NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Diamond Data Systems, Inc. (DDS)
announced today that despite the business interruption caused by Hurricane
Katrina, its 70+ employees will continue to receive full paychecks and the
company is not expected to experience any staff reductions as a result of the
storm. Additionally, after helping clients establish new computing
infrastructures, it is expected that most of DDS' employees will be back to
normal work schedules by October and the corporate office in New Orleans has
reopened. While other businesses are considering closing down, relocating
their business to a new city, or are still struggling to resurrect their
systems, DDS remains firmly dedicated to its employees and the region.
In its fourth employee conference call since the hurricane, DDS CEO Joey
Auer was pleased to announce that, "We are happy to report that all of our
employees are safe and accounted for and are proud of everyone's efforts
during this difficult time." He explained his reasoning behind this
additional expense as "a demonstration of our commitment to our employees and
to our home town." Auer continues, "As a small business whose revenue was
almost completely stalled for many weeks after the storm, this promise is
costly to make. We wanted to make sure that our employees and our clients know
that we are financially strong, we are open for business, and we will do our
part to make sure the Gulf Region doesn't lose its economy or talented
citizens."
Because of this unquestioned commitment to its people, DDS employees like
Dale Theriot from the DDS' Stennis Space Center office had this to say
following the conference call, "I lost everything in the storm except a few
clothes that were in my car. It would be very easy for me to go someplace
with a lot of secure job opportunities and places to stay. I am staying
because I really enjoy working for my client, my project is exciting, and I
love working for my DDS manager and DDS, especially after what I've witnessed
during this crisis." Another employee, Chad Zerangue, who works in central
Louisiana, also comments, "DDS is doing a great job in a time in history that
has never existed before. This time calls for leadership, not management.
You guys get it and I applaud you for that recognition."
Many of DDS's employees have evacuated themselves and their families to
other parts of Louisiana, and also to cities in Texas, Georgia, and Florida.
This has opened new doors and new opportunities for the information technology
consulting firm. "We are now operating not as a local or regional company, but
as a company with a nation-wide presence. We literally have new opportunities
that reach the four corners of the U.S. and plan to use this opportunity to
aggressively grow our business," says DDS Executive Vice President Rick
Gremillion. "The remoteness of our employees has forced us to find new ways
to create opportunities. All we have to do now is deliver, and because
failure is not an option, that's the easy part!"
Even before the hurricane hit, DDS employees made themselves available to
their clients to help with the disaster planning and the subsequent recovery
effort. In order to help their clients and assist the evacuation shelters
with their IT infrastructure, some worked multiple 18-hour days covering over
2000 miles throughout the state and slept on cots in shelters, others worked
with evacuees and relief efforts, and still others helped government agencies
bring their environments back to operating status. After ensuring that their
families were safe, many of these employees worked despite knowing that their
homes were either destroyed or badly damaged because of their commitment to
their clients.
About Diamond Data Systems -- http://www.diamonddata.com
Diamond Data Systems is a leading provider of high value IT solutions that
include IT strategy, software engineering, network infrastructure design,
information assurance, IT contracting and IT outsourcing. DDS has delivered
these solutions to commercial enterprises in a variety of industries including
healthcare and oil & gas as well as federal and local governments. DDS was
selected as one of the Top 10 Places to work in the Greater New Orleans
region. DDS is headquartered in New Orleans, LA with an office at the Stennis
Space Center in Mississippi.
CONTACT:
Joey Auer, CEO/President Rick Gremillion, Executive VP
5732 Salmen St., Suite C 5732 Salmen St., Suite C
New Orleans, LA 70123 New Orleans, LA 70123
504-729-9100 x111 504-729-9100 x112
joeyauer@diamonddata.com rickg@diamonddata.com
SOURCE Diamond Data Systems, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.diamonddata.com
CONTACT:
Joey Auer, CEO-President, ext. 111, or
joeyauer@diamonddata.com , or Rick Gremillion, Executive VP, ext.
112, or rickg@diamonddata.com , both of Diamond Data Systems,
Inc., +1-504-729-9100
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