Hi All,

You probably thought I forgot about you  J.  It has been a while since I updated everyone, and I apologize for that – So this update may be a little long.   Here’s a brief synopsis of what’s been going on.  I’m going to attach a couple of PDF’s to this email that I will explain later on in the update.

In early October we had an on-line auction for callers to put their vocal on a special square dance record.  The auction raised over $5000, and the winning bidders were:

            Lottie Ainsworth – LA

            Patty Greene – NH

            Lorne Clayton – BC

            Jim Wass – MD

            Walt Burr – England

In late October, all of us met in Nashville, TN for the music session.  We recorded a “Dixie Land” version of “When the Saints Go Marching In”.  Things were kinda hectic.  We recorded the music and vocals on the same day.  All of these callers are to be commended for the super job that they did (virtually no rehearsal time).  The song and vocals came out GREAT!  The record and CD are now available.  You can order either from:

            Palomino Records

            2818 Hwy 44 East

            Sheperdsville, KY    40165

            1-800-328-3800

            palominorecords@alltel.net

Tom and Pam Dillander (owners) have graciously volunteered to distribute the records and CD’s at no cost - So all of the money generated by their sales will go back into the Katrina Fund.  United Record Pressing (Nashville) donated their production costs for the first 500 records.  GSI underwrote all of the production and manufacturing costs of the records ands CD’s. 

During our initial fund raising drive, we were overwhelmed by the generosity of the square dance world.  Our Charlotte office became the drop off point for all of the supplies that were donated.  We received boxes and boxes of much needed clothes, toys, supplies, etc.  By the end of the drive, we had a 40 foot truck load of donations.  During this time, I had been in contact several times with FEMA, and various other organizations trying to find out who/where to send all of our supplies.  I would have had no problem taking it to a local charity (often their suggestions), but I knew that we all wanted to be sure that everything that was donated went to where we wanted it to go.  After being turned down by FEMA (they suggested local charitable organizations), I found out that Governor Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana had formed a statewide task force called the Louisiana Recovery Service.  I contacted the LRS and was directed to contact TRAC.  TRAC is a program of BYOU, Inc. It is a community and faith based non-profit corporation serving Louisiana Parishes since 1992.   TRAC works on a local level serving the various parishes in LA.  Since it’s conception, TRAC has garnered several awards for it’s community service.  I spoke at length with various management people within the organization and I became very impressed with their work. 

TRAC welcomed our donation of supplies.  In mid-December we loaded a 40 foot truck (donated by Fred Phillips of Carolina Trucking) full of our supplies.  We had a friend – John Love (featured in Square Dancing Today) who had a CDL license , and volunteered his time to deliver it.  One of the attachments (PDF) is a letter from TRAC thanking us for our donation.  The only expense we had for the trip was fuel, food, and motel (total - $1290.00). 

As I said earlier, TRAC works on a very local level within the state of LA.  When I told the director about our financial donation ($100,000+), she approached me with a project that TRAC was implementing.  Many of the homes in the rural areas were destroyed during the hurricanes, and many of these areas are still without power or water.  TRAC was approached by representatives of the MIT School of Architecture.  This group (headed by Dr. Reinhard Goethert) volunteered to come down to LA, study the damage, and design an inexpensive hurricane proof home for the victims in the rural parishes.  I am also attaching the letter that I received from Dr. Goethert regarding this. 

Many of the homes in the rural areas that were destroyed were below standard.  Repairing these substandard homes would be futile.  The new homes that are to be built will be relatively small (around 1000 square feet), and SIGUS (the architect group from MIT) are working to figure out a way to build them as cheaply as possible.  They are in the final stages of their development, and as soon as I hear from them, we will start to buy the building supplies that will be needed. 

I will let everyone know as soon as I find out anything definitive.  If anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact me via email or 803-840-0746.

Thanks for caring!

Tony Oxendine