Recognizing Our Community Heroes – A Message from the IACC President

As Winston Churchill famously stated in a speech before the House of Commons on August 20, 1940: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”

We owe a great deal of gratitude to the true heroes of COVID-19 – doctors, nurses, police, EMT’s and firefighters.

Each and every day during this horrifying coronavirus pandemic, we are touched and inspired by their bravery. They are heroes daily anyway, but they deserve an extra dose of appreciation as we battle this new enemy.

Just as members of the NYPD, FDNY and Port Authority Police showed us what true leadership was like on 9-11, our health care professionals are doing the same right now when we need it most.

As you may have heard the saying “There are eight million stories in the naked city,” I’d like to share a few with you.

As I write this, one of my staff members’ sister is a nurse in New York tending to COVID-19 positive moms helping to deliver their newborn babies.

Our friends and partners at Homeland Security have been conducting “Operation Stolen Promise,” investigating COVID-19 related crime and fraud.

Our friends and partners at Alibaba donated 500,000 testing kits and 1 million masks to the U.S. in an effort to combat the coronavirus pandemic. And when NY Governor Andrew Cuomo put out an urgent call for ventilators, Jack Ma, Joe Tsai, and Michael Evans came through with 1,000 ventilators.

IACC member tech companies and partners such as Apple, Amazon and Microsoft to name a few-lend their expertise and capital to help fight COVID-19 (see article).

IACC pharmaceutical members such as Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly, Abbott Labs, GSK, Celgene Allergan, Genentech, Boehringer-Ingelheim Corporation, Geneva Laboratories, Merck, LifeScan and others have been actively engaged in developing a vaccine, testing kits and therapies for COVID-19.

I am proud to announce that the IACC was able to secure KN95 masks and donate them to Doctors, Nurses, Police, Firefighters, and EMT’s.

I want to sincerely thank all of the IP community who showed how in this time of crisis “We all stand together.” And we can all make a difference – watch this video featuring retired U.S. Navy Admiral William H. McRaven’s inspirational words.

My best wishes to you, your families, and colleagues for your continued safety and health.

Sincerely,
Bob Barchiesi
IACC President