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Mandeville LA, September 15, 2005 — Message from Captain John R. Lawrence:
My heart goes out to each of you that sustained damage from Hurricane Katrina. As we all know too well, it was a nasty storm that has affected each of our lives in many ways. While there was a lot of destruction and bad things that came from Hurricane Katrina, there was also a lot of good. While I can’t speak for all of you, I can speak from my own personal experience. The section of my neighborhood where I live is composed of a high concentration of Orpheus Members. As soon as the storm was over, most of our street was outside formulating a plan on how to fix whatever was damaged at each others home. We went from “neighbors”, to a “band of brothers” that not only looked out for each others’ safety, but for our “stuff”. We took care of not only our group, but all of the neighbors that were impacted by the storm. You could write a book about what took place just on our street, much less all over the area. The entire story of what we experienced and went through is too lengthy to put here, and I am sure each and every one of you have similar stories. What happened in my neighborhood went on all over our Parish. It is the makeup of our members that makes this organization great. My suggestion to you at this time is to focus on the positives, the relationships you have made and the things you have learned from this horrific event and it will assist you in getting through whatever trouble you are experiencing.
With that being said, I think we can all use some positive news. If you are like me, you need some fun activities to look forward to in hopes of bringing some normalcy back to our lives. The big news I have to announce is that ORPHEUS ROLLS IN 2006. I spoke with Mr. Massett regarding our floats. While he has some very significant personal losses to deal with, he feels very confident that he will have floats, in the right sizes, for the Original Krewe of Orpheus to ride in 2006. Obviously this is an early assessment, and we don’t know all of the details, but “where there’s a will, there’s a way”. We have the will and desire to ride and WE WILL MAKE IT HAPPEN. Chief Tom Buell stated that he sees no reason why we couldn’t parade. So, put it in your bank, we will take over the streets of Mandeville and put on a show like never before on February 24, 2006.
As soon as the board handles their personal business, we will meet to discuss the upcoming events and the rescheduling of the bead order party. Hurricane Katrina will cause us to face additional challenges with our bead vendor and costume vendor. We will have to work through these issues. I promise, we will get on it ASAP and get some information to you about beads, costumes, and scheduled events as soon as we can.
In closing, I am proud to be a member of this organization and affiliated with each and every one of you. My hat is off to you for not only handling this situation, but from allowing it to make you stronger because of it. I can’t wait to see you at our next function.
John S. Lawrence, Jr.
Captain of the Greatest Parade Organization on Earth!
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