Preparedness Grants can Fund Maintenance and User Fees

Did You Know that FEMA Grant Funds Extend Beyond Equipment Purchases?

Last November, Timothy Manning, FEMA’s Deputy Administrator of the National Preparedness Directorate (NPD) announced that preparedness grant funds can be used for fees associated with equipment purchases.

An excerpt from the FEMA Grants Program Directorate’s bulletin released by his office:

“Effective [November 2o, 2009], the use of FEMA preparedness grant funds for maintenance contracts, warranties, repair or replacement costs, upgrades, and user fees are allowable under all active and future grant awards, unless otherwise noted.”

How Does FEMA Define User Fees for Preparedness?

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Volcanic Events of Importance

Though it may come as a surprise to many, 10 to 20 volcanic “events of importance” occur globally every month.

On a recent consulting assignment, I learned that volcanic ash in the atmosphere can cause real problems for airplane engines, and the airlines must balance safety and efficiency in response to these events. The goal from a safety perspective is to avoid aircraft encounters with volcanic ash. From the perspective of efficiency, the  goal is to minimize re-routing of aircraft.

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Disaster Strikes When You Least Expect It

The nightmare in Haiti once again hammers home this age-old axiom.

How many more people will die in the future because of our complacency – in this country and elsewhere?

How many times do we have to witness such disasters only to find that once again lack of communications is the greatest hindrance to rapid and accurate assessment of the impact? How many people could have been saved if communications were available to quickly obtain accurate situational awareness and better coordinate the resources for search and rescue?

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Martin Luther King Had a Dream. What’s Yours?

My first-grader’s homework assignment this weekend was to fill out an “I Have a Dream” worksheet. Maybe this week, we should each do the same as we honor Martin Luther King’s legacy.

Her assignment was to write about her dreams for each topic below. What would you write?

I have a dream …

for myself …
for my family …
for my country …
for the world …

Maybe watching part of his speech will inspire you.

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Special Rates on Satellite Phones for Haiti Response

Iridium 9555 satellite phones with discounted airtime rates for Haiti response teams.

For organizations responding to the earthquake in Haiti, we can off the following discounted rates. Order by 3:00 PM Eastern for same-day shipping.

Iridium 9555 to Buy  -  $1,995 with 500-minute bundle
Iridium 9555 to Rent  -  $295/week + airtime (2-week minimum)

Other airtime options are available. Contact us to order or for more details.

More details on the phone: Iridium 9555.

No Portable Satcom in Haiti? How are They? What do They Need?

Watching CNN’s coverage of the devastating 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti early this evening, I found myself gasping at the thought that key relief agencies and media outlets still find themselves struggling to communicate years after Katrina and 9/11.

The Miami Herald was not Connected

When asked in the early hours after the quake hit, on “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer,” what The Miami Herald knew of the developing situation, their Carribean correspondent Jacquie Charles essentially said they didn’t know because they couldn’t connect with anyone there.

“Well, we’re still trying to get through because all the communications is down … We have people en route to Haiti right now and we also have a ‘stringer’ on the ground, but because the communications are all down, we cannot get through to anyone at this moment.”

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Let the (Disaster) Games Begin

Now surely you’ve never thought to make a game of disaster preparedness!? Well … 2010 may be a good time to rethink your approach to improving your business continuity readiness.

Games are essential to our human experience and they form a part of every culture.

Defined as structured activities undertaken for fun, games are more and more being used as educational tools. By making aspects of education and work fun through games, attention and retention among participants can be greatly enhanced. The defense industry has understood this for many years – investing heavily in gaming software to enhance soldier training.

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Salvation through Harmony in Montreal

“Salvation through Harmony” is Montreal’s motto and appears on the city’s coat of arms intended to illustrate that different communities have co-existed in harmony for nearly 400 years: a fleur de lis for the French, a rose for the English, a thistle for the Scots, a shamrock for the Irish, and a beaver for the Canadians.

First, the Amerindians and the French coexisted – then the British, the Scottish, the Irish, the East Europeans, Italians, Greeks and now people from every continent … and today the Montreal School Board welcomes children born in 188 different countries. Talk about interoperability!

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Everybody Needs a Tap Code

This week, PBS aired a phenomenal series on human emotion and social interaction called “This Emotional Life.” I was particularly struck by a segment on human resilience in which a Vietnam veteran – Bob Shumaker, a POW for 8 years – shared his amazing story.

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Going Green to Preserve our Precious Planet

Over the holiday break, I took my six-year-old to ZooLights – an amazing spectacle of nearly 1.25 million lights hung throughout the Oregon Zoo. Thankfully, it was greener than ever this year because nearly 2/3 of the festival’s bulbs have been replaced with energy-efficient LEDs. Patrons were even enticed to make the switch by getting free fudge in exchange for their old power-sucking holiday lights. Sweet! Read More