Fargo Moorhead Chamber Blog » Return to Normal: Meeting the Needs of Members

Return to Normal: Meeting the Needs of Members

June 24th, 2009 by Adrienne Olson

The spring flood of 2009 has nudged out its space in my memory banks, even as we settle into the official start of summer. Trying to reclaim the details, I page through the notes in my calendar and it rushes back… dike watch, check on grandma, flood press conference, sandbagging, cancelled Chamber events, office closed, disaster declaration.

One note strikes me. I had sketched out Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. As we pulled together a plan at the Chamber to get our business community through the disaster, it was the first time I had ever had to consider the first level of his pyramid. Sleep, sustenance, air… Fargo’s Mayor stood behind a podium and joked about his extended stretch of no sleep, neighborhoods evacuated and Blackhawk helicopters prowled the skies to rescue the stranded. The Chamber, which usually operates in the belonging and esteem levels, had lost the basic foundation of a community with their physiological and safety needs met.

So we adapt. Our Young Professionals Network and Youth Leadership students mobilized through Facebook to fill the bags and build the dikes. As the Hjemkomst staff stayed back and battled the waters without respite, our Chamber set up shop with our friends at IdeaOne Telecom and Cass County Electric Cooperative, Inc., who proved gracious hosts indeed. We asked our members for their stories and they came flooding in. As the world took notice and praised Fargo Moorhead for its incredible response to a natural disaster, we modestly shrugged and kept bagging.

Today, our offices are back to normal, flood fight meetings have turned to flood mitigation meetings, the dikes are gone and everyone I know is safe and sound, with sleep, sustenance, air and safety; things we take a little less for granted these days.

Thank you to our heroic members that gave their employees the flexibility and stability to spend their time on the front lines; that opened their facilities to take care of our displaced residents and our weary volunteers; and that kept us connected to each other when we became stranded.

Sincerely,

Adrienne Olson

Chamber of Commerce of Fargo Moorhead

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