1/30/08 EIIP Virtual Forum Transcript: ICMA's Second Edition of the 'Green Book'

Amy Sebring: Good morning/afternoon everyone. On behalf of Avagene and myself, 
welcome to the Virtual Forum. We are glad you could join us.

Amy Sebring: Our topic today is "Emergency Management: Principles and Practice 
for Local Government," the Second Edition of the 'Green Book' from the 
International City/County Management Association (ICMA).

Amy Sebring: "Founded in 1914, ICMA (International City/County Management 
Association) is the premier local government leadership and management 
organization. Its mission is to create excellence in local governance by 
advocating and developing the professional management of local government 
worldwide."

Amy Sebring: ICMA hopes that this volume will become the standard text and 
reference for emergency management in the early years of the 21st century.

Amy Sebring: First, for the benefit of our first-timers, we will go over the 
order of business.  We will begin with a presentation and then we will proceed 
to your questions and comments.

Amy Sebring: We will provide further instructions just before we begin the Q&A 
section, and will be using our Moderation feature.  You may want to begin 
composing during the presentation, ...

Amy Sebring: but we ask you NOT to submit your question or comment until we get 
to that part of the program, since it is possible that your question will be 
addressed later in the presentation.

Amy Sebring: A formatted transcript of today's session will be available by 
later this afternoon -- just check back on our home page or the background page 
(refresh the page if needed).

Amy Sebring: Please take a moment after the session to rate this session in 
terms of usefulness of the information and/or write a short review or post a 
comment.  I will mention more about that in our closing.

Amy Sebring: Finally, please do not send private messages to our speakers or the 
Moderator, as we will be busy with the presentation.  If you need assistance, 
you may send a private message to Avagene.

Amy Sebring: Now it is my pleasure to introduce today's special guests. We are 
delighted and honored to have both co-editors here with us today, both of whom 
are well known and highly respected experts.

Amy Sebring: Dr. William Waugh, Jr. is Professor of Public Administration, Urban 
Studies, and Political Science in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at 
Georgia State University and is internationally recognized for his work on 
disaster policy and local and regional capacity-building to deal with hazards 
and disasters.

Amy Sebring: He has been a consultant to government agencies, nonprofit and 
private sector organizations on terrorism, the management of large-scale 
disasters, local government administration, strategic management, strategic 
planning, emergency planning, and professional development.

Amy Sebring: Dr. Kathleen Tierney is a Professor of Sociology and Director of 
the Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center at the 
University of Colorado at Boulder. The Hazards Center is housed in the Institute 
of Behavioral Science, where Prof. Tierney holds a joint appointment.

Amy Sebring: Her research focuses on the social dimensions of hazards and 
disasters, including natural, technological, and human-induced extreme events. 
You can hear Dr. Tierney on our Preview Podcast for today's session, which is 
linked from our home page.

Amy Sebring: More biographical information is provided on today's Background 
Page, as well as links to the book's Web page, Table of Contents, Foreword, and 
excerpt.

Amy Sebring: Dr. Waugh will start off our session by providing some background 
information on the ICMA green book, and this new edition, and then Dr. Tierney 
will follow with a description of the content.

Amy Sebring: Welcome to both of you, and thank you very much for being with us 
today.  I now turn the floor over to Dr. Waugh to start us off please.

Bill Waugh: The 1991 ICMA green book on emergency management has been the 
standard for practitioner handbooks and textbooks in the field.  Tom Drabek and 
Gerry Hoetmer did a tremendous job.

Bill Waugh: A 2006 analysis of the California emergency services system, the 
Little Hoover Report, used the text as the benchmark against which programs 
should be measured and students still use the text as foundation for research.

Bill Waugh: It was a real challenge to bring together scholars and experienced 
practitioners for the second edition. Work on the new edition began in 2003 and 
continued until it went to the publishers in the fall of 2007.

