Lockton Goes the Extra Miles to Help Katrina Victims

In the mess that was left after Hurricane Katrina blasted into the Gulf Coast last month, many insurance companies anted up dollars for relief. But it’s probably safe to say that few organizations literally went the extra miles that Lockton Companies Inc., a Kansas City, Mo.-based brokerage, did–to deliver the goods in person.

It all started when Don Arrowood, vice president and unit manager for the brokerage, planned on throwing some things into his pickup truck and driving to Mississippi to see what he could do. Arrowood had a personal interest: his in-laws, wife’s siblings and their 100-year-old grandmother lived in hard-hit Pascagoula, Miss. More than that, though, he wanted to alleviate the helpless feeling he got watching the endless news reports of people suffering with no homes, utilities, food or water. “My gut feeling was, I just want to do something,” he said. “I wanted to try and get supplies into the hands of needy people without going through an organization–a direct handoff.”

Arrowood contacted Terry Dicks, a Lockton client and owner of Terry Dicks Trucking (TDT), a trucking firm in Lake City, Fla., whose church already had a similar idea for a relief effort. Arrowood called the church, and the pastor told him “they had been praying for someone to make a connection.”

When Arrowood told Lockton Chief Operating Officer Mark Henderson of his plans, he was probably just hoping for a couple of days off. Instead, Lockton Chairman David Lockton immediately coordinated a conference call with all the company COOs, who unanimously voted to implement a strategy of “directed giving,” working with client trucking firms, grocers and manufacturers of personal care items to gather the goods and ship them directly to the areas in need.

“The Thursday before Labor Day, there was a clear outcry from our associates to do something,” David Lockton said. “So we got together on Friday morning and decided the best way to leverage donations was to try and fill the gap that was not being filled at the moment by the government and the Red Cross. By the end of the day, we were able to line up the trucks, purchase the groceries, contact the mayor and arrange a safe arrival place for the trucks. We knew we couldn’t wait around for a committee to do this.”

Lockton immediately pledged $7,000 upfront for Arrowood to coordinate a long-haul effort to get relief material to people in the town, and ultimately pledged $100,000 to the effort. “This is America’s tsunami,” David Lockton wrote in an e-mail memo to the COOs. “We realize that you may already be donating through other channels and we do not want anyone to feel pressured to donate. However, many of our associates have expressed a desire to help in a meaningful way. We are moving fast because people are starving between now and when the government, Red Cross, et al can reach them next week.”

On Saturday, Sept. 3, Lockton employees loaded two 53-foot trailers owned by TDT to go from Lake City, Fla., to Mississippi. Each trailer contained approximately 30,000 pounds of relief items such as water, Gatorade, canned goods, diapers and baby food, worth as much as $35,000 per truckload.

The trucks made the 450-mile drive to Pascagoula, Miss., a town with a poverty rate of more than 22 percent. A third truck from Kansas City trucking firm and Lockton client Contract Freighters (CFI) joined the convoy with more donated goods.

Arrowood, who accompanied the first shipment, was shocked at the devastation. Referring to the coastline itself as “Ground Zero,” where most homes, including his in-laws’, were flattened, there was even significant flooding six miles into the town, he said. En route, there were countless areas of storm damage, including trees snapped like matchsticks. Along the coastline, trees still standing were lined with debris 30 feet up where the wall of water came over, he said.

Once they got to Pascagoula, they were faced with another challenge: overwhelmed emergency workers. Upon arrival at the National Guard center the trucks were turned away, because the Guardsmen didn’t have the time to unload the Lockton trucks. “There were two lines of cars coming through there from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and they never stopped,” Arrowood said of the citizens seeking supplies.

So the convoy headed down the road to the area Red Cross station, which was set up in the parking lot of the town’s First Baptist Church. Once again, they were turned away–Red Cross officials were concerned about the liability issues involved with handing out unauthorized goods. “So we moved the trailers 30 yards away and opened the doors,” Arrowood said. “Some of us unloaded the trailers, and there was another line of guys handing out supplies. I would estimate that in four to five hours of unloading, fifteen hundred people came through.”

Things got so busy that within forty-five minutes, armed National Guardsmen showed up, concerned about crowd control. But Arrowood stressed there were no problems at any time.

When their work was done, Arrowood hitched a ride back to Florida with one of the trucks. Although access roads in and out weren’t a problem, there were some concerns about fuel availability. There was only one major service station open, but most days it closed at 2 p.m. because it ran out of gas. Buyers were limited to $30 gas purchases. Luckily the trucks had been topped off in Mobile, Ala., and the pickup trucks that accompanied them had dual gas tanks, Arrowood said.

Since the initial effort, Lockton has sent another three truckloads–for a total of five–to the Mississippi area, and is now working on a sixth shipment. Lockton is coordinating its on-the- ground efforts with Major Danny Sample, of the Mississippi National Guard Armory, based in Gulfport, Miss. Major Sample has been instrumental in getting the loads unloaded and distributed, and was even available to provide directions to a lost truck driver. His facility is almost completely dedicated to distributing goods to areas that couldn’t be reached by normal transport, or to people who do not have transportation or the sick and elderly who can’t travel.

Arrowood realizes that while some of the immediate needs may be alleviated, the Gulf Coast victims continue to need assistance as time goes on. “I’d like to figure out a way to do something long-term for the people,” he said. “Manpower is now becoming an issue, for cleanup and reconstruction. People need jobs so it will come together, but it is a challenge.”

Lockton is remaining involved by continuing to accept contributions from its employees, which it is matching dollar for dollar–and by continuing the goods deliveries as needed. David Lockton reported that so far the firm has collected $208,000, which could ultimately go toward employment training and placement for people displaced from job, daycare, or other needed services.

“I’ve been with this company for four years, but the heart issue totally changed for me that day,” Arrowood said. “This is a company that has a heart. Overnight it became much more of a family to me. This is a company that was able to say, ‘We believe in what you believe and we’re ready to dedicate nationwide resources to support you.'”