Emergency Management Higher Education Conference. June 4-7, 2012

      15^th Annual Emergency Management Higher Education Conference 

 

·         Conference Background, Goals and Objectives

·         Conference Workshop Schedule, June 4, 2012

·         Graduate/Doctoral Student Research Presentation Information

v  Those interested in presenting at the Higher Education Conference can access the

“Call for Papers/Presentations” on the Hi Ed website at 

      http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/educonference12.asp.   

Make sure to include the form with your one page proposal.  Email both to Barbara.Johnson3@fema.dhs.gov. 

University of West Indies. African-Americans, ever thought of a different location for your education?

The University of the West Indies, established in 1948 initially as an external College of the University of London and made fully independent in 1962, is the oldest, fully regional institution of higher learning in the Commonwealth Caribbean. Supported by fifteen countries all current or former colonies of Great Britain, the UWI is committed to the development of the region through the training of its human resources, conducting research, delivering advisory services to governments as well as to the private sector and forging links with other institutions in the wider region and the rest of the world.

FEMA Think Tank conference call. Thursday, January 26, th 2012

Please join FEMA Deputy Administrator Richard Serino as he hosts the first FEMA Think Tank conference call, being conducted from the campus of the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

Thursday, January 26^{, th} 2012

2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Eastern (1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Central)

Call in number: 800-593-0692

Password is Think Tank January

Deputy Administrator Serino announced in November the launch of the FEMA Think Tank.

The January 26^th call will be the first of monthly calls to discuss ideas generated through the online process. Information about the Think Tank first appeared online in FEMA’s blog post and can be found at the following link: http://links.govdelivery.com/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTIwMTI0LjUxODM0NDEmbWVzc2FnZWlkPU1EQi1QUkQtQlVMLTIwMTIwMTI0LjUxODM0NDEmZGF0YWJhc2VpZD0xMDAxJnNlcmlhbD0xNjgxNDI0NiZlbWFpbGlkPWJsYWNrZW1lcmdtYW5hZ2Vyc2Fzc29jaWF0aW9uQHZlcml6b24ubmV0JnVzZXJpZD1ibGFja2VtZXJnbWFuYWdlcnNhc3NvY2lhdGlvbkB2ZXJpem9uLm5ldCZmbD0mZXh0cmE9TXVsdGl2YXJpYXRlSWQ9JiYm&&&100&&&http://blog.fema.gov/2011/11/launching-fema-think-tank-forum-to.html.

The call will be open to a national audience of State, local, and tribal governments, and to all members of the public, including the private sector, the disability community, and volunteer community, who share an interest in improving the Nation’s role in emergency management. Individuals who would like to access the captioning for this event may do so by following the link below: http://fedrcc.us//Enter.aspx?EventID=1897142&CustomerID=321.

During this call we will discuss three innovative ideas generated from the online forum. The ideas we will discuss are:

Community Mapping to Implement the Whole Community Concept

U.S. National Grid as the Response Language of Location

Incorporate Preparedness into School Curriculums

The individuals that submitted these ideas will provide a brief presentation. We will then open up the call to a national audience for further discussion and a Q&A (see agenda below).

We look forward to your participation in this first of many important discussions on how we plan and implement innovative ideas captured in our online forum. We also encourage you to continue to visit the online forum at www.fema.gov/thinktank to submit your own ideas, comment on others, or participate in conversations that will help to generate creative ideas. 

  

Kickoff Think Tank Conference Call

Milwaukee, WI
January 26, 2012; 1:30-3:30 p.m.

AGENDA

1:30-1:45         Opening Remarks by Deputy Administrator Richard Serino

1:45-1:55         Idea 1 Presentation

1:55-2:05         Discussion with Deputy Administrator Serino

2:05-2:20         Open discussion with national audience

2:20-2:30         Idea 2 Presentation

2:30-2:40         Discussion with Deputy Administrator Serino

2:40-2:55         Open discussion with national audience

2:55-3:05         Idea 3 Presentation

3:05-3:15         Discussion with Deputy Administrator Serino

3:15-3:30         Open discussion with national audience

Community Participation: How Recovery Is Ingrained in Waffle House’s Culture

By: Elaine Pittman on January 19, 2012

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate has been sharing one of his more unique ways of determining how badly hit a community is after a disaster: He looks at Waffle House restaurants. If they’re closed after a storm or emergency, Fugate knows he needs to get to work.

“No matter how bad it was, the first thing that got open invariably was a Waffle House,” he told attendees at the International Disaster Conference and Expo on Jan. 17 in New Orleans.

And on Wednesday, Jan. 18, Waffle House CEO Walt Ehmer described how recovery is ingrained in the company. He said the culture of the company revolves around two words: Show up. Getting restaurants open as quickly as possible following an emergency not only gives Waffle House the competitive advantage, but it also allows employees to return to work and provides a sense of normalcy for residents who may not have had a hot meal in days.

Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, more than 100 Waffle House restaurants were closed. “It was something unlike we’d ever seen before,” Ehmer said. The company set up a command center and brought in supplies to reopen its locations. In areas where there wasn’t power, gas grills were used to cook food and boil water. Word spread that the company was on a mission to reopen its restaurants – while on their way to check on more locations following Hurricane Rita, company representatives entered Beaumont, Texas, where they were told, “We were expecting you.”

Ehmer shared lessons that the company has learned through the years:

• get momentum going quickly after a disaster;
• think of itself as locals in a community and get to know customers;
• prepare employees before a disaster happens with information like what to do during and after a storm; and
• do a better job of building relationships with government.

But with more than 1,600 restaurants in 25 states, working with government in advance isn’t always easy. Government rules like curfews in disaster-impacted areas can prevent companies from operating as efficiently as possible, and Ehmer reminded attendees that open businesses like restaurants not only benefit the public but also first responders who work round the clock following an emergency.

“The challenge is that every county, municipality and state has different people that we need to talk to,” Ehmer said. Building relationships across government and industry has been promoted more frequently, and examples range from FEMA hosting private-sector representatives in its coordination center to localities including industry organizations in their EOCs. With more partnerships and coordination, the nation will be better prepared to respond to a disaster.

Red Tails. Box office results. Estimated

Congratulations to all that attended.

 

Estimated.

 

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/

 

TW	LW	Title (click to view)	Studio	Weekend Gross	% Change	Theater Count / Change		Average	Total Gross	Budget*	Week #
1	N	Underworld Awakening	SGem	$25,400,000	-	3,078	-	$8,252	$25,400,000	-	1
2	N	Red Tails	Fox	$19,100,000	-	2,512	-	$7,604	$19,100,000	$58	1