Tornado Quiz

1. What country has the highest incidence of tornadoes worldwide?
The United States.  600 to 700 tornadoes are reported each year. Most occur in the region known as Tornado Alley that extends through the central Plains states.

2. What is the only city to appear twice on the list of the top 25 deadliest tornadoes in the United States?
Only Gainesville, Georgia appears on the list of the Top 25 Deadliest Tornadoes twice, once for the storm that struck on April 6, 1936, and once for the storm that struck on June 1, 1903.

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Champion Construction Hail Damage Customers

We want to thank our customers for their patience and understanding.  Champion has received countless calls regarding hail damage from the recent storms. We thank you for understanding that we have to take care of our customers with the most damage to their homes first. Some have lost their entire roof and as we get them taken care of first, we thank you for your patience and understanding.

We have been serving the South for nearly forty years, in good times and bad. We are here to help and we promise that your patience will pay off.  You will receive the best restoration service experience possible. So when we call and say we can't come out for a couple of weeks, please know it is because WE DO CARE and we want to accomodate everyone's needs.

Icela Reets, Emergency Response Program Director

“Go Green” With a Free Solar Clothes Dryer!

With all of the interest in "going green" and saving energy, I have a couple of thoughts.

Remember years ago when our mothers and grandmothers and perhaps even ourselves, used the clothesline to dry our clothes? Remember how wonderful the sheets smelled? They even sell air fresheners with a scent called "fresh linen"! They don’t come close to the smell of fresh, sun-dried sheets, but they have a good idea there.

Well, these days, most communities and subdivisions have covenants banning the use of clotheslines, so that may be out of the question for most homes today. However, you can either use regular clothes hangars or buy a small collapsible plastic coated wire or wooden rack to dry some of your clothing. And that can amount to a considerable savings. Ikea sells several different models and Target and Wal-mart usually stock them as well. Simply purchase one of these for your basement, laundry room or the back of a door and you will not only save, but spare the wear and tear that the dryers put your clothing through. Think of the wear and tear that bumping around in the dryer inflicts on delicate undergarments and sweaters. And if the solar part and the "fresh linen" scent intrigue you, try putting the rack out on the deck or hanging the sheets on your back deck railing!

 I have a wire drying rack in my basement that I use at least four times per week. What does that save me? Well, if the average cost to run an electric drying is 40 cents, that adds up to nearly $100 a year. Is it worth it for your family? Think about it!

Kathy Reets - Co-Founder and Owner

Hail Storms - How to Protect Yourself and Your Family

On Wednesday, February 18th, fierce thunderstorms swept Georgia with tornadoes, hail and lightning.  The National Weather Service confirmed at least nine tornadoes touched down during the storms. In addition to the tornadoes, extremely large hail was reported across the state. Widespread reports of golfball to baseball sized hail were received.  Below are a couple of links to some YouTube videos of the hail storms in Coweta and Fayette counties that you might want to check out.

Hail Storm in Coweta County

Hail Storm in Fayette County

Hail might not seem like a big deal, but it can shatter windows, leave pockmarks in siding and destroy or damage roof coverings. Hail causes $1 billion in damage to crops and property each year.  In light of these facts, I wanted to share some helpful information I came across on www.flash.org. 

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13 Inches of Standing Water - What a Mess!

Recently in Jonesboro, we dried a house that had flooded resulting in 13 inches of standing water in the crawl space. It took 3 days to pump all of the water out of the crawl space. The dirt had turned into mud and the structure was completly saturated.

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I Am a First Time Blogger

I work in the mitigation department at Champion Construction Systems. We dry structures that have been damaged by water. It's pretty cool actually. I am glad that we can say with confidence that we have the fastest drying system.

Thomas Stuart - Mitigation Crew

Champion Rug Cleaning: How We Do It

Hey!  I'm Zach Reets and I am one of the rug cleaning technicians here at Champion.  I'm going to briefly explain how we clean area rugs. 

Step 1:  Remove as much of the dry soil as possible (i.e. pet hair, dirt, dust, pollen etc).  We do this by thoroughly vaccuming the front and back of the rug.

Step 2:  Completely submerge the rug in water and then scrub it with an orbital buffer while applying rug shampoo. 

Step 3:  Give it proper dwell time.  The more heavily soiled the rug the longer it will take. 

Step 4:  Rinse the rug through with the wand.  Repeat steps 2 and 3 until water rinses clear.

Step 5:  Extract the remaining water from the rug and hang to dry.



Zach Reets - Carpet Cleaning Technician

www.championcleaningsystems.com

Champion Saves the Day for a Local Restaurant

Recently, a local franchise restaraunt/bakery experienced a burst pipe inside a wall.  The loss was estimated to have occurred sometime after 11 p.m. after everyone had left for the day.  The bakers arrived at 5 a.m. the following morning to discover the loss.  The bakers were at a loss as to what to do until a Champion Marketing Representative called to check on an order she was scheduled  to pick up later that morning.  They explained to her that her order would not be ready because they had water damage in their facility. 

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Prepare for Tornado Season

Tornado season is right around the corner and every family should take the time to prepare for it.  In Georgia, the average number of days with reported tornadoes is 6.  Most tornadoes in Georgia occur from March to May but they have been reported throughout the year. Tornadoes usually occur mid-afternoon to early evening time frame, but can occur any time of the day or night. Thirty-seven percent of all tornadoes are classified as strong or violent and these tornadoes are most likely to occur in April. In Georgia, tornadoes are often hard to see as they are surrounded in areas of rain and hail. The hilly terrain can also limit ability to see a tornado.  Therefore, it is very important that you educate yourself and your family about tornadoes and also have a plan of action in place before bad weather develops.  Some very helpful websites I came across are listed below.

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Congrats 2009 The Office Building of the Year and Earth Award Recipients

Last week BOMA Atlanta announced The Office Building of the Year (TOBY) and Earth Award recipients for 2009. Congratulations all! It takes a determined group of individuals working closely together to achieve such recognition. We wish you the best as you go on to represent Atlanta at the regional competition.

And the winners are...

Medical Office Building of the Year: Doctors Center at St. Joseph's Hospital

Government Building of the Year: Clayton County School District's Professional Learning Center

Earth Award: 1180 Peachtree

Under 100,000 sq. ft. Building of the Year: 3405 Piedmont

100,000 sq. ft to 249,000 sq. ft Building of the Year: The Gwinnett Commerce Center

250,000 sq. ft. to 499,000 sq. ft. Building of the Year: Platinum Tower

500,000 sq. ft. to 1 Million sq. ft. Building of the Year: American Cancer Society Center

Over 1 Million sq. ft. Building of the Year: Northpark Town Center

-- Icela Reets, Emergency Response Program Director