4:45a.m. was an early start, but I had no problem jumping out of bed as I was motivated by the prospect of traveling to Haiti to see firsthand the status of recovery efforts in the earthquake-decimated city of Port au Prince. The trip was organized by the U.S. Chamber Business Civic Leadership Center; CHF, a non-governmental organization (NGO), and Executives Without Borders.

Some years ago, I participated here in Memphis as an extra in the filming of the movie The Firm, based on the novel by John Grisham. I was an “elevator guy.” I stood by an elevator door for two days while they shot a scene that lasted no more than 30 seconds. It was fascinating to see everything that goes into making an action scene come to life on the screen. I did not win an Oscar for my part. I actually wound up on the cutting room floor – apparently too much competition for the leading male actor!

So it’s Monday afternoon and I’m sitting here tearing up at work. As we continue with our Haiti relief efforts, we always keep our senior management team in the loop. What so moved me this afternoon is that, once again, within minutes of sending out our latest update we received notes of encouraging support from our officers. As their responses came in, once again – almost immediately, tears of appreciation just welled up and filled my eyes.

The first FedEx Express direct flight to Haiti departs from Miami International Airport with food and water for the Haiti Earthquake victims. The FedEx Express Boeing freighter will deliver up to 40,000 pounds of relief supplies donated by local, Florida nonprofit organizations. Juan Cento, FedEx Express President, Latin America and Caribbean Division will be on-site for media interviews. The flight left on Sunday, January 17, 2010 at approximately 9:30am EST from the FedEx Express Gateway Hub.

FedEx, Health Care Companies Step Up For Direct Relief International’s Quake Response SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—Direct Relief International’s efforts to assist victims of the Haiti earthquake were today bolstered by FedEx, which is covering all air freight shipping costs for  Direct Relief’s response, as well as dozens of other corporations that are providing cash or in-kind contributions.