Motorola & Cox Help New Orleans

As mentioned previously, in addition to the core CableCares activities, there were a variety of other efforts made by companies to help rebuild New Orleans. I was lucky enough to witness one. Motorola put out a news release about the event: Motorola to Rebuild Technology Infrastructure for New Orleans Area School. There was also a write-up at Motorola's MediaExperiences2Go blog: Helping Out in New Orleans. Now, here's my perspective. Motorola, working with its local partner Cox, was giving a donation to Chalmette High School, a school that had been hit hard during Katrina. I spoke to the local superintendent and she told me that the lower floor of the school had been under eight feet of water, while people gathered on the upper level and lived there for a week after the flood. We went into the gym and a full-blown pep rally was in progress, one like I have never seen before.

Massive. Fever-pitch. Screaming, cheering. This was pep. A student came out in costume and sang "Getting to Know You" from The King and I. Another student sang some song from Wicked. The flags performed, the spirit squad, the cheerleaders. A texting-while-hula-hooping contest was held. Maybe your high school was like this. For me, it felt like a movie about high school, with students in an absolute pandemonium of excitement. Former quarterback Archie Manning (pictured above), who played 10 seasons with the New Orleans Saints, stepped out onto the court. The crowd erupted. He told a few amusing stories; he told the students to do the right thing; don't do drugs; stay in school. Dan Moloney, Executive VP and President, Motorola Home & Networks Mobility, got the kind of reaction that rock stars get. A giant check was produced. Photos were taken. The crowd cheered. I've never seen anything like it. It made you feel good about doing something for this school and these kids and the city of New Orleans.