KATRINA When Hurricane Katrina spun her massive and destructive winds into the Gulf of Mexico in August 2005, Chain Electric knew it wasn’t a matter of if its services would be needed, but rather, when and where its services would be needed.  As with most natural disasters, the Chain Electric hierarchy -- Bobby Chain, Bob Chain, and John Chain -- secured their families and told their crews to do the same, then put their disaster plans into motion to assist their many clients. “We have great relationships with many power companies,” explained CEO Bobby Chain. “They have full faith in us, our employees, and the quality of our work.” Even with more than 50 years in business, Bobby Chain says he still had much to learn from Hurricane Katrina.  “I learned to be prepared, to have our crews prepared for what was about to happen, to have our equipment well maintained, and to have our trucks ready to roll at the first possible moment,” he said. Being prepared was certainly a key to getting the City of Hattiesburg back in operation following Katrina. Hattiesburg Public Services Director Bennie Sellers began planning with Chain Electric while the menacing hurricane was a little more than 48 hours from landfall. It was obvious the hurricane would take a toll on the City and city services. “We met almost as soon as the storm entered the Gulf of Mexico, and quickly authorized Chain Electric proceed with whatever was necessary to find generators to keep our water plants operating if we lost power,” stated Sellers. Immediately following the meeting, Bobby Chain began working the network of professionals he had cultivated in 50 years in business. “We have strong ties to companies which lease very large generators, and they take care of us, so that we can take care of our customers and their customers,” said Chain. Immediately large, self-contained, generators were placed onto 18 wheel trucks and readied for the trip from Chicago to Hattiesburg.  The City of Hattiesburg was just one of the many clients which turned to Chain Electric for quality, professional, expert assistance in countering the incredible effects of the deadly storm. For Forrest General Hospital, one of the largest community hospitals in South Mississippi, Katrina brought a unique set of symptoms. “We had an emergency power system, but that system does not keep everything running in our hospital,” exclaimed Bill Oliver,Chief Executive Officer.  However, that situation will be cured when Chain Electric brings a new emergency power plant at the hospital on-line.  “Thanks to Chain Electric, and its technical expertise, we will have an emergency power plant in place to make us much better prepared for emergencies which occur in the future,” said Oliver. While preparing for the effects of Katrina, Chain Electric was still assisting its clients in Florida who were continuing to bounce back from the devastation of Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Whether it is the heavy winds and rains of hurricanes, or the bitter cold of ice storms, if there is a power outage, Chain Electric is ready to send caravans of equipment and people to make sure vital power is quickly restored. “Fast restoration is always a goal in our work,” explained Chain, “but quality restoration and safety are our first priorities.”