All Arkansans were shocked by the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina. As you know, we now have thousands of victims of the storm with us in Arkansas. It appears likely that many of them will be in our state for weeks. Some will be here for months. Arkansas isn't their home.
We must realize they've come here because they had no choice. A lot of them had never set foot in our state before. But I want us to treat them in such a way that their next visit to Arkansas will be because they want to be here. I want us to show them the kindness and compassion they so truly need following the worst natural disaster in U.S. history. At the state level, we've instituted Operation KARE, the Katrina Assistance and Relief Effort.
This is a coordinated operation involving every part of state government. Following the March 1, 1997, tornadoes in our state, we created what was known as the Tornado Recovery and Community Enhancement team. The TRACE team allowed us to coordinate relief efforts among the many agencies of state government. We had a central clearinghouse so we would know exactly what was being done in each agency. This model worked well for us back in 1997. It's working again as we seek to help those from neighboring states who have been dislocated by the storm. These people lost their homes and perhaps their jobs. During a special Cabinet meeting on the Thursday after the storm, I asked everyone in my administration to do whatever possible to assist them. I'm asking all of you across Arkansas to do the same.
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