Emergency Management Solutions Newsletter
June 2010

Headshot
In This Issue
Featured Article
What's New?
Disaster News Feed
From the Bookshelf
Speaking Engagements
Featured Article
 
Scenario-Based Planning
 
Five Rules for More Effective Contingency Planning
 

R

eaders of my book, Emergency Management: Concepts and Strategies for Effective Programs, know that I am a firm believer in functionally-based all-hazards planning and not scenario-based contingency planning. My attitude has always been that an emergency plan is a toolbox. Anyone who has used tools will tell you that there are times when a tool is not used for what it was intended: a wrench becomes a hammer and a screwdriver a pry bar.

 

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Greetings!  
 
Welcome to the June issue of Emergency Management Solutions. As you can see, there are a number of changes this month that I think will make my newsletter more interesting and useful to you. You can read about these changes in the first article below.
 
Please feel free to drop me a line and let me know how you like the new format!
 Regards,
 
Lucien Canton
 
What's New? 
 
Actually, let's start with what hasn't changed. Many of you have taken the time to let me know that you like the information you receive in my newsletters. These articles will continue - you'll find the first paragraph and a link to this month's article in the Featured Article column to the left. The difference is that I will no longer feel constrained by having to fit into a newsletter format and can add footnotes and references. I believe this will make the article more of a white paper and more useful to you.
 
The real change is in this email. Rather than just letting you know you can download a newsletter, your email will now be the newsletter. This will allow me to run some regular features that I have only been able to use as filler so far, again without worrying about size limitations.
 
I hope you like the new format. I'm really excited about it as I feel it will provide me with more creative flexibility which translates to more value for you. As always, I value your opinion, so let me know what you think.
 
Disaster News Feed 
 
Those of you who read my blog may have noticed a news feed in the right hand column from NewsTrust. I first added a NewsTrust widget to my blog just after the Haiti earthquake when I was looking for a news source on the disaster. About the time of the BP spill, I  contacted the folks at NewsTrust about the possibility of setting up a feed related to disasters. They were most cooperative and the result is the feed you can now see on my site. If you go directly to the natural disaster site at NewsTrust, you can arrange to get the news by RSS feed or download a widget for your own site.
 
From the Bookshelf
 
Normally I expect to use this block to highlight a new book I'm reading or an emergency management classic. But it's June, summer is in the air, and I'm feeling playful, so I thought I would share a couple of the books on my shelf that aren't quite mainstream emergency management books. Still, you never know...after all, we do believe in an all-hazards approach, right?
 
Our first offering is The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection From the Living Dead by Max Brooks. I realize zombies are so 2009 but this book has everything you need to know about zombies, including a "historical" list of zombie sitings.
 
If you're tired of zombies, try How to Defend Yourself Against Alien Abduction by Ann Druffel. The scary thing about this book is theauthor is serious about her subject and catalogues the various means of resistance that have been used by people claiming to have prevented their own abduction by aliens.
 
Before you start worrying about me, I find such books provide interesting icebreakers for some of my presentations. Besides, they're also good for a chuckle from time to time.
 
Speaking Engagements
 
Most of you think of me as an emergency management consultant but I also offer a variety of speaking services: seminars, workshops and keynote addresses. These presentations are not limited to the emergency management community, so feel free to pass my name to other organizations. You can find more details on my website. 
 
I was scheduled to present at the Natural Hazards Conference with Bill NIcholson on legal liability but we've had to pass because of his recent injury and my work commitments.
 
I have a proposal into the International Association of Emergency Managers for their annual conference for both my emergency management fundamentals workshop and a breakout session.