Bill Waugh: Progress was slow and became slower when editors and authors were 
distracted by major disasters and major competitions for research funding.  Much 
was learned from the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004.  Much was learned during and 
after Katrina, Rita, and Wilma in 2005 that had to be incorporated into drafts.  
Our topics were moving targets.

Bill Waugh: The task environment of emergency managers has also changed 
significantly since 1991.  Terrorism has become a major focus since the mid-
1990s and certainly after 9/11.  The world of emergency managers changed on 9/11 
and changed again when Katrina made landfall.

Bill Waugh: The national priority has been on dealing with the threat of 
terrorism and state and local priorities have been on dealing with the more 
common and certain threats of natural disaster, in addition to terrorism.

Bill Waugh: Readers should note the addition of chapters on new information 
technologies, social vulnerability and special populations, budgeting and 
finance, health and medical preparedness and response, and collaboration and the 
expansion of coverage of coordination and organization.  Much has been learned 
in the past sixteen years

Bill Waugh: Emergency managers today are also linked to the nation' s Homeland 
Security effort and have to reconcile their communities'  priorities with those 
of the national security establishment.  Balancing local needs against national 
priorities has been frustrating for many.

Bill Waugh: Dealing with the cultures of national security agencies has also 
been frustrating for local emergency managers who have to communicate openly 
with the public they serve, have to rely on nongovernmental organizations for 
critical resources and expertise, and necessarily have to work in partnership 
with their state and federal counterparts to assure effective coordination of 
programs.

Bill Waugh: Closed, centralized decision processes are ineffective in an 
environment that requires the sharing of information and flexibility in 
operations.  In some measure, those lessons have been learned over and over 
again but not heeded by federal officials.

Bill Waugh: We hope that this volume also reflects changes in the profession of 
emergency management as it comes into its own.  Local emergency managers have 
critical roles to play in managing risks to their communities, including serving 
as advocates for effective land-use regulation, building standards, building 
codes, and community preparedness.

Bill Waugh: Educating elected officials and the public is essential if they are 
to understand the role of emergency managers.  Emergency management is not 
emergency response.  Emergency management is helping to manage risks to life, 
property, and the environment and it is a central function of government.

Bill Waugh: Now I will turn the session over to Professor Tierney to provide a 
little more description of the content of the book.

Kathleen Tierney: Hello everyone.  I am very pleased to be with you today to 
present an overview of the contents of the book.

Kathleen Tierney: Emergency Management: Principles and Practice for Local 
Government, consists of 16 chapters divided into three parts.  Part 1, "Context 
and Organization of Emergency Management," contains five chapters:

Kathleen Tierney: Chapter 1, the introductory chapter, written by co-editor 
William Waugh, is entitled "Local Emergency Management in the Post-9/11 World." 
It highlights how emergency management concepts and practices have evolved as a 
consequence of post-9-11 policies and programs.

Kathleen Tierney: Chapter 2, by Claire Rubin, provides a short history of the US 
emergency management system and discusses the context of local emergency 
management.

Chapter 3, by Frannie Edwards and Daniel Goodrich, is entitled "Organizing for 
Emergency Management."  It provides a general overview of roles and functions 
associated with the discipline.

Kathleen Tierney: Chapter 4, by David McEntire and Gregg Dawson, discusses the 
intergovernmental aspects of emergency management. It focuses on such topics as 
the federal system, networks for emergency management, ...

and the need to bring about needed changes, such as greater recognition of the 
importance of emergency management and greater budgetary support for emergency 
management activities.

Kathleen Tierney: Chapter 5, by Ann Patton, outlines the concept of 
"collaborative emergency management," which includes partnership building, 
public engagement, and the productive use of volunteer resources.

Kathleen Tierney: Part 2 of the volume contains chapters on concepts and 
practices related to the four phases of the disaster cycle--mitigation, 
preparedness, response, and recovery--as well as selected topics in these areas.

David Godschalk is the author of Chapter 6, on mitigation, which covers a range 
of topics, including why mitigation is important, the mitigation planning 
process, federal mitigation programs, and the need to integrate mitigation and 
sustainability strategies.

