/05/portrait-of-web-20-entrepreneur-as.html
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Portrait of the Web 2.0 Entrepreneur as a Young Pimp
Hey ladies!!!!!
Yes, it's Tony (nee Tai) Tran, my co-founder, in front of our share house in the inner Geelong suburb of Newtown. He's had that custom plate for months now, but the 1995 Saab 9000CD (vintage, maaaaate!) is relatively new to his driveway. Tony's dog is named Charlie... I'm not quite sure what that name means in the context of Tony's dad (who lives with Tony's mum out the back) being a veteran of the Vietnam War who regularly walks around in army fatigues, although since Tran senior fought on the side of the South I'm not that worried. I had a long discussion with Tran The Elder yesterday about telecommunications policy, although much of it had to be accomplished via Tony as interpreter.
Tony is 35, likes walks on the beach, and sings along to Savage Garden (or at least he did yesterday). He looooves sword-and-sandal films of the 1960s: Ben Hur is on high rotation on his DVD player, followed by Spartacus and various Bible epics. He enjoys talking about philosophical bullshit at all hours of the morning, preferably involving religion. He attends Jehovah's Witnesses meetings, more for the atmosphere than anything else, but he also reads the Qoran and has three more copies on order from Amazon. He has previously rejoiced in the nickname of "Mr Dodgy" due to his fervour for get-rich-quick schemes, none of which have to this date made him rich, but he has parlayed his earnings over the years into a tidy lump sum which he uses to speculate on the stock market with no small success.
He is looking for a nice girl, without too many "Ks on the clock" as he puts it. Willingness to discuss theology is preferred, but a girl who can decipher quarterly reports of obscure "penny dreadful" mining companies would be even better. In return, Tony can promise nights of unbridled passion, but no Passion of the Christ since he thought it was too violent.
All of the above is true. If Tony sounds like your ideal man, please reply in the comments with a link to a picture (tasteful!) and your favourite verses from Psalms. ***************************************************************************************************
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/newsroom/chi-060501immigration-rally-snapshots,0,4426951.story?page=4&coll=chi-homepagepromo440-fea Immigrant rights demonstration
Continuous e-mail updates from Tribune reporters covering today's march and rally in downtown Chicago
Published May 1, 2006, 7:52 PM CDT
<< previous "This is to show support for the entire immigrant community," Quizhpi said as he unfolded a wad of bills to make change for yet another customer.
Asked if he believed he would make a lot of more money before the day was over, the manager of a West Side thrift store shrugged and smiled, then posed for a photographer with flags in each hand.
10:38 a.m. At a busy McDonald's restaurant at Randolph and Dearborn Streets, a crew of about a dozen mostly Hispanic workers was bustling to serve customers lining up for breakfast and coffee. "Everything is normal," said a worker.
Nearby, a letter on the revolving door of a seafood restaurant, Catch 35 at 35 W. Wacker Drive, said the popular venue for business lunches would be closed due to a national boycott in support of legal immigration.
"This boycott of work renders Catch 35 without the staff levels necessary to serve you," the message read.
10:30 a.m. About 150 people had gathered at Division Street and Milwaukee Avenue by 9:30 a.m., unfurling U.S., Mexican and Polish flags.
"I am seven years here. I love America," said a burly Polish construction worker who identified himself as Jan Kowalski. "We work 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. I pay taxes. I pay Social Security."
9:40 a.m.: At the Korean American Resource and Cultural Center on the Northwest side, dozens of Korean and Filipino immigrants boarded school buses around 10 a.m., saying they wanted to add an Asian-American presence to the march.
Bryant Kim, 24, of Chicago, adjusted the red, blue and yellow sashes of his traditional Korean outfit. He planned to play at the event with the IL Kwa Nori (Work and Play) percussion troupe.
"By participating, this shows that immigration is a universal issue," he said.
9:10 a.m.: More than 300 people—workers, students and families, most of Mexican descent—waited for buses to the downtown Chicago immigration march and rally at 8 a.m. today at Azteca de Oro, a Joliet banquet hall that closed its doors for the day.
Some carried yellow signs from the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. "Legalize, Don't Criminalize," the signs read.
Mauricio Vargas, 40, of Crest Hill, a food and beverage manager at a Hilton Hotel in Elk Grove Village, said his employers allowed him and others to take the day off, provided they got someone to fill their shifts.
"They told us, 'Go, as many as you can, as long as you have someone to cover, to take the shift, and get the job done,'" said Vargas, who grew up in Mexico. "They are supporting us, big time."
Vargas waited for a bus with his wife and their three daughters.
He said he and his wife came to the U.S. from Mexico City 17 years ago. Vargas said his two youngest daughters are citizens, and the other family members are legal residents.
Also waiting for a bus was Magdaleno Barragan, 28, whose extended family owns El Portico Bakery in Joliet, which was closed for the day. Barragan said he came to the U.S. from Mexico 15 years ago and he is now a legal resident.
"This is our country," said Barragan, who is vice president of We Are the Community, a multicultural organization in Will County. "I love it, because we have an opportunity for business."
8:30 a.m.: Several dozen people were gathered at a small plaza at Division Street and Milwaukee Avenue that is a gathering spot for the homeless. The plaza echoed with Spanish-language dance music as organizers prepared a makeshift stage on a flatbed truck.
The North Side intersection is the starting point for a "feeder march" to Union Park that will include immigrants from Poland, Korea and Africa in an effort to broaden the day's message as more than a plight of Mexican workers.
Touche O'Lay, a missionary with the Jehovah's Witnesses who aids the homeless in the area, watched the preparations and shook her head at what she called an intractable problem with illegal immigration. "I understand people want to come here and make a more comfortable life," she said, standing near a fountain dedicated to "the masses who do the city's labor."
"But that isn't enough as it is to take care of everybody. You can't be fair to Mexicans or Koreans and also (not) be fair to the homeless or people with AIDS."
Tribune staff reporters Oscar Avila, Antonio Olivo, Barbara Rose and Hal Dardick contributed. ************************************************************************************************** http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20060501/flair/flair4.html Guided love
published: Monday | May 1, 2006
Kemonté Thomas and Kerry-Ann Gaye. - CONTRIBUTED
SEVEN YEARS ago, due to academic interest, Kemonté Thomas migrated from Montego Bay to Kingston. It was while reconnecting with his religion that he and Kerry-Ann Gaye's eyes met.
Consequently, by obediently submitting to religious principles and heeding parental guidelines, their relationship gradually advanced into romantic love.
Witnessed by approximately 200 friends and relatives, the two publicly cemented their affection for each other on March 25. The Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, Claude Clarke Avenue, Montego Bay, came alive with the beautiful colours of royal blue, gold and white. This was followed by a grand reception at the Weslore Great House and Conference Centre in the hills of Granville, St. James.
Officiating minister was David Mullings.
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