10th Anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing
How the Chamber of Commerce helped recovery efforts
Today, Van Rysselberge is President of the Charleston Metro Chamber, and was the President and CEO of the Greater OKC Chamber in 1995 when the bombing took place. “Tears of sorrow/tears of pride” was an expression used to describe what hap- pened on April 19, 1995 when Timothy McVeigh packed a rented Ryder truck with explosives and blew it up in front of the Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 people, including children. Van Rysselberge was not far away at the OKC Chamber building, and immediately set about to do what he could to assist. With the help of consultants and Chamber staff, Van Rysselberge established two major efforts: a Business Emergency Assistance Center in the Chamber building, as well as a News Media Center in the lobby of a nearby hotel. These efforts proved critical in the recovery efforts, assisted with delivering informa- tion from OKC, and helped the City’s businesses who had no other champions. Thanks to these efforts, most businesses got the help they needed to rebuild or stay afloat. Over 3,500 calls were made to businesses, which resulted in $400,000 of in-kind services from companies willing to help. The Media Cen- ter handled over 50 national and international news media, disbursed over 500 media kits, and coordinated over 200 interviews. The Chamber also assisted with a hotel room locater service, evaluation assistance for planned conventions, a business relief fund, and government relief for businesses.
Van Rysselberge pulled from his experience with the Atlanta Metro Chamber, but took away a lot more from OKC as a result of the tragedy. Lesson learned included putting a disaster plan into place, as well as stress debriefing for Chamber employees. The Chamber also helped pass a $25 million bond referendum to establish a state-of- the-art communication center, which did not exist prior to the bombing. The Chamber also identified the need to help businesses review the fine print on insurance policies to determine exact coverage.
The statistics are amazing of what happened (and what has since taken place) in OKC and the spirit of community fostered through recovery efforts. Although it was one of the greatest tragedies of our times, the Chamber helped make a difference that can still be felt today.
In other business. . .
Dan Butts gave the invocation and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance, and Henry Blackford welcomed visiting Rotarians and guests. Jennet Alterman offered Health & Happiness, and President Mark thanked Ellen Jackson for hosting last week’s Open House. He also reminded Rotarians to update roster information. Les Manigault introduced members of the GSE Team from India. Bill Eaton asked for support for the Alzheimer’s Educational Support program. Anita Zucker introduced our speaker Charles Van Rysselberge.
— Amy Riley