Kathleen Tierney: Chapter 7, "Planning and Preparedness," by Michael Lindell and 
Ronald Perry discusses the state-of-the art in preparedness guidance, plan 
development, and related topics.

Kathleen Tierney: In Chapter 8, "Applied Response Strategies," author Richard 
Rotanz  provides an overview of the types of demands that disasters generate and 
the types of resources, strategies, and tactics needed to cope with those 
demands.

Chapter 9, "Disaster Response," by Ronald Perry and Michael Lindell, also 
discusses the many challenges associated with disaster response and provides an 
overview of key elements of post-9/11 response programs, including the National 
Incident Management System and the Urban Areas Security Initiative.

In Chapter 10, authors Erik Auf der Heide and Joseph Scanlon discuss in detail 
the role of the health sector in disasters.  The chapter emphasizes the 
importance of integrating medical, mental health, and public health planning 
with broader community planning efforts.

Kathleen Tierney: Chapter 11, by Brenda Phillips and David Neal, focuses on 
post-disaster recovery and provides information on the process and dimensions of 
disaster recovery, as well as resources that are available to support recovery. 
The chapter also emphasizes the need for pre-event planning for post-event 
recovery.

Kathleen Tierney: Part 3, "Major Issues in Emergency Management," contains 
chapters that deal in depth with both major emergency management challenges and 
emerging trends.

Kathleen Tierney: In Chapter 12, William Nicholson reviews legal issues in 
emergency management.  The chapter includes discussions on legal issues that 
arise at different disaster phases, laws specific to emergency management, as 
well as topics that have grown in importance in recent years, such as laws and 
procedures governing quarantine.

Kathleen Tierney: Chapter 13, "Identifying and Addressing Social 
Vulnerabilities," was written by Elaine Enarson. The chapter gives emergency 
management students and practitioners an overview of the concept of social 
vulnerability-who is vulnerable to disasters and how and why they are 
vulnerable-and presents strategies and tools for reducing social vulnerability.

Kathleen Tierney: In Chapter 14, "New Information Technologies in Emergency 
Management," co-authors Susan Cutter, Christopher Emerich, Beverley Adams, 
Charles Huyck, and Ronald Eguchi provide an overview of information 
technologies, tools, and applications that can be used during different phases 
of disasters.

Kathleen Tierney: Also discussed is the fact that while technologies are 
becoming ever more advanced, significant barriers remain that can prevent 
emergency managers from using new tools to their greatest advantage.

Kathleen Tierney: Chapter 15, by Richard Sylves, deals with budgeting challenges 
and strategies across the phases of disaster. The chapter contains detailed 
discussions of different types of grants and funding sources, fundraising 
strategies (e.g., taxes and fees, privatization and coproduction), and funding 
opportunities presented by post-9/11 homeland security programs.

Chapter 16, the concluding chapter, co-authored by Dr. Waugh and myself, takes 
stock of where the nation currently stands with respect to the profession of 
emergency management and discusses directions in which the profession is moving.

Kathleen Tierney: Also discussed are lessons learned from the Hurricane Katrina 
Experience and the ongoing need to debunk myths about disaster-related behavior.

Kathleen Tierney: This new edition of Emergency Management: Principles and 
Practice for Local Government is comprehensive, up-to-date, and information 
rich. Rather than featuring long continuous blocks of text, the volume contains 
a large number of sidebars that do the following:

Kathleen Tierney: 
* highlight innovative approaches to addressing disaster-related issues 
* discuss lessons learned from past disaster events 
* provide extensive lists of resources, and 
* offer concrete guidance on how to evaluate emergency management activities in 
areas such as hazard mitigation.

Kathleen Tierney: Chapters are very readable but are also extensively 
documented, and further readings are suggested for each chapter.

Kathleen Tierney: This concludes our introduction and we will be happy to 
respond to your question and comments.  I turn the floor back over to our 
Moderator for the next portion of our program.

