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The reality of COVID-19’s impact didn’t hit us until mid-March of this year. Both of us were about to travel to Washington, D.C. for the annual College induction and meeting. Jan Hamilton, been made a flew to D.C. anyhow with his companion to travel about the Washington, D.C. area. The lack of traffic, the absence of
restaurant patrons and the closing of many government buildings, bore stark evidence to what was, and what was to be. Joyce Babin, a new Fellow hoping to be inducted at the annual meeting, received the cancelation news prior to departing. Plans were canceled with the expectation that a ceremony would be later in the year or at the next year’s meeting.
On Jan’s flight home, Jan had a couple of hours to process what this might mean to his Chapter 13 trust operation and to him, personally. His initial conclusions were grim. Jobs would disappear; his case load would drop; he would have to let people go; and maybe move to another location. Maybe he wouldn’t have enough cases to keep the door open. And then there was the omnipresent issue of the health and safety of his staff and him. How could that be accomplished? Mental doom scrolling…a dangerous pastime. While it hasn’t been wholly pleasant, his situation has not been nearly as apocalyptic as he initially feared.
Joyce’s reaction was similar. While Arkansas was not placed under a lockdown at the outset, many retail, medical and restaurant establishments closed. There was a panic to purchase sanitizer, gloves, then masks and other protective equipment. (To day, Joyce is compelled to purchase wipes almost every time she sees some. She may reach wipe hoarder status sometime in early 2021.) For her office, the first task was to figure out how to send most employees home to work remotely when that was not an established practice. Joyce’s IT manager hustled to send employees home equipped with desktop computers, three monitors, adding machines, scanners, VPN access provisions, headsets and other equipment, including in some instances desk chairs, all of which were needed to fulfill job duties. Procedures were implemented to allow employees working from home to answer and make calls as if in the office and to print documents to the office. Thankfully, the remote working situation has gone smoothly overall, which is beneficial because over six months later, most employees continue to work from home. It remains to be seen when employees return to the office.
For Jan currently, roughly half of the office is working from home on any one given day. He has a large, spacious office with an open floor plan, perfect for social distancing. The telecommuting schedule thins out his ranks even more, and sets his office up so that in the event of illness or the need of one or more to self-isolate, production does not simply stop.
What Was, What Is and What Is To Be
Two Chapter 13 Trustees' Perspectives on COVID-19
Jan Hamilton, Standing Chapter 13 Trustee and
Joyce Babin, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee
WHAT WAS, WHAT IS AND WHAT IS TO BE
Two Chapter 13 Trustees’ Perspectives on COVID-19
Jan Hamilton
Standing Chapter 13 Trustee
Topeka, Kansas
Joyce Babin
Chapter 13 Standing Trustee
Little Rock, Arkansas