What's Relevant

My worst moment was watching the first World Trade Center tower collapse in a blaze of molten metal and dust before my unbelieving eyes from my vantage point at the Lincoln Tunnel. Believe me, the television images can&t convey how surreal that was.

Over the last week, of course, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has given us all great cause for moral reflection. After I edited CRN Distribution Editor Scott Campbell&s coverage from last week&s cover, I went home in a heck of a funk. The fact is, it&s tough to ask questions about people&s livelihoods when their very lives are at stake. But ask Scott did. And people answered.

New Orleans has a very special place in the hearts of many solution providers. Of course, it was the home base for many a raucous XChange Solution Provider conference, a place where we exposed both business and personal issues along the dark alleys of the French Quarter. More important, it was home to local solution providers like Cherbonnier, Mayer and Associates, Global Data Systems and Restech, all featured in our coverage. Clearly, they all face tough personal and business decisions in the coming weeks and months. But what struck me was their singular dedication to their employees and customers in the face of this national catastrophe.

I was also struck last week by the outpouring of support from the channel, whether it was solution provider Wright Business Technologies& effort to coordinate deliveries of food and clothing to refugees taking up residence in the Houston area to offers of basic Internet connectivity services from members of The ASCII Group to the decision by D&H Distributing and Alternative Technology to devote a percentage of their profits from their sales in September to the relief efforts.

One long week ago, the CRN news team here made the decision to change our preplanned cover story (the terrific scoop about CompUSA&s effort to recruit local service providers). For a brief moment, it seemed a tough decision. But not only was it right, it was relevant. And at this turning point for the nation and the channel, that&s my pledge to you: To keep CRN relevant.

What is relevant for you? HEATHER CLANCY, Editor at CRN, welcomes your ideas and feedback at [email protected].