Amy Sebring: Thanks very much to both of you.  Now, to proceed to your questions 
or comments...

Amy Sebring: We are using the Moderation feature today.  When you click on Send 
(or hit the Enter key), your question or comment will not go directly to the 
screen.

Amy Sebring: Instead, it goes to a Moderator's Admin Panel, to be released into 
the chat at the appropriate time.  We will take the questions or comments in the 
order submitted.  Please be patient as it may take some time to get to yours, if 
there are several ahead of you.

Amy Sebring: Please do NOT submit multi-part questions or very lengthy comments.  
Instead, if you have a second question or a follow up question, please compose 
and submit it separately.

Amy Sebring: If possible, please try to address your question to one of our 
guests by name.  We are ready to begin now, and you can enter your question or 
comment anytime you are ready.

Erik Janus: How much, if any, of the new National Response Framework is captured 
in this edition? Will there be a revised edition?

Amy Sebring: Dr. Waugh, do you want to start with that one please?

Bill Waugh: The initial draft of the NRF is discussed....

Bill Waugh: but the last draft was well after the book came out. I don't know 
whether ICMA will revise the text at any point.

Roop Dave: Dr Waugh' s statement, that Emergency Management is not responding to 
emergency but preparing community resilience, is befitting for emergencies due 
to natural disasters, but does not fit with the emergency as a result of 
terrorism. Do you feel we can separate both of these situations, emergencies due 
to natural disasters and due to terrorism?

Bill Waugh: In many respects I think that terrorism is a hazard like other 
hazards and resilience can be increased to assure quicker recovery.

Kathleen Tierney: The overall message of the volume focuses on the need for 
state-of-the-art comprehensive emergency management...

Kathleen Tierney: that at the same time recognizes that events of different 
types and different severity call for different management strategies.

Ric Skinner: Do you address the role of GIS, interoperability and CAP compliant 
systems in horizontal & vertical information sharing and between civilian and 
military domains (as we did in CWID 2007)?

Amy Sebring: I assume this may be in the Technology chapter Kathleen?

Kathleen Tierney: Issues of technology and interoperabiity are addressed at 
various points in the volume.

Rick Tobin: Wow!  What a plethora of great talent for that book.  Is this text 
now being implemented as a core resource for college curriculum for those 
schools teaching the new wave of emergency managers?

Amy Sebring: Dr. Waugh, do you want to tackle this question?

Bill Waugh: The book is being adopted by many programs already.

Bill Waugh: I would expect that it will become the core text for many courses.

Kathleen Tierney: The last time I checked, the book was not yet on Amazon.com, 
but there are many people trying to find out how to get it.

Bob Cullins: I have the new edition.  Is there any plan to do an ICMA training 
package like the first one?  With case studies, teaching outline, exam 
questions, and video?

Bill Waugh: There has been some discussion of support for instructors.

Bill Waugh: The book will also be a core text for the FEMA Higher education 
projects course on "The Principles of Emergency Management" which is now in 
development.

Kathleen Tierney: I would be delighted if that were the case.

Roop Dave: How much preparation of bovernment can be said to be "adequate 
disaster preparation?" Is there any benchmark available for preparing 
Governments?  I am asking this question because despite all preparations, I have 
seen governments failing in delivering effective emergency response everywhere 
in the world.

Kathleen Tierney: Various chapters in the book deal with "best practices" and 
what we would expect to see if emergency management activities were proceeding 
effectively.

Andrew Wilson: Dr. Tierney - I see you have Joseph Scanlon as one of your 
contributors.  How much of this book is squarely focused at the U.S. situation 
as opposed to a more generic international focus?

Kathleen Tierney: Andrew, the volume is meant to apply mainly to challenges here 
in the U.S., but there is a great deal of information in the book that pertains 
to findings related to disasters from around the world.

