The CDC's latest preparedness campaign hits on a familiar theme: wedding disasters.  About a zillion years ago when I first started writing about continuity and "contingency planning" and preparedness, I wrote an editorial about weddings and how they're the perfect planning scenario.  You've got a bunch of people under pressure in a highly-visible situation where they have to perform roles they've rehearsed but are out of the ordinary.  I've been to weddings; so have you.  Something always goes wrong.

Check out the latest from the CDC, use it to promote awareness in your organization, and beware of Bridezilla!

What's DRI Up To?

This week, someone here at DRI put together a list of all things DRI has done recently. I thought it was pretty impressive, and I wanted to share it with you so you have a better idea of what it is that we do, other than train and certify business continuity professionals. Here it is:

*    Member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Homeland Security Task Force

*   Member of the Council of Experts for ANSI-ANAB who will set the credentialing standard for certifying bodies for PS-Prep

*   Member of FEMA National Advisory Council Private Sector Subcommittee

*   Member of Advisory Committee for Congressionally funded  

*   Project for National Security Reform

*   Meeting with Special Assistant to The President for Homeland Security Standards Policy

*   APEC: Only Business Continuity Certification Recognized by the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation

*   DRI Canada is a member of the Technical Committee for the CSA Z1600 Standard for Emergency Management & Business Continuity

*   Singapore: Official BCM education partner for the government-sponsored Singapore Business Federation

*   Japan: Joint Declaration on Overcoming Future Crises with municipal governments of Tokyo and Niigata

*   Mexico: Advisor to the government for development of new national BCP standard

*   UAE: Member Standards Committee Advisory Team

*   Member of the NFPA 1600 Technical Committee

*   Member of the BS25999 - ASIS Technical Committee

*   Participant RIMS (Risk Insurance Managers Society) PERK (Professional Exchange of Risk Knowledge) Program

*   Cooperative Education Credit Sharing with ISACA (Information Systems Audit and Control Association)

*   Cooperative Education Credit Sharing with IC2

*   Created a University curriculum used by graduate schools. It is currently being taught by senior industry leaders in the US and is now being considered by Universities outside the US.

*   Created a healthcare curriculum in conjunction with Yale University New Haven healthcare

*   Courses taught in English, French, Portuguese, Mandarin, Japanese, Russian, Italian and Turkish. Since 2009, we have taught more people outside the US than within it.

This Wednesday marked the first birthday of the Disaster Recovery International Foundation, a charitable foundation created by DRI International to raise funds for organizations that provide help in times of disaster. The foundation has used those funds and the sweat of some 75 volunteers at DRI2012 in New Orleans to:  

• Build homes in New Orleans with Habitat for Humanity
• Work with Second Harvest/Feeding America to provide food for those in need
• Support the Mahila Project to help women in disaster areas

We also contribute to the Red Cross, Japanese Relief , Nothing But Nets, and a number of other charities and provide a scholarship through IAEM for secondary school study in EM.

The foundation actively encourages volunteerism by DRI certified professionals. To find out how you can get involved or make a contribution, visit driif.org.

It's DRI International, right? Well, we live up to our name and as a result there are DRI-related events all over the world all the time. Just last week, it was DRI day in Brazil, where we worked with the folks from DARYUS to co-host a two-day event (one day devoted to GRC and the other to BCP and DRI).

In fact, that's Jeferson D'Addario, of DARYUS, pictured here. Jeferson was one of the speakers at the event, along with Roberto Zegarra, DRI Interntional's lead instructor in the region, DRI President Al Berman, and many others, including an impressive panel of continuity professionals from Brazil's largest banks. 

According to Chloe Demrovsky, DRI's Director of Global Operations, the conference "was very well attended, and speakers were really great. One of the things that I liked is that they drew from related disciplines [auditors, lawyers, etc.] who deal with risk issues and could go into depth and detail during the discussions."

Stay tuned for more information in next week's Drive about events in Mexico and Malaysia this fall.

Last week I wrote about my crazy dog, Molly, rampaging through the house with an air conditioning vent attached to her collar. Well, I guess there are a lot of dog lovers out there in DRI land because I got about a gazillion requests for a picture of Miss Molly. Here she is, standing above the vent that "attacked" her.

I'm glad you all liked my Molly story, and I thought I should put that furry scoundrel to work. So, I'm (un)officially appointing Molly DRI International's mascot. This week she brings to you two articles. The first is a piece from the New York Times called "Fukushima vs. Chernobyl: How Have Animals Fared?" The second is a really cool article about animals as disaster detectors. Maybe it's time to bring a snake on staff! 

This week's one-question survey asks about audit.  We'd like to know how your program is audited and about your relationship with auditors.  Click here to take the survey and check next week's Drive and our LinkedIn for the results.

Our one-question surveys are quick, informative, and fodder for discussion.  If you've got an idea for one, please email  brojas@drii.org.