Businesses urged to prepare contingency plans for proactive approach to emergency situations.

By James Dowd
Commercial Appeal

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The message was simple and direct: Plan now to act later.

For about 150 business professionals at the second annual Emergency Preparedness and Incident Conference, the program couldn't have been more timely.

"In difficult economic times like these, companies try to stretch their dollars annual Emergency Preparedness and Incident Conferenceas far as possible and unfortunately, that means some don't invest in an emergency continuity plan," said Billy Freeman, communications specialist with Tennessee Task Force 1, an urban search-and-rescue team sponsored by the Memphis/Shelby County Emergency Management Agency.

"If it seems daunting to think about training people and implementing a comprehensive response program, then just take it a bit at a time. Just be sure to start somewhere."

That includes training employees how to respond in the event of disasters such as earthquakes, fires, floods and tornadoes, Freeman said. Companies should also maintain recovery plans with regular updates about how to resume business following a crisis.

The daylong conference, held recently at the FedEx Institute of Technology on the University of Memphis campus, featured a variety of disaster-preparedness booths and more than a dozen crisis-management and response seminars.

Organizers of the event, which was coordinated by the Mid-South Association of Contingency Planners, stressed that the best time to address an emergency is before one occurs, particularly in a region situated along the New Madrid fault line.

"In the best-case scenario, disaster planning is like insurance and you hope you never have to use it," said Ron Smith, the organization's vice president. "But you can't just close your eyes and hope for that. We don't preach gloom and doom; instead, we encourage responsibility and preparedness."

Shelby County Mayor AC Wharton, who delivered opening remarks at the conference, agreed.

"It used to be that contingency planning was something you stumbled into when there was nothing else to do," Wharton said. "Now more people are starting to plan for the unexpected and the question is not what if something happens but what might happen and what will we do when it does?"

Association leaders promote that discussion and hope more businesses - especially smaller ones - will join the conversation.

Founded in 2004, the group is the local chapter of the International Association of Contingency Planners. From the original 20 members, the group has more than tripled in size and is stepping up efforts to heighten public perception of disaster and emergency awareness.

"It's about having a strategy," said Damian Walch, one of the conference speakers and a nationally recognized expert in continuity and disaster planning. "We have to react differently from the way we did 10 or 15 years ago. The business supply chain is increasingly complex and it requires greater resiliency."

Gary Patterson, geologist and information-services director at the Center for Earthquake Research and Information at the UofM, praised the efforts.

"People don't like to think about this subject because it's something they can't control, but what they can control is being as prepared as possible," Patterson said. "We're doing a lot to inform people, but we've got a long way to go. Events like this help get the message across."

Most of the group's programs, such as the recent conference, are free. Annual dues are $80. The group's next meeting will be Nov. 12.

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Information: www.msacp.org

Copyright 2008 The Commercial Appeal, Inc.