National Clothesline

When employees of Phenix Supply Co. of Nashville, TN, a distributor of laundry and drycleaning supplies, reported for work on the morning of Monday, May 3, they discovered the facility had not escaped the weekend floodwaters that consumed a large portion of Nashville.

Over the weekend, floodwaters had entered the building up to as much as 14 ½ inches from dock doors to front office doors. A large “lake” out the back dock doors did not recede for three days!

Despite the circumstances and chaos in the city, employees rose to the occasion and pitched in to restore the facility to its former effectiveness. By the end of the day, all the water and mud had been pushed out of the building and the cutting out of the drywall and drying of the building had begun. With roads closed all over the city, deliveries were pushed back one day and the removal of all damaged merchandise began.

By the end of the first week, deliveries were back on schedule with limited encumbrance to Phenix Supply customers. All damaged product was replaced from the other seven locations of Phenix Supply with the exception of custom-printed materials.

For the next four weeks, employees accustomed to working out of several offices were confined to one warehouse office while the construction was taking place up front but they never missed a beat with deliveries.

After five weeks, the staff was able to return to their regular offices.