LAN Infotech Exec Is Helping Ukrainian Refugees In Poland
Tim Lambrecht, a five-year LAN Infotech veteran, landed in Poland earlier this week and texted some details of the emergency care he is providing for refugees fleeing Ukraine in the midst of the Russia invasion
LAN Infotech CEO Michael Goldstein each morning awakes and rushes to his cell phone to see if there are any texts from Poland from his vice president of operations, Tim Lambrecht, a volunteer fireman who is providing medical care to refugees in Poland.
Lambrecht, a five-year LAN Infotech veteran, landed in Poland earlier this week and texted Goldstein with some details of the emergency care he is providing for refugees fleeing Ukraine in the midst of the Russia invasion.
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The trip to Poland took Lambrecht some 15 hours starting with a nine hour flight from Florida to Paris, several hours to Warsaw Poland and then a four hour and a half hour ride in a van that put him several miles from the Ukrainian border.
“It’s surreal,” said Goldstein, who is in contact each day with Lambrecht. “All of us at LAN Infotech are proud of the work he is doing. Our thoughts and prayers are with him each and everyday. The texts that we get from him are a gift reminding us how blessed we are to have a colleague that has put himself on the line in the midst of this terrible war.”
Lambrecht, who is a volunteer firefighter in Hamel, Minnesota who lives by the motto ‘Service Before Self,’ said in a post on LinkedIn that he made the “difficult decision” to volunteer in Poland to “work side-by-side” with his “Ukrainian Fire Fighter Brother” Sergey Karachenets.
“Sergey is risking his life driving supplies in/out of the border to Hospitals that desperately need medical supplies,” said Lambrecht in a LinkedIn post. “He is an AMAZING young man with a VERY bright future! I am 50. He may be half my age, but he has twice the passion and courage (and probably intelligence - Hahahaaa)!”
Lambrecht is one of the organizers of a GoFundMe campaign that’s raised $11,733 to support Karachenets’ work to provide medical supplies to those impacted by the war in Ukraine.
Karachenets, a Ukraine native who was living in Minnesota, “knew he had to do more than watch what was happening to families and children of his native country,” according to the GoFundMe plea.
Lambrecht and Karachenets were providing medical care for refugees near the Ukrainian border when Goldstein received a text earlier this week. “It’s surreal,” said Goldstein. “The two of them were inside a Mall providing medical care for refugees living in a makeshift clinic.”
Goldstein has been vocal about the need for technology companies to support Ukraine. “We are so grateful to those technology companies that have stood up for Ukraine and pulled out of Russia,” he said. “That is the only way to end Russia’s aggression and war atrocities. It is very disturbing to see the videos coming from Ukraine.”
LAN Infotech is continuing to pay Lambrecht, who brought suitcases of medical supplies with him to Poland, while he serves in Poland and has donated to the cause, said Goldstein.
Lambrecht, who lives in Minnesota and commutes regularly to LAN Infotech’s headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is communicating with his colleagues via a cloud based virtual desktop on Microsoft Azure. “We’re communicating with Tim on Microsoft Teams and on cell phone,” said Goldstein.
At a company meeting before Lambrecht left for Poland he addressed his colleagues in an emotional plea to support his work to help Ukrainian refugees.
“At LAN Infotech we pride ourselves on supporting our communities,” Goldstein said. “What Tim is doing takes that community service mission we have to another level.”
Goldstein said he is proud of Lambrecht – who is going to be serving for the next several weeks in Poland - for putting himself “on the line” to help people in need. “I think about him every hour,” he said. “We are praying for his safe return and look forward to welcoming him home.”