Here is a story that illustrates how our leadership has felt over the last couple of weeks:

A little boy came home from school one day and told his father that he had a friend in class who was having a very difficult time staying out of trouble. The father asked his son what the problem was and the little boy replied that he didn’t know, but that the teacher was heard saying that the troubled little boy had ADD. The boy’s father explained that the letters ADD stood for Attention Deficit Disorder. The father then asked his son if he knew what Attention Deficit Disorder was and the son replied: I guess it means that he doesn’t get enough attention!

I can tell you that over the last couple of weeks, with the transition to a new administration, and the overwhelming discussion of the economic troubles and the proposed stimulus bill now before Congress, we at MCMC were beginning to think that we were not getting enough attention! That changed last week with a trip to Washington, where we had the opportunity to meet with several of the key congressional representatives.  We were able to help them focus their attention on the MCMC project by using the various reports that have been produced as a result of your tremendous work in the field. There are several key issue pending right now, and I have not received any decisions from either FEMA, Congress, or anyone else since we last spoke on Friday. Certainly there is a great deal more attention being paid to the project as we draw closer to the end date of March 1, as many folks are looking into ways in which our work might continue in order to serve the thousands that remain in need of recovery assistance. Stay focused on your work and we will continue to update the field as developments unfold.

Blessings

Stephen