LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN


BY SHERRI VOGLER, HOUSTON MEDICAL TESTING SERVICES


Counting Our Blessings after Hurricane Harvey


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Amidst all this destruction, our spirits have been kept afloat by the kindness, bravery, and compassion that so many have shown from near and far.


*Editor’s Note: Te layout for the fall issue of DATIA focus, including the Leter from the Chairman, was finalized prior to November 24, 2017.


ear Members and Friends, As I sit down to write this leter, my beloved hometown of Houston


is beginning to recover from the catastrophic damages brought on by the epic storm, Hurricane Harvey. From the time the storm roared ashore as a Category 4 hurricane near Corpus Christi in the evening hours of August 25, to the moment it ravaged the Texas Golden Triangle nearly a week later, Harvey proved to be one of the most devastating disasters inflicted on the Lone Star State. Te Houston region, home to nearly six million people, was the epicenter of the misery. While parts of our city are returning to normal, some areas are still underwater. Several of our Houston Medical Testing Services (HMTS) employees are high and dry in their homes, but surrounded by floodwaters that prevent them from leaving their neighborhoods. Te water is actually rising along some


bayous and reservoirs, and continues to threaten new areas, as authorities try to prevent dams from failing. Hurricane Harvey is now the largest “rain event” in U.S. history, with a death toll of at least 47 people. Tere are tragedies yet to unfold as the water recedes. In four days, total rainfall in Houston exceeded 43 inches. Nearly 52 inches fell on the small town of Cedar Bayou, just east of Houston, the all-time record rainfall for the continental United States. At least 17,000 Houstonians are housed in shelters and a much, much larger number of displaced people are staying with friends or family. It is heartwarming to know that there are so many volunteers arriving to work in these shelters, that many are being turned away. An estimated 100,000 homes and 500,000 cars have been damaged. Te official total of 13,000-plus rescues is dwarfed by the actual total that includes rescues by private citizens. I have seen people carried to safety in the


arms of police and firefighters and other first responders. I have seen them floated to safety on strangers’ kayaks, canoes, airboats,


4 datia focus


and fishing boats. Some of these boats were towed to Houston by good Samaritans from throughout Texas and surrounding states. Tree dozen members of the Cajun Coast Search and Rescue—the so-called Cajun Navy—rolled into town from Louisiana at the height of the storm and risked their own lives to save others. We thank our courageous neighbors from Louisiana, and everyone else who rose to the occasion at their personal risk and expense. Tey can never be adequately repaid. Having grown up in Texas, my heart


breaks for what’s happening in our great state. Te pictures coming out of Houston, as well as the Texas and Louisiana coasts, and the stories from our own HMTS employees and customers are just unimaginable. Amidst all this destruction, our spirits have been kept afloat by the kindness, bravery, and compassion that so many have shown from near and far. On a very personal note, I want to tell you how very much my heart has been touched by the outpouring of emails, texts, phone calls, and leters from DATIA members and friends offering to help Jon and me, and our HMTS employees, in any way possible. Tese sincere thoughts and prayers have meant more to us than you can ever imagine. It has shown me in a very real way the meaning and value of the professional and personal friendships we have made because of our involvement with DATIA. Our membership in DATIA has helped our business in many ways over the past 22 years, but nothing has meant as much as the friendships that will last a lifetime. As so well expressed in this quote by Eleanor Roosevelt, “Tere is no more precious experience in life than friendship.” ❚


Counting our blessings,


Sherri Vogler DATIA Chairman


fall 2017


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