Emergency Readiness Conference

Critical security issues facing both Texas and the nation were the focus
of the Emergency Readiness Conference (ERC) 2004 at The University of
Texas at Dallas (UTD) School of Management in August. The conference was
organized by The School of Management's Emergency Management and
Preparedness Program and the Forensic and Emergency Preparedness Institute
of UTD's Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science. From
August 9 to 12, some 300 attendees, presenters and exhibitors convened for
sessions that updated emergency preparedness professionals and addressed
better coordination of emergency preparedness and homeland security
activities. Scheduled to become an annual event, ERC 2004 was the first
regional gathering of its kind in the Southwest. More information on the
conference is available at http://som.utdallas.edu/erc.


Clockwise from top left: (1) One of many emergency response vehicles that
lined up in a display at The School of Management (SOM) for ERC 2004.
(2-5) Members of the City of Richardson Fire Department and Hazmat Team at
a hazardous materials cleanup demonstration. (6) Specially designed
signage on The SOM Building set the tone for the event. (7) Jay Kimbrough,
senior advisor to Texas Governor Rick Perry and former director of the
Office of Homeland Security for the State of Texas, outlined the state's
emergency and disaster master plan. (8) Gregg Dawson (left), director of
the North Texas Council of Governments, with James Lee Witt, former
director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). (9) From left:
Dr. David Springate, SOM associate dean for executive education; George
Grant, emergency management coordinator for the City of Richardson; James
Lee Witt; Dr. Diane McNulty, SOM associate dean for external affairs and
corporate development; and Dr. E. Douglas Harris, associate dean in the
Erik Jonsson School. (10) Dorothy Miller (left), director of SOM's
Emergency Management and Preparedness Program, with conference attendees.
(11) Conference organizers (left to right) John Fowler, director of new
initiatives in SOM's Executive Education area; Jim Staves, director of the
Erik Jonsson School's Forensics and Emergency Preparedness Institute; and
Ms. Miller. (12) ERC 2004 keynote speaker James Lee Witt, president of
James Lee Witt Associates, LLC, a company that provides
disaster-mitigation solutions for nonprofit organizations. (13) Paul
Moore, senior administrative associate in the Department of Surgery at The
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, discussing basic disaster
life support issues with conference attendees.