Our First Response to 9/11 -Special Edition of the TapRooT® Friends & Experts e-Newsletter from the 9/11 Aftermath (posted on 9/12)
From: Mark Paradies
To: TapRooT® Freinds/Experts
Subject: SPECIAL EDITION: Terrorist Response
Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2001 10:55:34 -0400
OUR HEARTS AND PRAYERS GO OUT TO THE VICTIMS
First and foremost, our hearts and our prayers go out to the victims of this shocking and terrible act and to anyone who knows anyone who is dead or missing.
My brother, who lives in Greenwich Village and was several blocks away from the World Trade Center when the first plane hit has been evacuated and is OK.
OUR INSTUCTORS AND STUDENTS ARE OK
As for our instructors, none were traveling that particular morning. Several are temporarily stranded at courses across the US but we expect this will be resolved soon.
As for our students traveling to courses, because of our course schedules, none were traveling that morning.
We don’t have any information about other TapRooT(R) Friends and Experts. There are about 50 people who have had TapRooT(R) Training or receive our newsletter or e-newsletter that either work in the World Trade Center or in nearby buildings. They of course are in our prayers.
If you know someone that is dead or missing and you would like us to pray for them or their family, please let me know.
TERRORIST RESPONSE POLICY
(TapRooT(R) COURSE ATTENDEES PLEASE READ)
As for upcoming courses and travel, we have adopted the following policy:
We, along with President Bush and the rest of the American Government, will not be intimidated by terrorist acts. Therefore, we will continue with business as usual.
With the full support of all those involved, all of our courses this week are being successfully completed. This includes our public course that ends today in Lansing, MI.
On-Site Courses:
For on-site courses next week, we fully plan to be there and hold the courses.
We believe the airlines will be back in operation and that we will be able to fully support these courses.
If your corporate security group believes that there is a current and credible threat of a terrorist attack, we will, of course, cancel the course and reschedule it to another date AT NO COST to the client.
Public Courses:
For our public courses, we believe that there is no clear current danger.
Our 5-Day course in Syracuse next week will be held (one of our instructors, Hank Hedges, is local so that course is not even dependant on resumption of airline service).
The same is true for our 2-Day course in State College, PA (Joel Haight lives there).
However:
– if a student in either of these classes is afraid to travel, OR
– if they believe that they are threatened by terrorist activity, OR
– if their corporate security prohibits travel, OR
– if they are too upset to participate in training, OR
– if they cannot schedule transportation to the course,
THEN they may transfer their registration to any future course of their choice at NO ADDITIONAL FEE BY SI. If they can’t find a course to transfer to, we will refund the entire course fee.
IF YOU ARE SCHEDULED FOR A COURSE IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS, please e-mail us to let us know if you will be there or if you need to transfer to another course. Or you may call us at 865-539-2139.
INVESTIGATION
Of course the investigation into this terrible act is already starting.
We have not been asked to participate and have no knowledge beyond the speculation in the news reports.
We have trained many government employees who may be part of investigation teams (including employees at the NTSB, FAA, FBI, Secret Service, DOT, Treasury Department, Department of State, NSA,OSHA, EPA, and the DoD).
We hope and believe these investigations will focus on the facts and the actions that can be taken to prevent or reduce the likelihood of future acts of terror of this type.
We hope this does not become a hunt for people to blame (besides the terrorist and their organizations who obviously should be brought to justice for their illegal acts).
We know that people in Boston and New Jersey at the airports and families of the airline crews will wonder if they did everything they could have done to protect the passengers and stop this act.
Of course, the investigation will probably show that there is room for improvement. However, this should not be interpreted as a condemnation or blame for any employees who were trying to do their
job.
The full weight of our anger and response should be directed at those who purposefully and willfully chose to commit a horrendous criminal act and those that knowingly supported them.
When seemingly unfathomable acts are committed by those with criminal intent, there may be no way that we here on earth can ever adequately punish those involved. However, I believe that there is or will be an ultimate reckoning for evil deeds. The people involved in this act are surely reserved a special place on the list of those who will receive punishment that is far beyond our control.
Mark Paradies
Partner & President
System Improvements, Inc.
238 South Peters Road, Suite 301
Knoxville, Tennessee 37923 USA
865-539-2139
