The Big Easy is alive and thriving!

First of all, by the way of introduction, I'm Pam Webster, Corporate Recruiting Manager with Enterprise Rent-A-Car. I work at our corporate office in St. Louis where I've been in my current role for the past three years. Prior to moving to St. Louis, I spent 20 years with our Southern California operations where I began my career with Enterprise in our Management Training Program. I worked my way into management before moving into HR and Recruiting and have been involved in college recruiting for the past 19 years. I've been actively involved in WACE, then MPACE where I served on the board. I've been a member of NACE for many of those years and have served on the NACE Future Directions Task Force, and this year had the pleasure and honor of serving as a co-chair for the 2008 Conference Programming Committee.

I am now a NACE blogger, and am also a first time blogger............Steven, you may need to teach me a thing or two.

I'm actually in New Orleans as I write this blog, attending the American Marketing Association's 50th Annual Collegiate Conferece. I've spent the past two days getting to know some amazing students that are here for training and development in the chosen major of business and marketing, even with the tempt of Bourban Street just a few blocks away. I've been back to New Orleans several times a year since Katrina, and the city is getting back to the great city that New Orleans is. You will experience, great food, great music, great history and great hospitality! And guaranteed, you'll gain a few pounds while you're here. While you are here, make sure you head down to the Cafe Du Monde, an original french market since 1862, and taste the beignets, the state donut of Louisiana........and at a price you can't beat--three for $1.82.

If you've never been to New Orleans, you may have a difficult time understanding the city. It looks like no other place in the United States---it seems almost European.The first puzzling impression usually comes from the appearance of the French Quarter near many of the city's hotels. It is more than just a few blocks of townhouses and cottages standing side-by-side, up against the sidewalk. The size of the district startles even those well traveled in the rest of the nation. You'll experience a melange of people moving at all hours of the day and night in the very center of the city. You will quickly learn that bars have no closing hour (and I know how NACE folks love to party), that the food is spicy, and that the music is pulsating almost everywhere.

What's exciting to me about NACE 2008 in New Orleans, is an opportunity to work with the Area Habitat for Humanity, helping families realize their dream of affordable housing. More than 100 families have benefited since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. We've also got some great programming planned and of course the best networking where friends and colleagues can come together to catch up and share idea and have the opportunity to meet new friends along the way.

So, if you haven't made plans to attend the conference yet, we hope it will fit into your busy schedules and you can join us in New Orleans!

How to be a part of the Recovery!

Thanks to all our bloggers for jumping in!

And just a reminder, after reading Steves post of 4/4, that NACE has TWO work days scheduled with Habitat for Humanity. You can read all about the project here.

Dont think you can swing a hammer or hang drywall? ME neither....but I can wield a mean paintbrush if I need to.:)) Regardless, we can all do something. Even if it just means carrying water for another person, I can contribute.

I personally will be working on Saturday and promise we will all have a great time! Why not join the fun and help out!

Returning to New Orleans

One of the reasons that I'm excited about the NACE conference this year is that it is located in New Orleans. For those of us who had the good fortune of visiting New Orleans prior to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we know what an incredible city it was. There are so few cities in the world which are electric and New Orleans was definitely one of those. In the U.S., I would put New York, San Francisco, and Chicago into that same bucket.

I joined the board of the non-profit organization, Nechama: Jewish Response to Disaster, about four years ago. I flew down to Mississippi five days after Katrina to see what help we could be in helping people clean out their homes and small businesses. You couldn't get near New Orleans as it was still under water and the gulf coast from western Alabama all the way through Mississippi and Louisiana was absolutely devastated. There was too much damage and too little water, fuel, electricity, and security for us to attempt to help out in those areas. But I found that there was plenty of work and logistical support a little further north near Hattiesburg, Mississippi so we started there and as life started to return to normal or at least somewhat normal further south we moved down there. Nechama has gutted out dozens of homes in New Orleans since then and we're quite proud of the work that we've done there.

Today, New Orleans is again a vibrant city, especially in the tourist areas. But I urge all attendees of the conference to venture outside of the tourist areas. Go to some of the devastated areas and see first hand how terrible the flooding was and how much work remains to be done. This is a city that needs and deserves the help of all of us. Bringing NACE to New Orleans will help tremendously. Consider donating a day or even part of a day to the ongoing clean-up efforts. Consider contacting your federal political representatives to get the money flowing properly. But above all, come to NACE, enjoy New Orleans, and be part of the process in getting this proud and wonderful city back to 100 percent.