Acts of God

A woman carries her child through a field near the collapsed Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

"... acts of God."
That phrase always left a bad taste in my mouth when it referred to natural disasters.
And particularly after the storms Monday that devastated Oklahoma.
I'm not a biblical scholar by any extent, but I refuse to believe that a loving God would bring such death and destruction upon his children - especially the younger children.
This wasn't an act of God. It was a result of weather systems - nature, thus "natural" disasters.
And now is the time for the rest of God's children to come to the aid of the survivors. There are several ways to help out:

1). The American Red Cross. Cash donations go to provide food and beverages for victims and emergency workers.I can personally vouch for the Red Cross. When my family lost our home in the 1989 tornado that struck Huntsville, the Red Cross provided us with vouchers to buy groceries, clothing and other items. They also offered temporary housing but we fortunately were taken in by my in-laws. To help, you can text REDCROSS to 90999 for a $10 donation to its disaster relief program, donate at www.redcross.org/donation or phone 1-800-REDCROSS.
2.) The Salvation Army. Like the Red Cross, the Salvation Army helps provide meals for victims and emergency workers. You can text STORM to 80888 for a $10 contribution, call 1800-SAL-ARMY, go to www.salvationarmyusa.org/tornado or mail checks to The Salvation Army, P.O. Box 12600, Oklahoma City, OK 73157 and put Oklahoma Tornado Relief on the check.
3). Toomer's for Tuscaloosa. This nonprofit was created in the aftermath of the April 2011 tornadoes that ripped through Alabama when a group of Auburn faithful wanted to help the residents of Tuscaloosa, home of their cross-state rival the University of Alabama. According to the organization's Facebook page, "Our mission has always been to provide material support and relief to the residents of the South and Mid-South affected by the April and May storms of 2011. Any funds collected will be used for the sole purpose of meeting that mission unless otherwise specified in a specific fundraising drive for other locations across the country that have been affected by disaster." The website is www.toomersfortuscaloosa.com. Toomer's for Tuscaloosa will hold a "Stuff the Truck" event Friday at the Old Time Pottery parking lot on Madison Boulevard in Madison. A 14-foot U-Haul truck will be there from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. to take items to Oklahoma. For information, contact Connie Campbell at 256-656-5072.

These are just three ways to help out and I encourage everyone to give what they can. Pray, show compassion and care.
Those are true acts of God.

Huntsville's 'Best Places to Work' recognized

Company executives with their "Best Places to Work" awards.

Today is a celebration of business in Huntsville. A day that honors the city's "Best places to Work."
The annual Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County ceremony also recognized "Most Valuable Employees." In all, 12 company and 12 individual winners of the Chamber of Commerce’s 2013 Best Places to Work were announced to a sold out crowd today.
First Commercial Bank was the presenting sponsor of the sixth annual event at the Von Braun Center and the North Alabama Society for Human Resource Management was the host.

For Susie Vaughn of People Tec and Modern Technology Solutions this was getting to be a habit. Vaughn was named "MVE" for the fourth straight year while Modern Technology Solutions is a five-time winner, but MTSI competed for the first time in the "Large Company" category, moving up from "Medium."

Winners of the "Most Valuable Employees" award.

“Despite facing numerous challenges locally while dealing with a still-recovering economy, our business community still continued to be recognized as one of the nation’s leading places to launch, sustain and grow a business,” said Kim Lewis, the Chamber’s vice chair of Small Business and Events.

According to a press release from the Chamber, Quantum Workplace measured and selected companies based on the following criteria: Team effectiveness, retention probability, alignment with goals, trust with co-workers, manager effectiveness, trust in senior leaders, feeling valued and work engagement.

Once nominated, Quantum - a company that specializes in measuring workplace satisfaction around the country - administered a survey to employees and tabulated the results. Winners were based exclusively on the outcome of the employee surveys.

The Company winners (in no particular order) were:

Micro: (10-20 employees) - Five Stones Research Corp.; TriVector Services and Adams Homes.

Small: (21-35 employees) - Nesin Therapy Services; QTEC and Troy 7.

