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HURRICANE EFFORTS REWARDED
MAYOR GIVES MEDALLIONS TO VOLUNTEERS

It was an unlikely gathering, considering the location: the Surfside Community Center auditorium. Not your typical wedding, bar mitzvah or community meeting. It was more akin to an international summit, a ceremony uniting people from vastly different places. But it shouldn't surprise those who know Surfside and its unique brand of foreign policy.

There were mayors from Gros Morne and Les Cayes, towns in Haiti , a reporter from the Voice of America's Creole service in Washington, D.C., the national director of Haiti 's water supply service, a representative of the Haitian consul, along with local politicians, residents and community organizers.

The group was there to give thanks to Team Surfside , a group of Surfside residents who worked together gathering supplies for relief efforts after Hurricanes Georges and Mitch ravaged Central American and Caribbean nations.

Surfside Mayor Paul Novack hung medallions that read ``Team Surfside Volunteer Award'' around the necks of more than 50 who had volunteered.

``We activated Team Surfside to be ready to help our neighbors putting up shutters and clearing debris,'' Novack said. When the storm turned its course, ``we knew our friends in Haiti were going to have a very bad time so we shifted gears.''

The calls went out, volunteers swung into action and the donations poured in. About eight tons of canned goods, nonperishable food and water were sorted and boxed. A second shipment of about five tons of tools and supplies followed a few weeks later.

The donations had to be taken to the airport, flown overseas and distributed in Haiti and Honduras. All along the way volunteers helped. The Manatee Condominium, next to the community center on Collins Avenue, gave up its card room for weeks so the boxes that were overflowing from the center could be stored. American Airlines donated cargo space. Radio station WLQY (1320 AM) got the word out via public service announcements.

Visitors stopping by the Surfside Tourism Office for directions saw the boxes everywhere and returned with their own donations.

The logistics on the receiving side were even more complex. But volunteers from the mayor's staff, temples and churches, Operation Green Leaves, CARE International and the U.S. Air Force made for smooth distribution.

``Our motto was, `Not one grain of rice,' '' said Novack. ``We vowed that nothing would be lost to corruption or theft. Relief efforts are often plagued by corruption, but we were determined that wasn't going to happen to us. We made sure it was delivered to the people who were in need,'' he said. ``There are things volunteers can do that government and big companies can't.''

So the gathering last week brought together dozens of people from all walks of life who had worked together for a cause. Letters from Gov. Jeb Bush, Sens. Bob Graham and Connie Mack, U.S. Reps. E. Clay Shaw and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, State Rep. Sally Heyman and others recognizing the efforts of Team Surfside volunteers were displayed on the walls. Photos taken in Haiti and Honduras showed team members in T-shirts bearing the name of Surfside in big orange letters delivering the relief supplies.

It was another bit of diplomacy, Surfside -style.

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SURFSIDE `CAN'T IGNORE DISASTER
TEAM MEMBERS ARE HEROES IN HAITI

It wouldn't figure that the mayor of a seaside town famed for quiet living would be well known throughout Haiti and Honduras.

It wouldn't figure unless the town was Surfside and the mayor was Paul Novack.

Ever since hurricanes Georges and Mitch hit, Novack and ``Team Surfside '' have emerged as quiet heroes to the storm victims - collecting supplies and delivering them personally, often using their own money to make sure everything gets where it's supposed to go.

Novack has been playing a Superman role - running the busy town and being the ``captain'' of Team Surfside .

``The Team has been very active with a core group of about a dozen residents,'' Novack said. ``They have been able to always be there.''

Team Surfside is a community service volunteer organization, now focused on meeting the needs of hurricane victims.

``We want to make sure we put the items in the victims' hands ourselves,'' Novack said. ``We want the project to have integrity.''

So far, the team's efforts have not gone unnoticed. For example, Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fl.) said in a recent letter: ``By accomplishing this cooperative mission under difficult conditions, you have set an example for future bilateral relief projects between peoples of the Americas.''

Rene Preval, Haiti's current president, wrote this to Novack:

``The assistance offered by the Town of Surfside will be an eloquent contribution to the efforts to alleviate the suffering of the victims. . . . I thank you for your support and your solidarity.''

There's more.

Pierre Luckner Normil, mayor of the Haitian city of Arcahaie, expressed his thanks by saying that the Team Surfside effort was ``proof of the admirable good humanitarian quality that drives the citizens . . . of Surfside .''

And the Haitian American Association of Engineers and Scientists recently honored Novack as its ``Humanitarian of the Year.''

The accolades haven't come without work. The Team's players have had their hands full for months.

``We collect items during the day and pack them at night,'' Novack said. ``There's also a volunteer delivery team that takes the packages to Haiti.''

Between tools, food, drinking water and other supplies, they've already delivered thousands of pounds to Haiti and Honduras.

Novack said Team Surfside will continue as long as there is a need.

``We just want to set a good example throughout the hemispheres,'' Novack said. ``When something happens in our hemisphere, it affects the entire community. You can't ignore a disaster .''

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