Logistics expert models CMU’s commitment to public service
Marketing and logistics professor Omar Keith Helferich recently spent 15 long, challenging days in Louisiana as a Red Cross volunteer, providing logistics expertise to help communities ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.
He joined several CMU faculty, staff, and students who donated their time, money, and hard work to relief efforts following the hurricane. Their work underscores the CMU 2010 priority of providing service for the public good.
“As assistant director of the logistics operation, I helped in the logistics planning and operations for transportation, facilities, and supplies that supported the total relief effort for Louisiana,” Helferich said. “This meant not just helping the victims, whom we call clients, but other volunteers as well as rescue workers, police, and firefighters.”
Stationed at the Red Cross headquarters in a former Wal-Mart in Baton Rouge, Helferich worked to solve major logistics issues with the help of 40 International Red Cross logistics professionals.
Helferich and the overall Red Cross logistics team were involved in areas including buying and dispersing food, water, and clothing, securing transportation and storage, installing telephone lines, establishing service centers, and setting up shelters.
“When you look at the scope of Katrina and the disaster relief efforts, it was the largest in U.S. history,” Helferich said.
More work ahead
Helferich, who has been a Red Cross volunteer since 1991, believes Hurricane Katrina resembled a major bioterrorism event in many respects. It involved the evacuation of an enormous number of people and injuries from different sources like wind, water, and crime. It also presented potential environmental health problems through contamination.
Helferich plans to apply these lessons in his work with the Department of Homeland Security’s recently established Center of Excellence in the National Center for Protection and Defense.
Since his return, he has shared his experiences with his students, emphasizing the value of planning for uncertainties, the importance of communication, and the complexities of decision making when several organizations are involved.
“I always encourage my students to become involved in community service and give them the advice my parents gave me: Whatever community service you choose, do it with passion, patience, and perseverance,” Helferich said.
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 Omar Keith Helferich, CMU marketing and logistics professor, lent his expertise during the Hurricane Katrina disaster relief efforts. His role underscored the CMU 2010 priority of providing service for the public good.
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