Bill Waugh: The material is also filtering into training programs for the 
leaders of emergency management programs in other countries.  Much of the 
material, I think, is also applicable to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and 
other countries with similar political contexts.

Erik Janus: "Extensive lists of resources" have been a great boon, but also 
somewhat distracting. Were any efforts made to focus these resources and, thus, 
try and reduce "information overload" for the practitioner?

Kathleen Tierney: Erik, I think you'll see that the format of the book 
facilitates focus.  For example, resources and additional readings accompany 
each chapter.

Bill Waugh: Information overload is a problem, but, at the same time, providing 
too little information can be frustrating.  I expect that many of the readers 
will be high end users in the sense of wanting more rather than less info.

Roop Dave: Would a 'common pool' approach for natural disaster management, 
focusing on Public-private Partnerships help in reducing chances of failures 
compared to a 'totally government' based approach?

Kathleen Tierney: Roop, can you clarify what you mean by "common pool"?

Amy Sebring: Kathleen, I think the question goes to ..

Amy Sebring: participation by the private sector ...

Amy Sebring: and enhanced coordination there.

Amy Sebring: This is a newer emphasis in the book, is it not?

Kathleen Tierney: Oh yes, by all means.  In fact, that is an overall theme of 
the book.

Bill Waugh: One of the themes throughout the text is the breadth of the 
emergency management system and the necessity of collaboration.

Bill Waugh: Collaboration is a very hot topic in public administration and there 
is clearly a need to get away from the cavalry approach to emergency management.

Ric Skinner: I'm particularly interested in resolving the weaknesses and gaps we 
see in hospital/healthcare preparedness. Do you address that level of detail?

Kathleen Tierney: Ric, the chapter on health care is very comprehensive.  Again, 
one big emphasis is on the need for integrated planning across sectors, rather 
than stovepiping or isolating the health care sector.

Bill Waugh: Erik Auf der Heide and Joe Scanlon address the topic to some extent, 
but it is a problem that continues.  Public health and medicine have become 
major players.

Mike Morrill: The rumor mill has it that the Feds are going to start auditing 
municipalities for their emergency management programs. Does the book discuss 
evaluation standards at all?

Bill Waugh: The book does address the development of standards, including EMAP 
and NFPA 1600.

Bill Waugh: EMAP is discussed in terms of its new direction independent from 
NFPA.

Bill Waugh: I don't remember whether there was mention of other possibilities, 
such as requiring local investments based upon tax bases or other measures of 
means.

Rick Tobin: I didn't see a specific notation on standards and the wrestling 
match now going on about who should set what standards, who has to follow them, 
and the financial implications of standards compliance.  Is that covered?

Kathleen Tierney: The "wrestling match" really started to heat up after the book 
went to press.

Kathleen Tierney: Rick, we recently covered the standards controversy in an 
article on the Natural Hazards Observer.

Bill Waugh: Clearly there are other standard setting bodies getting into the 
act, including ASTM which is looking at EOCs.

Amy Sebring: A comment from one of our participants on use of the text ...

Richie: In regards to the use of the book for universities and colleges, Adelphi 
is using the book as a required text for most of the graduate certificate and 
soon to be developed masters

Kathleen Tierney: Hey, Ritchie, I figured that was you!  Glad to hear that about 
Adelphi!

Isabel McCurdy: Kathleen, could you clarify  "state-of-the-art' on the 
comprehensive of emergency management, please?

Kathleen Tierney: Isabel, by "state-of-the-art," we mean the best knowledge and 
research findings currently available on the art and science of emergency 
management.

Kathleen Tierney: To a great extent, talking about new and innovative approaches 
involves showing how they differ from both traditional views on emergency 
management and (importantly) programs that are currently being promulgated or 
advocated.

Bill Waugh: The boundaries of emergency management are difficult to draw.  We 
tend to take an expansive view of the role and responsibilities of emergency 
managers.

