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Clyde's Corner:
Better Things
For DRI International and the DRI Foundation, I'm just an instructor and the Volunteerism guy. But I suppose, first and foremost, I am a passionate BCP guy who believes in the premise of what we do for a living. In a nutshell, we seek to protect people, stuff. I believe in appropriate, dedicated, focused BC planning to ensure pre-planned and prepared outage response by properly trained staff and leadership. I believe in commitment of resources and engaged thought leadership by the senior management teams. As a DRI instructor and a BC practitioner of more than 20 years, I believe in education and awareness. I have worked to spread the BCP gospel and "make it real" for all who would listen.
Our Conference in Philadelphia brings much of what I just said to the forefront. Last year in New Orleans we volunteered first. We got sweaty and dirty, made new friends, felt good about our blisters and sun burn, and then had the opportunity to learn from so many industry experts. As we then joined together as a family of BCP professionals we were able to study, think, soul search, and validate our BCP methods and procedures.
This conference hit the hot topics and the traditional. We talked about the most compelling issues that confronted us and we drilled down to highlight the solutions that may satisfy our most urgent worries and concerns. Attending the sessions of many really smart and experienced people we filled our toolboxes with some new ideas and reinforced some old ones. At days end, the panel discussions by each of the day's speakers allowed us to see and hear what we may have missed. We had plenty of time to visit vendor booths, share meals together, and have informational informal chats with new found friends with whom we shared information and insights.
Sharing BCP notes is an age old tradition in this business. Rarely in my many years doing this have I known BCP folks to deny a request for information sharing. We really are a profession of helpers in so many ways. We are happy to share, and happy to celebrate in the successes of our peers at other organizations, and they seek to harden and keep their firms ready for the unexpected. Seeing others succeed with that which helped us be successful is really rewarding. That's what I think you will find at DRI2013 in June...a community of professionals who have individually and collectively "been down that path" before and aren't bashful about sharing their thoughts, successes, and pitfalls.
So with that said -- and all that Philly has to offer in terms of its culture, history, music, food and entertainment -- make 2013 the year you attend our conference. Volunteer with like-minded caring people from all backgrounds and locations, swing a hammer, sort and package food products, help the community, make a new friend or two, learn some new BCP tricks, enjoy our social events, and come away feeling good about your profession and yourself. What could be better?
All the best,
Clyde Berger cberger@driif.org Director of Volunteerism and Vice President |
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Harvard Panel: Resilience in the Face of Disaster
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Big Weather and Coastal Cities: Resilience in the Face of Disaster |
On Monday, The Forum at Harvard School of Public Health hosted "BIG WEATHER AND COASTAL CITIES: Resilience in the Face of Disaster." According to a Huffington Post report, "the webcast event focused on how residents recover after a natural disaster hits their city." As the forum described, 'With millions of people living in coastal cities, coupled with changing weather patterns, natural disasters present significant public health and policy implications -- from managing crises, to safeguarding infrastructure, to bolstering and leveraging the resilience of people and cities.'"
The panel addressed preparations for Hurricane Sandy, evacuations, FEMA, climate change, and rebuilding.
The report quotes panel member Richard Serino (Deputy Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Alumnus, National Preparedness Leadership Initiative, Harvard Schools of Public Health and Government), who argued that a lot of planning was done ahead of time. "There were lives lost, but because a lot of people prepared and a lot of people listened, a lot of lives were not lost." He added that FEMA was just a small part of the response team, and the most important part of the team was the public.
Panelist Daniel Schrag (Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering, Harvard University, and Director of the Harvard University Center for the Environment) pointed out that "we rebuild, but we don't necessarily rebuild better." One reason is that "we're a country filled with compassion," and aim to immediately help those who are suffering. "In the heat of that moment, we don't think about raising the bar. It's hard to do that when people are suffering," the report said. |
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| Issue #44 | December 14, 2012 |
Greetings!
