But nothing prepared them for Aug. 29 when Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast and New Orleans flooded. Both men saw their fortunes and the future of their businesses change forever in just one day. The flooding destroyed much of their customer base and left question marks as to how the future market will look.
Knobloch, owner of Help! Air Conditioning & Heating [featured in the Oct. 10 issue of The NEWS] said he lost 52 percent of his service customers. Most of these people are simply gone. Their homes were in some of the worst hit areas of New Orleans, where water made it to the roofs. On Oct. 27, The NEWS toured some of the worst areas with Sonny's son, Korey, who pointed out some of the homes he used to service.