The BBA received this letter of gratitude from a New Orleans lawyer displaced by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, thanking BBA members for all their support and hospitality during a tumultuous time. Reprinted with permission of the author:
Thank you so much for extending to me the offer for renewal of membership. I became a member of the Boston Bar when I was in Boston during evacuation after Hurricane Katrina. I have been back in New Orleans since late September 2005.
I would like for the members of the Boston Bar Association to know just how much their graciousness meant to me. I am not from Boston, nor I have spent much time in Boston. I was in Boston only because it was my last stop for dropping off my friends (who didn't have their own cars). I dropped friends off in New Jersey, Manhattan, and Boston, respectively, before I even thought about what I was going to do. I am from Arkansas, so clearly, I was a fish out of water at that point in time.
I remember walking off the street (I think it was Beacon Street?) in September 2005, without an appointment, and being greeted with kind words and warm gestures by members of the Boston Bar. September of 2005 was the most awful time for me, personally, professionally...in all aspects of my life. I truly did not know what I was going to do, or how I was going to get there, and in the most vague of terms. Although things are better now, it's still very hard. But, during that most tumultuous time, the Boston Bar extended their hospitality to me, which made me feel better, and I really needed to feel better about something during that hour on that day. I have shared my story with many people, all of whom have responded with sincere appreciation for the Boston Bar's efforts. I applaud the Boston Bar members for their empathy coupled with their own initiative to help me find a job. Although I did relocate back to New Orleans as soon as we were allowed to return, I know that should I have opted to stay in Boston, I would have been in good hands, which means more than I could ever express in words.
Please extend my gratitude to the Boston Bar for their hospitality.
Sincerely,
Ashlye Keaton
Eveline Davis & Phillips
New Orleans, LA