The best award I ever won was also the first of my professional career. I was just out of college and a rookie newspaper reporter. AIDS was the big news story. My fellow reporters were covering it from every angle: How was it spread? Who was at risk? Was the blood supply safe? And so on. All of those stories were important, but I kept thinking about the people behind the statistics. So, I put the word out that I was looking to talk to someone who actually had AIDS. I found her. She'd been infected by a blood transfusion, and she was six years old.Why did she want to talk to me? Her family lived in a trailer home, and it wasn't big enough to house the hospital bed and equipment that her care required. She wanted to know if I could help. She wanted to come home to die. I wrote about her and her family, and in a matter of days there was a volunteer work crew building an addition to their home. The story was picked up by the Associated Press. I was named the best rookie reporter in the state. The little girl got her wish.That experience was meaningful to me on many levels. It set the trajectory for my career and showed me what kind of journalist I wanted to be -- not the kind to whip up fear and prey on grief, but rather the kind who helps by bringing communities together. And it also makes me think of you. That's what you do, too. You bring people together to respond, to plan, to protect. You put people first. You volunteer. You think of little things that make a big difference. And now it's time to reward excellence among you. Nominations are open for the DRI International Awards of Excellence. These awards are designed to honor individuals and corporations who are leaders and innovators in our profession. For all of the information, nomination categories, and how-tos, click here. And please make it a point to nominate someone. I know none of you do what you do to win an award (that's not why I wrote about that little girl, either). You do it because it's who you are. And now it's your turn to tell someone's story, to share good news, to grant a wish, to give respect and recognition to your peers.What you do is so incredibly important. Let's make it a point to honor and celebrate YOU - the people who quietly, behind the scenes, make order of chaos and keep organizations and businesses all over the world up and running no matter what. I believe in you, and I believe that you deserve to be recognized. There's a reason that BCP is my beat now. You're it.Buffy Rojas
DRI International Director of Communications
brojas@drii.org
(610) 792-4802
p.s. In last week's Drive, we ran a piece about DRI2013 that offered a chance at winning a Galaxy Tablet to anyone who registered by December 1. The problem was that deadline had passed by a couple of days. I just wanted to let all of you know that anyone who registered last week was also entered into the contest. Sorry about that and good luck! |
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Return to Sender? Paying Your Dues by
Snail Mail, ACH, or Wire Transfer? Read This! |
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Return to Sender- Elvis Presley |
If you pay your DRI International renewal fees by check/snail mail, ACH, or wire transfer, there are a few things you need to know to ensure that we actually receive and can process your payment. Some of you are still sending checks to an old snail mail address in Conway, Arkansas. We haven't been there for more than two years, and mail sent to us at that address will no longer be forwarded to us as of January 1, 2013. To ensure that your check doesn't get returned to sender, please make sure that your accounting department (or whoever cuts your checks) has our current address in their payment system. Our address is: DRI International 691 North Squirrel Road Suite 111 Auburn Hills, Michigan 48326 For those of you who pay via wire transfer or ACH (bank transfer), please include your name and DRI number on the wire transfer. If you don't, then we don't know whose fees are being paid. Thanks! |
DRI's Higher Education Opportunities
at a University Near You!
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Did you know that you can take DRI International courses at colleges and universities nationwide? We partner with an ever-expanding group of higher education partners to bring business continuity education to students at a wide variety of institutions.
Upcoming courses include our BCLE 1500 class and qualifying exam at Queens University of Charlotte in Charlotte, NC. Course dates are consecutive Tuesdays January 29, 2013 - May 7, 2013, from 6-9 p.m. The registration deadline is January 22, 2013. To register, call 704-688-2705 or register online at www.queens.edu/BCM. |
The Stocking Stuffer That Could Save Your Life!
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Here's a cool - and useful - gift for your BCP team, friends, and family members: Survival Straps. The company's paracord bracelets "can help you survive whatever life throws at you," or so they say. And what continuity professional couldn't use help with that? Survival Straps are made from super strong military spec paracord. In an emergency situation, unravel the bracelet and use the paracord to get out of whatever jam you're in. If you use it in an emergency situation, send the company your story, and they will send you a new one for free! There are more than 50,000 color combinations and officially licensed (sports teams and such) versions too. |
| 121212 Benefit Concert: Music and More! |
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Team Rubicon featured on CBS LA on the
response to Hurricane Sandy
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I only caught half of the 121212 Concert to benefit the victims of Sandy. I guess that makes it a 666 concert for me. I think I fell asleep because I had to keep closing my eyes to avoid seeing Roger Daltrey's "wardrobe malfunction" (amazing that all of his shirt buttons malfunctioned all at once!), but I saw enough to catch some great music and be inspired by the spirit of the 121212 event and this organization: Team Rubicon.
Team Rubicon, featured during the show, "unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with medical professionals to rapidly deploy emergency response teams into crisis situations." I grabbed this from their web site: "Team Rubicon's primary mission of providing disaster relief between the moment a disaster happens and the point at which conventional aid organizations respond. The 'gap' is primarily time; the crucial window following a disaster when victims have traditionally been without outside aid." Sounds like a group that all of you should know about and some of you may even want to join.
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Take the Annual BCM Compensation Survey!
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Now's the time to take the annual BCM Compensation Survey. That's because the survey closes tomorrow! A link to the USA BCM Compensation Report - Initial Data Findings is available upon completion of the study. The study is in its 11th year and is conducted by BC Management. |
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