epicSocialism4tw
09-08-2005, 09:42 AM
This is a great article. Avery Johnson is an excellent example of a person who is a natural leader. He's in there getting his hands dirty with his people.
Johnson, Mavs players visit Katrina evacuees
Coach says members of his family will settle in Dallas-Fort Worth
01:12 AM CDT on Thursday, September 8, 2005
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
In times of trouble, people usually fall back on what they do best, which meant Avery Johnson was coaching on Wednesday.
As the Mavericks coach and several of his players visited Reunion Arena and the evacuees from Hurricane Katrina, Johnson couldn't help but do what comes naturally.
He spoke with as many displaced people from his hometown as he could. He did his best to lift their spirits, get them looking ahead and remind them that they are the lucky ones.
"It's about having a second chance," Johnson said. "There are a lot of people in there that survived. So you try to let them know that they survived for a reason and you still have a lot to give this country. And if you end up staying in the Dallas-Fort Worth community, you have a chance to be an asset to our community."
Some of Johnson's family members will relocate in the area. Few, if any, he said, will return to New Orleans – especially because two sisters and a brother were not located until a week after the storm hit.
Johnson described their ordeal.
"There was a four- or five-day process when they were on their rooftops, sleeping on roofs and in attics trying to escape," Johnson said. "Once it hit, you don't have any communication – no cellphone, no e-mail, anything – with your family. It took five or six days just to find some of my close family. They're OK right now, and we're grateful. Now it's a matter of helping people who are less fortunate than my family."
Johnson bit his tongue when asked if he was disturbed by the slow response time when it became obvious that the storm had trapped thousands of people.
"You may have to start bleeping me," he said. "I will say that it's pretty difficult when you have resources, but you're in a powerless state. Your name doesn't matter. Your hook-ups, connections – you can't do anything. You can't help your family. You can't help your friends. You can't help anybody. So that was one of the more discouraging things for me."
Numerous players visited Reunion with Johnson, including Erick Dampier, Marquis Daniels, Darrell Armstrong and Jason Terry. Armstrong, who played in New Orleans for a season and a half, sold his home in Slidell this summer. He lived near Hornets forward P.J. Brown, whose house was wiped out.
Briefly: Avery Johnson's support of hurricane victims will include his involvement as coach of one team in the NBA Players Hurricane Relief charity game, Sunday at the Toyota Center in Houston. The game includes LeBron James and Kevin Garnett and a host of other NBA stars and will be played at 5 p.m. It will be televised at 10 p.m. on TNT.
E-mail esefko@dallasnews.com
Johnson, Mavs players visit Katrina evacuees
Coach says members of his family will settle in Dallas-Fort Worth
01:12 AM CDT on Thursday, September 8, 2005
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
In times of trouble, people usually fall back on what they do best, which meant Avery Johnson was coaching on Wednesday.
As the Mavericks coach and several of his players visited Reunion Arena and the evacuees from Hurricane Katrina, Johnson couldn't help but do what comes naturally.
He spoke with as many displaced people from his hometown as he could. He did his best to lift their spirits, get them looking ahead and remind them that they are the lucky ones.
"It's about having a second chance," Johnson said. "There are a lot of people in there that survived. So you try to let them know that they survived for a reason and you still have a lot to give this country. And if you end up staying in the Dallas-Fort Worth community, you have a chance to be an asset to our community."
Some of Johnson's family members will relocate in the area. Few, if any, he said, will return to New Orleans – especially because two sisters and a brother were not located until a week after the storm hit.
Johnson described their ordeal.
"There was a four- or five-day process when they were on their rooftops, sleeping on roofs and in attics trying to escape," Johnson said. "Once it hit, you don't have any communication – no cellphone, no e-mail, anything – with your family. It took five or six days just to find some of my close family. They're OK right now, and we're grateful. Now it's a matter of helping people who are less fortunate than my family."
Johnson bit his tongue when asked if he was disturbed by the slow response time when it became obvious that the storm had trapped thousands of people.
"You may have to start bleeping me," he said. "I will say that it's pretty difficult when you have resources, but you're in a powerless state. Your name doesn't matter. Your hook-ups, connections – you can't do anything. You can't help your family. You can't help your friends. You can't help anybody. So that was one of the more discouraging things for me."
Numerous players visited Reunion with Johnson, including Erick Dampier, Marquis Daniels, Darrell Armstrong and Jason Terry. Armstrong, who played in New Orleans for a season and a half, sold his home in Slidell this summer. He lived near Hornets forward P.J. Brown, whose house was wiped out.
Briefly: Avery Johnson's support of hurricane victims will include his involvement as coach of one team in the NBA Players Hurricane Relief charity game, Sunday at the Toyota Center in Houston. The game includes LeBron James and Kevin Garnett and a host of other NBA stars and will be played at 5 p.m. It will be televised at 10 p.m. on TNT.
E-mail esefko@dallasnews.com