Medium: (36-149 employees) - Embassy Suites Hotel & Spa; PeopleTec and Willbrook Solutions.

Large: (150 and more employees) - Modern Technology Solutions Inc.; Intuitive Research Technology Corp. and URS.

The Most Valuable Employee winners (in no particular order) were:

MVE Micro: (10-20 employees) - Jo Ann Eddy Davis, Strategic Innovations; Eliza Kitchens, ADS Security; and Chasitie White, LEAN Frog Business Solutions.

MVE Small: (21-35 employees) - Mike Arthur, Iron Mountain Solutions; Serena Forbes, Trideum Corp.; and Terrie Pung, GATR Technologies.

MVE Medium: (36-149 employees) - Jennifer Broom, QuantiTech; Susie Vaughn, PeopleTec; and Mark Pepper, Canvas.

MVE Large: (150 and more employees) - Kathy Cagle, Modern Technology Solutions; Sandra Manning, ERC; and Jennifer Veal, Intuitive Research.

A special remembrance for Mother's Day

It's true, you don't realize what you've got until it's gone.
This is the second Mother's Day since my mom died but this one seems to be a little tougher than last year.

Maybe it's because of some major changes in my life over the last several months - positive and negative.
Usually, I would call her for updates on what's happening in Pennsville or - as was most of the time - she would call me to find out what's going on in Huntsville and let me know what's going on in Pennsville. Usually, she said, it was just " the same ol' same ol'."
Well, there won't be any phone calls tomorrow and that is a sad reality.
I can't tell her about Lance, Stephanie and Natalie, who is growing up so fast; or that Shane and Amber are expecting a baby in August and that Shane made the Dean's List at West Alabama and Amber received her nurse's pin. Or that Bo is about to finish his junior year at Madison Academy and is making college plans.
However, I have a feeling that she knows what's going on - which she always did anyway. You couldn't put anything past her.
There's supposed to be a special bond between a mother and daughter. Well, I believe there's a special one between mother and son.
She was the first girlfriend.
She was the woman who loved him unconditionally and, in many cases, the only woman who loved him no matter what. Granted, it was a mother's love, but he knew there was always someone who loved him.
She was a confidant on girl-related issues - which came in handy during the turbulent teen years. After all, a guy couldn't talk to his dad about why girls said this and did that. Mom could offer tips.

That's what I think I miss the most: The chats we had about different things in both of our lives.
I still occasionally find myself going through phone messages that I saved on my cell, hoping that somehow I had saved one from her with the chance to hear her voice one more time.
Just one more chance to hear "Well, hi Buddy. How are you?"
I'm OK, Mom. I miss you but I'm OK.

Over 50 and unemployed

There's a generation of unemployed people out here, ready and willing to work. To do whatever it takes to bring home a paycheck and support their families.
I'm a member of that generation. We're over 50 and unemployed.
In fact, sadly, we have been labeled "the unemployable."
Why?
We worked in high school; worked our way through college; and most of us worked at the same job for years.
So, why are we scorned and our resumes overlooked when applying for jobs? Why are we denied "entry-level" positions?
We want to work. "Entry-level" is just fine. A lot of us still have children at home so we're not ready for retirement - early or otherwise.
We are dedicated, as shown by how long we stay at our jobs. Today, especially in this town, younger people stay with one company for maybe five years before moving on to another company.
We don't. We are loyal to a company. We will give you everything you want ... and more.
I've been out of work for seven months, as have several of my former newspaper colleagues. We're educated; skilled; experienced; and willing to do what it takes to work. Heck, we're not asking for a big salaries. After all, we worked for newspapers and didn't go into journalism for the money.
Fortunately, some of us have found jobs, but a lot of us are still searching. And a government report doesn't give us much hope.
According to the Labor Department, unemployed people ages 55 to 64 are out of work an average of 11 months. Meanwhile, for those in the 25-36 age range, the average time is eight months.
Again, why?
Bring us in for interviews. Give us a chance. That's all we ask.
You may be pleasantly surprised.