Daily Real Estate News  |  September 14, 2005  |   REALTORŪ Rescues 200 People in New Orleans Not many REALTORSŪ can say that they were “there” in the epicenter of devastation from Hurricane Katrina and personally rescued more than 200 people. But Chris Schlechta can. The 29-year-old sales associate and vice president of American Homes Realty Inc. in Racine, Wis., is a former firefighter and EMT who now volunteers for People and Paws Search and Rescue, a nonprofit organization that helps locate missing persons in the Midwest. In the past year-and-a-half that he has volunteered with the organization, Schlechta has aided in four search-and-rescue operations for missing persons in Wisconsin and Michigan. Two weeks ago, his training was put to the test on a whole new level for one of worst disasters in the nation's history. Two days after celebrating his second wedding anniversary with his wife, Rebecca, Schlechta was deployed to New Orleans, at the request of Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, as part of a six-member People and Paws unit. His unit accompanied 130 other volunteers from the parent organization, New York-based The Bear Search and Rescue Foundation. Schlechta says that after the hurricane hit on Aug. 29, his unit was placed on stand-by for deployment on Aug. 30 and received the deployment order on Aug. 31. Schlechta and his all-volunteer team set off on Sept. 1 and traveled for two full days, transporting two boats donated by BRP U.S. Inc., a manufacturer of recreational vehicles and products. Along the way, he says, they spent $4,500 of their own money for gasoline and other supplies. When they arrived in New Orleans at 6 a.m. on Sept.3, his unit was the first rescue convoy to make it into the downtown area. Schlechta's unit, which normally works with animals in rescue missions but didn’t in this case due to the flooding, worked for three days alongside the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, which was overseeing rescue operations for the city. Schlechta says his unit first helped to evacuate the former New Orleans Plaza Hotel and Convention Center (now known as the Radisson Hotel New Orleans Airport) in Kenner, La., and then maneuvered around on 16-foot skiff and banana boats to find survivors. About two dozen people refused to be evacuated—in which case Schlechta and other rescuers provided them with food and water and later informed authorities of the residents’ exact locations—but in all, Schlechta says he helped rescue 202 people, seven dogs, and two cats. The most enduring part of his experience was seeing “the size and scope of the devastation down there,” Schlechta says. “Once you got south between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, buildings were destroyed, trees were down, homes were down, and it really looked like a bomb went off down there.” Witnessing destruction of that magnitude had a profound affect on him, Schlechta says. He’s always had a strong desire to serve others, but helping in the relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina has put his life in a new perspective. “This is one of those situations where I feel that there’s so much that needs to be done, and you wish you could do more,” he says. Back in Racine, Schlechta is trying to do more. His family-owned realty company has pledged to donate $100 from every transaction “from now until it’s not needed” to the Salvation Army and has challenged other companies in the area to follow suit. The company has seven sales associates and closes an average of two to four transactions per month. “You can’t walk away from something like this without it changing you,” Schlechta says. “I think my outlook on things is different. Little things like being stuck in traffic don't seem as important anymore. The bigger things are the things that you need to hold near and dear to your heart.” —By Haley M. Hwang for REALTORŪ Magazine Online