Kentucky Emergency Management
Kentucky's Private Sector Working Group Embraces 'Getting Business Back In Business'

Kentucky's Private Sector Working Group Embraces 'Getting Business Back In Business'

FRANKFORT, Ky.  (July 17, 2012) - Embracing the "Getting Business Back in Business" concept, Kentucky's Private Sector Working Group (PSWG) concluded a two-day workshop recently held in Somerset, July 9-10.

Led by Kentucky Emergency Management (KYEM), the meeting drew dozens of representatives from private sector organizations and associations from across the state and local communities. The meeting was held at The Center for Rural Development and Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Preparedness -Technology, Analysis and Coordination Center (P-TAC). The discussion at the meeting centered on mutual aid, resource management, recovery, emerging technologies and the concept of the Virtual Business Emergency Operations Center (VBEOC). (VBEOC is a virtual system concept integrating the private sector into response efforts during an emergency.)

KYEM Director John Heltzel told the workshop attendees, "Government recognizes the crucial role the private sector plays in emergency response and recovery.  Kentucky Emergency Management continues to build from lessons learned from past disasters, and shared exercises, and have utilized our private sector partners many times, as recent as the March 2, tornado
outbreak."  

He concluded by saying, "Having you as partners with the State is invaluable, having the PSWG sitting in the Commonwealth Emergency Operations Center during a disaster makes for a much faster and better coordinated effort!"

Kentucky's PSWG has been recognized as a model project and has been invited to present at a variety of conferences across the country to include; the National Emergency Management Association National Conference in Austin, TX where the model was identified as a national best-practice, National BEOC Conference in Bentonville, AK, Kentucky Hospital Association Leadership Meeting, Kentucky Association of Energy Coops Meeting, Southern Agriculture and Animal Disaster Response Alliance Conference in Atlanta, GA, National Private Sector Summit in Daytona, FL, and FEMA's Region 4 Strategic National Stockpile Summit.

Mike Dossett, KYEM Private Sector Program Coordinator, said, "In order to strengthen disaster and emergency response and recovery capabilities, KYEM highly encourages all communities to engage and embrace their private sector partners.  It is a proven fact when a disaster occurs, the sooner the private sector is up and operating the sooner a community returns to normal.  Thus our motto: 'Getting Business Back in Business!' "

For more information on the PSWG visit www.kyem.ky.gov/teams .  There you can also 'like' KYEM on Facebook and 'follow' KYEM on Twitter.

                                          # # #