Oswald Letter

Coming Together in Flood-Ravaged Nashville

The greater Nashville metro area, where our company is headquartered, experienced widespread flooding during the first days of May. The devastation was significant. In fact, Tennessee’s governor asked that 53 counties across the state be declared federal disaster areas.

When something like this happens, everyone is affected by it in varying degrees. Some of us were merely inconvenienced by the torrential rains, the road closings, and the chaos the flooding caused. Others had minor damage to property that was quickly cleaned up and life returned to normal. But for those who returned to their homes to find them submerged in water, the flood was a devastating tragedy. And for those who worked at companies that were hit by the flood waters, many are without a job for the foreseeable future.  Imagine the effect on those whose homes and jobs were impacted by the flood!

Want to help Middle Tennesseans affected by the floods? Here’s how you can donate.

  • Middle Tennessee Chapter of the American Red Cross – donate through its website, by calling 615-250-4300, or by texting REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
  • Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee – donate through its website or by calling 615-329-3491.
  • United Way Restore the Dream Fund – donate through its website, by calling 615-255-8501, or by texting RESTORE to 864833 to make a $10 donation.

I once worked with someone who said the workplace was its own community. This was never more evident to me after the flood. At our company, coworkers were checking on one another, making sure everyone was accounted for. They tracked down any colleague who wasn’t at work on the Monday morning after the flood. They were assessing the damage that their colleagues had experienced and determining the best ways to help one another. Our employees are volunteering to help their friends and coworkers recover from the affects of the flood — whether it was emotional, financial, or physical support they required. It reminded me that a business is much more than a place where people go to work. A business is a social organization that also provides friendships and support.

You want to see the bright side in this type of tragedy? Look at how people react to the trying circumstances. You’ll see friends and neighbors pulling together to help one another. You’ll see perfect strangers lending helping hands that are desperately needed. You’ll see selfless acts of kindness and generosity. It’s amazing to watch. It makes you wonder if we don’t experience these types of events in order to remind us how we should act toward one another EVERY day.

Luckily our business wasn’t directly affected by the flood. This not only allowed our employees to come together to help their colleagues but also allowed the company to help them do so. But not every business was as lucky as ours. Some businesses were directly affected by the flood and have yet to resume normal business activities. I can’t imagine what it would be like if the company had been affected and we weren’t in a position to focus our collective attention on the employees in our organization who needed help.

One Nashville business that was hit hard by the flood was the Opryland Hotel. The hotel had to evacuate all of its guests on Sunday, May 2. Due to the flood damage the hotel sustained, it will be months before it is operational again. How did Gaylord, which owns the hotel, respond? They intend to keep all their staff on the payroll for at least six weeks to work on getting the hotel cleaned up and back in business. What an impressive response and redeployment of their human resources!

Other businesses have responded in equally impressive ways. I’ve heard of companies not requiring employees to use PTO as they work to clean up their own homes and volunteer to help others. I’ve seen companies set up relief funds for their own employees and others make donations to relief organizations helping that help the flood victims. Again, it’s a wonderful thing to witness how people react in a crisis. It encourages and challenges one to make his best effort to have a positive impact on those around him.

A tragedy like this isn’t something you’d ever wish for, but you can see the bright sides of it if you look closely enough. You’ll see the positive side of human nature as people react to help their neighbors in a time of need.

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