Our thoughts and prayers go out to all affected by Hurricane Irene and the recent earthquake (they should name earthquakes). Our own staff fared well, with only minor damages and power outages reported. Following is the thank you I sent to our own team immediately after Irene:

Joey, Will, Leroy, Louis, Andre, Keith, Jule, Mallery, and Joe,

Thank you so much for your vigilance this past weekend in protecting 2215 from the winds of outrageous fortune! You guys rock. I got regular updates and despite it being my job to worry, never had to because I knew you were doing everything possible to ensure our building weathered the storm, AND the earthquake. I understand we’ll be doing some additional evaluations of the building to ensure there was no lasting damage from either event. Meanwhile, I want to acknowledge that your early action prevented what would have almost certainly been significant damage to our seasonal enclosure (tent) on the Potomac Terrace. Monitoring for water table changes and possible leakage assured us that if something had failed, we would have been ready to respond.

On behalf of the staff, leadership, and membership of APhA, thank you!