On September 10th the first edition of the INFONETICS’ Cylinder Control and Serial Number System (CCS/SNS) training kicked off at 9 AM at the Grove City, Ohio headquarters. Little did we all know that in less than 24 hours the United States would be facing one of the most horrific tragedies in its history.
Led by INFONETICS Account Specialist Jim Conlin, the first day of the CCS/SNS class seemed to go off without a hitch. Filled with users from Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Alabama, North Carolina, Iowa, and Georgia the class was a diverse one that proved to be productive for everyone from the beginner to the advanced user. Day One finished on time and everyone was anxious to pick up where they left off the next day…Tuesday, September 11th.
Day Two of CCS/SNS training started like any other day, with coffee, donuts, and early morning greetings. Attendees had already checked out of their hotel rooms, bags were packed to go home after class, and the INFONETICS shuttle was loaded to return those customers who were flying back to the airport. The class started and things were moving along according to schedule. Then the unthinkable happened.
The entire nation watched as the tragedies in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania unfolded. INFONETICS was watching too. The CCS/SNS class came to an immediate halt and the staff at INFONETICS immediately started to work on alternate travel arrangements for our guests who had flown into Port Columbus International Airport. The first thing we did was to reserve a block of rooms for our customers just in case they were not able to make other travel arrangements. From there we started scouring the Yellow Pages and the Internet for rental cars, bus routes, and train schedules. The best alternative we found for our air travelers was putting each of them on a Greyhound bus. However, even those plans fell through as all Greyhound traffic was canceled by mid-afternoon.
Eventually, our four air travelers from Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, and North Carolina ended up returning for one more night in Grove City and then returned home via rental car on Wednesday, September 12th. As a further testament to the sense of unity that enveloped the nation, our three southern-based attendees decided to rent one automobile and carpool home. It was quite an example of America working together to get through such a horrific event.