Milton Grishman
Milton C. Grishman was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, in 1949. He grew up on the Gulf Coast and graduated from Biloxi High School. Grishman graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in English. He worked as a realtor and appraiser, eventually becoming president of the Moody Grishman Agency, Inc., a real estate agency in Biloxi. Milton is married to Roberta Avila, Executive Director of the Mississippi Coast Interfaith Disaster Task Force, and they have two children.
Milton describes growing up in Mississippi, his bar mitzvah at Beth Israel, and his extended family from New Orleans. He shares the Jewish rituals and traditions that he celebrated with family and other members of the Jewish community in the South. Milton talks about his experience during Hurricane Katrina. When the storm strengthened to a category five, he boarded up his home and office windows, evacuated to a friend's house in Jackson, Mississippi, and closely followed the storm's news coverage. Milton assesses the storm's damage to various neighborhoods and thinks the "the character of the coast will change" due to all the required rebuilding. Milton's home sustained some damage and required minor repairs. His neighbors weren't as lucky, and many of them relocated permanently. Milton explains the impacts of Katrina on the Jewish community; synagogue membership and school enrollment have decreased, but the Jewish community in Jackson was very welcoming of evacuees from New Orleans and other impacted areas. Milton commends faith groups' efforts in the aftermath of the storm for supporting communities, helping rebuild, and providing services. Finally, Milton reflects on the lessons he learned from Katrina and how it helped him grow as a person.
