DRI 2012 is right around the corner! Here are a few helpful tips to know before you go.

Volunteer Day

If you elected to volunteer with DRI, please plan to meet Friday, May 18 at 7 p.m. CDT in the Napoleon Room of The Roosevelt Hotel. Details on shuttle service and more will be discussed. There are currently no more spots available for the volunteer opportunities, and they are only open to those that registered and selected volunteer day during registration.

Event Registration

Registration will be located on the Mezzanine level during the hours listed below. Please present your registration confirmation upon arrival. Don't have it? No worries, we can look up your information. 

• Sunday, May 20   4pm-8pm CDT
• Monday, May 21   7am-5pm CDT
• Tuesday, May 22   7am-8pm CDT

Conference Sessions

If you selected sessions during registration, your itinerary will print with your badge. Note: All conference sessions are included with your full conference registration, therefore you can attend any session, regardless of whether it was selected during registration.

CEAPs

DRI International has defined the number of CEAPs that can be earned by attending. Stop by our DRI International booth in the vendor hall for more information.

What's Happening in the Expo?

Opening Night Reception will take place 6-8pm CDT on Sunday, May 20, Roosevelt Ballroom. All Attendees are invited! Expo Hours are Monday 11:45am-3pm CDT and Tuesday 11:45am-1:15pm CDT.   

Cash Prize Drawings! Your entry ticket will be provided at registration with your event materials. Be sure to drop off the entry ticket in the expo hall for your chance to win. Daily drawings will take place: Sunday at 7:45pm CDT, Monday at 1pm CDT, Tuesday at 1pm CDT and Wednesday at 9:45am CDT. 

Awards of Excellence Gala

Pre-registration to the Awards of Excellence Gala is required and the event is now sold out. Awards Gala ticket will be included with your event materials (if you selected it when you registered).

Photos: There will be a photographer at the Awards Gala for portraits. These will be available for viewing 48 hours after the event and will be available for purchase here. After the event there will be an entry under DRI2012. No password is needed.

Tuxedo rental: if you rented a  

tuxedo from The Mens Warehouse, please stop by Lafitte room on Sunday from 3-5pm CDT to pick up your rental. Members of The Mens Warehouse will be on-site from 3-5pm CDT for any adjustments necessary. Tuxedo drop off will be Wednesday from 7:30-11am CDT in the Napoleon Room.

Gowns: Please ask at check-in for details on having your gown steamed.

Silent Auction

Cocktails for a Cause! Join us Tuesday, May 22 at 6pm CDT in the Blue Room for a cocktail reception benefiting the DRI Foundation. Several items will be available for bidding. Good luck! Everyone is invited to attend and bid!

Workshops

It's not too late to register for "Sell It, Don't Tell It: Selling Continuity to Management, Executives, and Elected Officials." Leave this workshop with a BCP/COOP ROI formula that you can actually put to work! This workshop takes place Sunday, May 20 from 1-3pm CDT. Please click here for more details and to register.

Additional Post Conference Courses will take place on Wednesday 10:30am - 5:00pm CDT, Thursday 8:30am-5pm CDT and on Friday 8:30am-3pm CDT. Registration for post-conference courses will continue on-site. The only option for course material will be via download, if registering on-site.

Ready to Explore?

Maps of the New Orleans area will be provided in your attendee bag, distributed at registration. Additional area maps and dining suggestions will be available at the concierge desk.

Lost and Found

Please proceed to the Napoleon room to inquire about a lost article or drop off a found one.

Last week our one-question survey asked about your work-area recovery strategies. Results show that just 7 percent of respondents say they rely solely on commercial recovery vendors.

What are the rest doing? See full results and comments on our DRI International LinkedIn where you can join in on a discussion on this and other topics.

As world leaders gather for the NATO summit in Chicago this weekend, they will be welcomed by thousands of protesters. And while the complaints are aimed at the politicians, the disruption may be felt by the business sector. Protesters already have taken to the streets over a number of causes in the week leading up to the summit.

"Chicago has assigned 3,100 officers to NATO's two-day summit to guard against the kind of violence that broke out in the streets of Seattle at the World Trade Organization meeting in 1999. They will be assisted by hundreds of officers from other cities such as Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C.," NBCChicago.com reported, and the city has warned of massive travel disruptions.

A Chicago Sun Times report delves into the business issues and is well worth a read. The paper reports that "With the U.S. Secret Service closing parts of three major expressways and countless local streets and Metra severely restricting what passengers can carry onto trains, scores of businesses are allowing their employees to work from home on Friday, Monday or both. That includes Boeing Corp., target of, what could be a massive Monday protest. And retailers, banks, residential and office buildings are either installing bulletproof glass, boarding up their windows or having plywood delivered to their locations just in case there's trouble."

Is your organization headquartered in Chicago? Do you have offices or facilities there? We'd like to know how you planned (and how your plans worked). Email brojas@drii.org and we'll share your strategies and stories but we'll keep your identities confidential.

We talk about executive management support quite a bit in this business. And this week's one-question survey asks how supportive top management is of business continuity in your organization. Your answers are strictly confidential, so be honest, and click here to take the survey.

Results will be reported, in part, in next week's Drive, and, in full, on our DRI International LinkedIn. Let us know if you have a survey question you'd like us to ask by sending an email to brojas@drii.org.

A surprising study shows that people are more truthful via text message than in face-to-face conversation. The study, conducted by the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research (ISR) found that, when texting, people were less likely to engage in "satisficing" - a survey industry term referring to the common practice of giving good enough, easy answers, such rounding to multiples of 10 in numerical responses.

Researchers believe people give more precise answers via texting and that people gave more precise answers to numerical questions. What might the implications of these findings be for crisis communications, the way we collect information during response and recovery, and perhaps even the way we conduct surveys and BIAs?

Well the time has come...our conference is just a couple of days away. And, as you can see, I am already in New Orleans enjoying the warm sunshine, the great food, and the music. Our long anticipated Volunteer Day is tomorrow. With volunteers arriving today and working tomorrow, we are ready to provide much-welcomed help in rebuilding and assisting the people of this unique and interesting city.   

On Friday night, nearly 80 volunteers will assemble for some last-minute instructions, to receive their volunteer appreciation bags, and to have a good old-fashioned pep rally. We are excited (and I'm just a little nervous too) that we are close to the day when we will finally get to swing hammers and sort and package food.

When I got here on Wednesday and drove around the area, it was obvious to me that more still needs to be done. And it's heartwarming to know that we are doing our part - maybe in small measure for just this one day, but with big hearts and great intentions. As this is our first volunteer adventure, we are hopeful that the New Orleans experience will inspire us as an organization to do more...not just at our conferences, but wherever we feel the need justifies our help and support.  

So, not only does Volunteer Day kick off the conference proceedings, it also kicks off a few days of getting to know new people, learning new BCP tricks and tools, and acquainting yourselves with the products and services that our sponsoring vendors provide. This week marks a special beginning for the DRI International Foundation and a special and meaningful start for the first annual DRI International conference. It is with much excitement, as well as genuine passion and commitment to the BC community, that we launch both and serve certified professionals and communities in need of assistance.

I am looking forward to seeing you all very soon.

Clyde Berger

Disaster Recovery International Foundation

Director of Volunteerism and Vice President

p.s. Volunteers, please note that the there is a Friday night information session at the Roosevelt Hotel at 7:00 p.m. CDT in the Napoleon Room. Habitat volunteers, we leave the hotel at 7:00 a.m. CDT Saturday morning. Second Harvest volunteers, we leave the hotel at 11 a.m. CDT.