Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and the beginning of bombing assaults on Afghanistan, businesses have struggled to return to “business as usual,” mindful of the altered circumstances. So, the San Fernando Valley Business Journal asks: Has the atmosphere in your workplace returned to normal? Alan E. Kassan Executive Vice President/General Manager Beitler Commercial Realty Services Sherman Oaks Normal is a relative term. Life will be forever different after the Sept. 11 attacks. The ongoing retaliatory effort and the possibility of more terrorist strikes in U.S. cities are worrisome, and foremost on everyone’s mind. This makes normalcy difficult. For the most part, though, we are all trying to carry on with business as usual, and I think we are doing a pretty good job at that. Business is a little slower, but still moving forward at a good pace. Rick Voorhis President Van Nuys Flight Center Van Nuys Our business was greatly impacted by the FAA regulations since the attack. Due to the limitations from FAA, our airplane sales and maintenance services have decreased tremendously. In all facets of the business, the corporate jet companies have the advantage in this current situation. Fred Gaines Managing Partner Gaines & Stacey Woodland Hills Our practice is still very busy, but I wouldn’t say that things are “back to normal.” Clearly, some priorities have changed and our clients are taking longer-term views of potential investments and transactions. Overall, real estate as an investment will likely benefit as people withdraw somewhat from the stock market and other consumer-driven investments. Dave Burtch Vice President AmeriTel Inc. Northridge We are working very hard to focus on business as normal. Much of our business has a longer-term process so we have remained very busy with projects that started before the tragedy and sales are continuing to be steady. We are finding some people who are delaying decisions more because of the threat of recession, but very few. AmeriTel is hanging in there. William Sparks General Manager Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn North Hollywood It has been my experience that hotels, as an industry and individually, have been very flexible in responding to situations from single functions to national trends. Business as usual, for us, typically consists of creative responses to sudden, new facts. I feel that we are continuing in this stream, and doing well in this regard.