By Erin Wenglekowski
September 12, 2005

Many members of the Mayors Business Council suffered great loss as well as destruction of property as a result of devastating hurricane Katrina and the Conference offers our continued thoughts and prayers for their families, friends and colleagues.

The Conference also offers its sincere gratitude to members of the Mayors Business Council who have, through financial contributions, in-kind donations, matching employee contributions funds, and volunteer activities supported the victims and the relief efforts in the Gulf Coast states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

In the days after the hurricane, members of the Mayors Business Council continue to pledge financial support where needed. To date, the contributions we are aware of, include over $20 million dollars in contributions from Business Council Members, including donations from Freddie Mac (over $10 million plus double employee contribution matching); Starbucks Coffee Company ($5 million); Northrop Grumman ($2 million); International Council of Shopping Centers (over $1 million via all members); Daimler Chrysler ($1.1 million); DuPont ($1 million); Fannie Mae Foundation ($1 million); Johnson Controls, Inc. ($1 million); Nationwide Retirement Solutions ($500,000); Honeywell Utility Solutions ($500,00); Motorola, Inc. ($500,000); Nextel Communications ($500,000); Bechtel ($250,000); Mortgage Bankers Association ($105,000 as well as giving mortgage relief to clients); Waste Management Inc. ($100,000); Scholastic Inc. ($100,000 along with school books to those taking in evacuees); and MWH ($50,000). Cox Communications also made a financial contribution and is partnering with the city of Las Vegas in their relief efforts. Most of the above financial contributions are being coupled with employee contribution matching.

e Management Inc. ($100,000); Scholastic Inc. ($100,000 along with school books to those taking in evacuees); and MWH ($50,000). Cox Communications also made a financial contribution and is partnering with the city of Las Vegas in their relief efforts. Most of the above financial contributions are being coupled with employee contribution matching.

Other organizations matching their employee contributions include: American Management Services (working alongside the city of Orlando), and InCharge Education Foundation, Inc..

Houghton Mifflin Company and Crabtree - Co. Inc. also made financial contributions as well as in-kind donations.

In-kind contributions of communication equipment (Motorola shipped over 21,000 pieces of emergency communications equipment), generators, aircraft, vehicles, shelters, 24-hour hotlines, wireless and satellite phones, medication (Eli Lilly & Company donated $1 million of insulin), mortgage relief, school supplies (Linebarger Goggan Sampson & Blair are donating school supplies and uniforms to those displaced), diapers, tissues, water, clothing and food have totaled millions of dollars from Business Council Members.

Other corporations like Northrop Grumman, Starbucks Coffee Company, and Veolia Water North America, donated food, water, coffee, office supplies, generators, compressors and aircraft to help in the rebuilding, sheltering and feeding of those employees and other citizens devastated by this crisis. Nextel Communications provided wireless phones and service, phone cards, as well as free calls made at retail stores. Cherokee Investment Partners LLC is currently assisting the EPA in assessing the need for hazardous cleanup and will aid in the process.

Tougher to total, but no less important, are the countless hours of volunteer support offered at make'shift shelters, food banks, and devastated areas across the country.

The United States Conference of Mayors salutes and thanks the members of the Mayors- Business Council for their immediate response to the cities in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina and their continued support as we rebuild the areas devastated by this tragedy.

The above list of contributions and support is in no way a full accounting of the generous response by the members of the Mayors- Business Council. Below is a complete list of the Business Council membership.

We are continually receiving updates to every organization's efforts, and plan to report new findings over the next issues of U.S.MAYOR.