I spent the early part of this week in New Orleans at a conference for directors of small and intermediate sized Federations. The early part was dedicated to the story of the destruction and recovery of New Orleans: on Sunday we heard from Tulane University President Scott Cowan about how the university, most of which was under 8 feet of water, was able to rebuild its database and facilities and open its campus again only 5 months after the flood. Tulane is the largest single employer in New Orleans and the most amazing thing was that they kept their entire faculty and staff on full payroll while they were out of business.

On Monday we took a bus tour of the Lower Ninth Ward, which you will remember was one of the most devastated areas of the city. The downtown and French Quarter – the places where tourists are likely to be - are all fully recovered, but some of the residential areas, particularly in the less-affluent areas, are still far from being fully repopulated. The tour guide had to keep reminding us, “Where you see green spaces, that’s not a park, it’s where a house used to be.”

After that we did a service project with the St. Bernard’s Project, which focuses on house rehab in the St. Bernard’s Parish. As we were traveling and working we saw quite a number of other work crews, primarily students on “alternative spring break.”

Back at the hotel we heard from JFNA CEO Jerry Silverman, and then the small-city group had a hour and a half session with him the next morning. We had a lot to say to him – small cities people often feel that the national structure doesn’t have a lot of time for us, cuts our consulting services, and that sort of thing, and while he’s early in his term and one can’t expect miracles, we certainly felt that he heard what we were saying and that he intends, as far as he is able, to address our concerns.

We also had an almost full-day marketing seminar, and long and thorough presentations from both the Jewish Agency for Israel and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, our overseas partners. There was also a good deal of networking, sharing of programs, etc., and there may have been some jazz heard as well.

These opportunities for professional development and feeling part of a larger whole are very valuable, and I encourage you to consider joining me when we return to New Orleans for the General Assembly in November.