Gatlinburg Wild Fire Causes Estimated $500 Million in Damages
After days of watching in disbelief as our deeply cherished Gatlinburg was devastated by wild fires, it’s still hard to realize and come to terms with what was lost. Communities from across Tennessee, and the country, came together to help the residents and start to rebuild. It is reported that total damages are estimated at $500 Million and about 1,700 homes and businesses have been destroyed.Dolly Parton was so kind to host the Smoky Mountains Rise telethon to benefit the Dollywood Foundation’s “My People Fund”. The response was overwhelming and the event ended up raising over $9 million for the families who lost their homes in the Sevier County fires.
A Look Back at 2016
To some, 2016 might not have been the best year. With all the catastrophic events, historical flooding, historical droughts, Zika virus, and let’s not even get into the craziness that is Chicago. Let’s just say a lot of bad things happened this year, but a lot of really great and historical events happened too…The launch of Pixitnow
-Have you checked out PixItNow yet? No? Well what are you waiting for, let’s get started! With PixItNow, you can assign simple photo/video tasks to a “taker” in the field via text message. Takers in the field can respond directly to the text with images or video and they upload instantly to your admin account. You can quickly create a photo sheet with descriptions and export anywhere the images need to go. There is so much more you can do, but that’s the basics. Discover PixItNow….your free trial is waiting.
Self driving cars started being used in San Francisco,CA
– Find Sarah Connor and put her in protection, Skynet is taking over!
Mother Teresa canonized by Pope Francis making her a Catholic Saint
– She was a saint long before this, but now it is official.
2016 Olympic Games in Rio
– Anyone else start psyching themselves up like an Olympic swimmer before getting in the pool?
Cuba opened borders & Obama became first sitting president to set food in Cuba since Calvin Coolidge in 1928
– Seeing the pictures makes you feel like you’re looking into a time capsule.
Juno probe entered orbit around Jupiter
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– If you haven’t seen the images, seriously google them and remember that 1,300 Earths would fit inside Jupiter. We are a small world indeed.
Drones gained recognition for use in the insurance industry and we are looking forward to this development for 2017
– What a cool application for drone technology. Having to physically get up on a dangerous roof might very soon be a thing of the past.
We all were captivated and highly entertained by the epic election campaign this year that just spawned some of the best memes and videos of all time. The next four years is going to be one heck of an adventure. ‘Merica!!
– This event speaks for itself.
Apple launched the iPhone 7 with no headphone jack.
– Interestingly enough, haven’t really missed it and the camera is on point. Highly recommend for adjusters that are into iPhones.
So, looking back the year was actually not too bad. Who knows what next year will be, but what is life without whimsy, right?
AAN Christmas Party
We had a blast at this year’s AAN Christmas Party. Thank you to all that came out and enjoyed the Christmas merriment with us. It was the best party yet and we can’t wait to do it all again next year. Check out some of the memories we captured…
Thank you everyone who helped make this year so amazing! We can’t wait to get 2017 going and see what the new year brings. Have a safe and happy New Year!
