14th Annual Long Island/NYC Emergency Management Conference

Uniondale, NY-May 23, 2007-The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) co-sponsor of the 14th Annual Long Island/New York City Emergency Management Conference to be held May 30th and May 31st, at The Hilton Long Island is pleased to announce that the event is sold out.  The Conference is an important opportunity for those charged with keeping
the public safe in the event of an emergency. This year’s Conference theme, “Together:  Ready for Anything,” will focus on the working relationships that have been forged in the preparedness community over the years to respond to a wide variety of emergencies. The subjects to be explored at the Conference range from severe weather emergencies to terrorism to the potential for pandemics. Several experts will be sharing their years of knowledge and hands on experience on a variety of topics that could have impact on Long Island and the metropolitan region.

The highly successful annual Conference, which will be attended by more than 500 first responders and emergency managers, is co-sponsored by: KeySpan Corp., Long Island Power Authority, New York State Emergency Management Office, New York City Office of Emergency Management, Nassau County Office of Emergency Management, and Suffolk County Office of Emergency Management.

The welcoming remarks will be presented by conference partners, Suffolk County Executive, Steve Levy, Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi, New York City Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph F. Bruno, KeySpan Chairman Robert B. Catell, Long Island Power Authority CEO/President Richard M. Kessel and New York State Emergency Management Office Director John R. Gibb.

Homeland security and terrorism have been in the forefront since the attacks on America in 2001.  Michael Balboni, Deputy Secretary for Public Safety in the State of New York will be discussing New York’s security needs and homeland security.  Former CIA agent and author of “Imperial Hubris:  Why the West is Losing the War on Terror,” Michael Scheuer, will discuss where we are in finding Bin Laden and fighting Al Qaeda.  There will also be a session on The Psychology of Terrorism presented by Dr. Jim Jacob, Professor, California State University.  He will analyze the impact of terrorism on everyday life.

Hurricanes and the vulnerability of coastal regions are a primary topic. Local meteorologists, Mike Wyllie, National Weather Service, Nick Gregory, Fox 5 New York, Craig Allen, WCBS News Radio 88, and Greg Playford, New York State Department of Environmental conservation will be discussing what Long Island can expect and the art of tracking and
watching hurricanes along the Eastern Seaboard.   There will also be a session on what went wrong in the Big Easy when Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005 and the lessons learned in relationship to Long Island.  The moderator is John Gibb, Director of New York State Emergency Management Office.  The panelists are James J. Callahan, Jr., Commissioner of Nassau County Office of Emergency Management, Joseph Williams, Commissioner of Suffolk County Office of Emergency Management and Kelly McKinney, Deputy Commissioner, Nassau County Office of Emergency Management.

In addition to the keynote speakers there will be workshops covering topics such as: Critical Issues in Financing the Costs of Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity; Exercise Design 101; Every Disaster is Local; Interoperable Communications-A review of the latest and greatest in technical communications for Emergency Managers; School Decision Making and Planning for a Disaster; Military Resources in a Disaster; and Key Ingredients of a Business Continuity Program:  Creating, Documenting and Testing your Plan.

For further information on the Long Island/NYC Emergency Management Conference visit the Conference Web site, www.linycemconference.com for a detailed program and speaker information.

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