Kathleen Tierney: Earlier Bill mentioned that the "cavalry" approach to EM is 
outdated.  New perspectives involve such notions as collaboration, public 
engagement, and attention to social vulnerability.

Bill Waugh: Also, a problem we had to deal with in the book was making it as 
applicable to small jurisdictions as well as large.

Bob Cullins: On pg. 10 of the new text, I like the statement " (we have) a 
system where everyone can say no but everyone can say yes."  Comments?

Amy Sebring: Dr. Waugh, did you write that part?

Amy Sebring: If so, can you elaborate?

Bill Waugh: rifling through pages ...

Bill Waugh: That was a speech by Bob O'Neill, the ICMA director.

Kathleen Tierney: Bob, that's in the sidebar on local government's role, right?

Bob Cullins: Ooops! Correction:  the note was "everyone can say no, but no one 
can say yes."

Richie: It's the third paragraph, last sentence.

Kathleen Tierney: Yes, that's what I thought...and the implications of that are 
obvious.

Kathleen Tierney: The comment was made in the context of a discussion of the 
National Response Plan.

Bill Waugh: That observation also means that collaboration is essential to get 
buy-in - which was Bob's theme.

Amy Sebring: If I may ask a related question of my own, in the organization 
chapter, are there specific recommendations to local elected officials, 
city/county managers as to their responsibilities and/or organizational 
placement of the emergency management program?

Kathleen Tierney: Amy, these topics are discussed.  Indeed, the volume places a 
good deal of emphasis on what are (or should be) considered "core competencies" 
for emergency managers--and those competencies are broad.

Bill Waugh: An idea that is emphasized is that the emergency manager should not 
be the Lone Ranger.  Public officials, citizens, and others bear some 
responsibility.

Steve Reichman: Drs. Waugh & Tierney, the scope of and quantity of the 
information of the book has its limits. If you had had more space to insert more 
information, what would you have liked to have added? Were there any times you 
had to omit due to space concerns on the book?

Bill Waugh: I think that both of us tried to avoid getting too far down in the 
weeds...

Bill Waugh: Too much detail gets out-dated quickly.  Broader principles give the 
book a longer shelf life.

Kathleen Tierney: Steve, the book is now about 350 pages long.  We could have 
gone on in great detail about the topics covered, but the book did have a budget 
associated with it!

Bill Waugh: There was a concern that the book be inexpensive enough to use in 
class.

Roop Dave: Procedures & Policies are good in the pre-emergency situations for 
training purpose. But actually practicing these policies and procedures during 
emergency situation sometimes brings down efficiency! Do you agree Dr Waugh?

Bill Waugh: You are right - particularly when jurisdictions have few or no 
resources.

Bill Waugh: The issue is already arising among volunteer fire departments that 
have few training bucks and little time.

Amy Sebring: I have another related question if I may ...

Amy Sebring: is there any discussion of the "one size fits all" approach of the 
federal government? 

Amy Sebring: This is part of the conflict you mention Dr. Waugh, I believe.

Bill Waugh: Yes.  Many local governments are ignoring the alert levels and even 
declining federal money.

Kathleen Tierney: The book is aimed primarily at local government officials and 
students, so definitely the issue of "one size fits all" becomes important and 
is discussed in the book.

Bob Cullins: Comment:  The book will not only be used at universities and 
colleges, but possibly by cities and counties to train their folks.  That's why 
I asked earlier about a training package.  Hope you can get it done.

Amy Sebring: Kathleen, how do you feel about federal, or even state or local 
policy, being made that is NOT based on science?

Amy Sebring: I believe you use the term...

Amy Sebring: "evidence-based".

Amy Sebring: Is this issue addressed at all in the book?

Amy Sebring: For example, in the myths section?

Kathleen Tierney: It is addressed in the sense that the political dimension of 
emergency management is emphasized at various places throughout the volume.  The 
role of science in policy-setting and implementation is a complex topic.

Bill Waugh: The Emergency Management Roundtable lists "risk driven" as a 
principle of EM...

