When Raytheon Missile Systems engineers Mark Franklin and Nick Demesa, along with their local church group, got a call for help from the mayor’s office, they rolled up their sleeves and went right to work. The request was to quickly transform the Tucson Convention Center (TCC) into temporary living quarters for hundreds of Hurricane Katrina evacuees. “We didn’t hesitate at all,” says Franklin. “It was apparent there was a real need and we were happy to help.”

However, turning the convention center into a hotel was a major challenge. “I’ve helped to coordinate smaller volunteer projects like setting up soup kitchens, but nothing of this magnitude,” says Franklin. The dozens of volunteers began organizing the TCC loading dock to receive the tons of donations that were pouring in from around the community. Franklin and his team also tackled the task of setting up the hundreds of bed and cots inside.

Franklin is quick to downplay the work he and his volunteers accomplished that first weekend. “Logistically it was pretty easy because we were working from a clean slate. Nobody had put any real thought yet into how to accomplish this,” says Franklin. The volunteers were initially told to prepare the TCC for 500 evacuees, but that soon increased to nearly 1,000.

Franklin and Demesa are keenly aware that what the evacuees must immediately have is a roof, a bed, food and clothing; other basic needs like a job and permanent housing will come later. They know that many of their fellow Raytheon employees want to do something to assist the victims of Katrina. Franklin and Demesa say the best way to help is by donating to local relief organizations.

“I’m proud of this community,” says Demesa. “What the city is doing shows that we care about others. I’d like to think other places would do the same for us if a disaster like Katrina ever hit Tucson.”

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