New Book Could Help New Orleans' Nagin Focus On New Jobs

A new book, "Get the Right Job, Right Now!," could help New Orleans' Mayor Ray Nagin to include a unique new jobs program in his First 100 Days Plan. Could it be that he needs inspiration?

Memphis, TN (PRWEB) May 28, 2006 -- New Orleans was a great city before Hurricane Katrina hit last year. A new book, "Get the Right Job, Right Now!," could help Mayor Ray Nagin to include a unique new jobs program in his 'First 100 Days Plan' of rebuilding New Orleans. Like Chicago after the Great Fire of 1871, there's still a lot of work to do.

"Newly re-elected Mayor Ray Nagin can rebuild her soaked reputation as the Queen of the South by creating a strong jobs program and by encouraging businesses to re-commit to New Orleans now, not later," says Michael W. Hall, MPA, employment expert, president/CEO of the Hamilton-Daniel Career Institute and co-author of the book. (www.JobHope.net)

"As the hurricane season nears, it would be easy to take a 'wait and see' approach. But that could be more devastating than a new tropical storm heading for the Gulf Coast," Hall says.

"Mayor Nagin will emerge as a true leader and serve the state of Louisiana best by recruiting new businesses, economic support and creating jobs for New Orleans in the first 100 days, thus reducing unemployment payments," says Brenda Hamilton, Executive Director of Hamilton-Daniel and co-author of the book. "We can help them in so many ways. It's staggering how much human potential is being wasted right now," says Hamilton.

Could it be that Nagin needs inspiration? He only has to memorize the words of Chicagoan William Bross after the Great Fire of 1871.

"The capitalists, the mercantile and business interests of this country and of Europe cannot afford to withhold the means to rebuild Chicago. What she has been in the past she must become in the future, and a hundred fold more," said Bross, in a speech to the New York Chamber of Commerce in 1871.

Now, 135 years later, Chicago is among the top cities in America for employment opportunities, business and economic growth, due to leadership that starts with the mayor.

“Mayor Richard M. Daley has earned a national reputation for his innovative, community based programs to address education, public safety, neighborhood development and other challenges facing American cities,” says CEO’s for Cities in 2002.

In New York, Mayor Rudy Guilliani vowed to “rebuild this great city” after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. And with a monumental team effort, they’ve done it. New York City employment figures are currently the highest since the attack five years ago. Will Mayor Nagin follow the lead of Mr. Bross, Mayor Daley and Mayor Guilliani, or stay mired in the muck, debris and devastation that could stifle New Orleans’ growth for years to come? Time will tell.

How important are jobs to people? Jobs are everything to unemployed and displaced people. If you’ve never lost a job or been laid off, you can watch the Academy Award-nominated movie, “My Man Godfrey,” (1936), starring William Powell and Carole Lombard, to understand the importance of employment to the unemployed. In this funny movie, Godfrey (Powell) is an unemployed "forgotten man" down on his luck who is hired by a ditzy socialite (Goddard) to be the family butler. In a solemn moment, he later tells a friend, “One thing I've discovered is that the only difference between a derelict and a man is a job. When he has a job, he feels like a ‘somebody.’ He has dignity again.” How true that is, even today.

"Through our new book and unique new jobs program, Mayor Ray Nagin can help a lot of people gain control of their lives again," says Hall. What’s important in rebuilding New Orleans over the next 100 days? Accelerated economic growth, training and better employment opportunities. Let’s hope Nagin's inspired leadership addresses those issues and quickly re-establishes New Orleans as the Queen of the South once again.

Michael W. Hall, MPA, is an employment expert and president/CEO of the Hamilton-Daniel Career Institute. He is the co-author of Get the Right Job, Right Now, Learn how to take control of your career and your life. He can be reached at www.JobHope.net.

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