Bill Waugh: Risk driven means real measurement of risk and communities have to 
focus on the risk to their citizens rather than national priorities.

Amy Sebring: (inserting a plug, we will be having a Forum on the EM principles 
in February)

Erik Janus: We need to be careful to separate out those policies made using 
"best professional judgment" in the light of little to no data, as opposed to 
policies ignoring science (which can happen).  Determination of risk requires 
data.

Bill Waugh: And worst-case scenarios are not always backed up by data.

Randall Cuthbert: Would you recommend this book for a 'Social Dimensions of 
Disaster' text, and if not, what would be your recommendations as the top texts 
for that facet of the topic?

Kathleen Tierney: I think that chapters from the book might be useful for a 
social dimensions of disaster course. There is a lot of research discussed in 
the book.  However, the main focus of the volume is on emergency management.  I 
am teaching a course on Hazards, Disasters, and Society, and I'm doing it using 
a set of readings I put together

Amy Sebring: I assume there are additional resources cited in the related 
Chapters?

Kathleen Tierney: Yes, there is a great deal of documentation.


Ryan Collins: I'm excited to see the inclusion (and the expansion of) the 
integration of public health, mental health, and the medical community into this 
text.  I think it's an integral aspect of Emergency Mgmt that is not always 
considered by Emergency Managers (EMs), and certainly needs to be.  The problems 
faced by EMs revolving around privately-run hospitals and publicly-funded public 
health programs create innumerable barriers for EMs to deal with in 
preparedness, planning, and response.

Kathleen Tierney: Thank you, Ryan.

Amy Sebring: That's all we have time for today. Thank you very much Dr. Waugh 
and Dr. Tierney for an excellent job. We hope you enjoyed the experience. Please 
stand by just a moment while we make a couple of quick announcements...

Bill Waugh: Thanks.

Kathleen Tierney: This has been a great pleasure.  Thank you all for your 
attention and participation!

Amy Sebring: Again, a link to the ICMA press Web page for the book, where you 
can get ordering information, is posted on our Background Page, and I will 
incorporate into our transcript.  

[ http://bookstore.icma.org/Emergency_Management_Principl_P1766C18.cfm ]

Amy Sebring: Again, the formatted transcript will be available later today.  If 
you are not on our mailing list and would like to get notices of future sessions 
and availability of transcripts, just go to our home page to Subscribe.

Amy Sebring: Before we adjourn, please take a moment now, or after you review 
the transcript to Rate today's session and/or write a review or post your 
comments. You can access the form either from today's Background Page or from 
our home page.

Amy Sebring: If you do not have time to write a short review or comment, then 
please just take a moment to do the rating.  It should take less than a minute, 
and will assist future visitors to our site to find useful information.

Amy Sebring: We are very pleased to announce a new Partner today, Tighe & Bond, 
Inc.; URL: http://www.tighebond.com ; POC: Ric Skinner, GISP, GIS Director. 
"Tighe & Bond was founded in 1911 and is one of the oldest continuously 
operating consulting firms in New England...

Amy Sebring: Our experience ranges from consulting on limited projects for small 
businesses to designing the two largest wastewater residuals drying facilities 
in the world. We provide civil engineering, environmental engineering, 
environmental assessment, and GIS services to public and private clients around 
the country and overseas."

Amy Sebring: Ric, is here today and we are glad he continues to participate.

Amy Sebring: Becoming an EIIP Partner is a way to show your support, and 
possibly help us to keep the services we provide available to you.  It is easy 
to do; see the link to Partnership for You from our home page, and complete the 
simple form provided.

Amy Sebring: Also, if you have not done so already, please check out our RSS 
feeds for news summaries and emergency management related Webcasts via links on 
our home page menu.  The links to the left of the RSS icons will also take you 
to archives of the news and Webcast events.

Amy Sebring: Thanks to everyone for participating today. We stand adjourned but 
before you go, please help me show our appreciation to the Professors for a fine 
job.