Hello New Volunteers

[glennab]

Hi all

I'm one of the original volunteers, signed up in June of 2006 when OPR was just getting started after Hurricane Katrina.  Until a couple of years ago I was very active on the forum (I have more than 3200 posts, hence my nickname GK - for Garrulous Kraken - dubbed so by Aussie Max for my defiant refusal to attend On-And-On-Anon meetings).  I was also lucky enough to have participated on our first copy run - to Biloxi.  It was one of the most amazing and wonderful experiences of my life (if you're interested, I kept a journal and posted it every day while we were there.  It's called the "Biloxi Beacon" and features photos of the members of the team as well as some of our beneficiaries and some very funny posts from many of our volunteers).

Unfortunately my health has declined in the past couple of years (a temporary condition, I'm determined!), so I haven't been adding my 2 cents worth to the forum much.

But I've been watching our volunteer numbers rise astoundingly since OPR's gotten press from NAPP, on Facebook and during the copy runs.  

The reason for this post (despite all the previous blah-blah-blah) is to welcome all of you and tell you how absolutely wonderful it is for me to know that there are so many good-hearted, caring and sharing people in the world who want to help give people's lost memories back to them. You truly have helped give me hope for the future!

So welcome from the hot and sunny land of flowers, and I hope interact with you on the forum.  Don't be afraid to participate.  It's a great learning experience, you'll meet wonderful people who will go out of their way to help you if you run into a challenge, and from time to time an imp or two shows up to keep things fun (I won't mention any names _{Hannie and Shujen}).

Bless
GK

[Cheri]

Thanks for the welcome.  I'm really excited to be able to contribute and also learn from others.  I can't be in the cities that are cleaning up, but I can try and help others by giving them their pictures back.  I'm excited to get to know the people here.