When a crisis hits, the middle of the emergency is no time to start figuring out what to do. The San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce and Hays County Office of Emergency Services will host a Crisis Management Planning Workshop & Lunch on Thursday, October 8, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hays County Elections Office, 120 Stagecoach Trail in San Marcos. The workshop is designed to help businesses and organizations prepare before an emergency occurs and strengthen their ability to respond and recover when it does.
The workshop will be led by Diane Probst, author of When the Storm Comes and longtime former President & CEO of the Rockport-Fulton Chamber of Commerce. Probst brings a perspective few business leaders can offer: she helped lead her community and its business sector through the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall near Rockport in 2017. Her experience provides real-world lessons about what organizations need to have in place before disaster strikes and what it takes for businesses and communities to recover.
This will be a hands-on working session, not simply a presentation. Attendees will be guided through the process of developing a crisis management plan for their own organization and will leave with a completed plan they can have ready, if needed, to put into action. Topics will focus on protecting people and operations, communications, emergency response, business continuity and recovery.
Another featured speaker is Michael Rojas, Director of BeforeDuringAfter, a statewide initiative that helps Texas small businesses prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters. Rojas has supported more than 18 federally declared disaster responses during his career, including hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and other large-scale emergencies. He will introduce attendees to the free tools and preparedness resources available through BeforeDuringAfter.com.
“Small businesses are especially vulnerable when an unexpected event disrupts operations,” said Page Michel, President of the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce. “Having an up-to-date plan in place is essential to responding and recovering. We want every participant to walk away from this workshop better prepared to protect their business and employees.”
A Bronze Sponsor for the workshop is tekRESCUE Technology Consulting, and additional sponsorship opportunities are still available. Registration starts at $40 per person and includes the workshop, lunch, and a virtual follow-up session on November 4 to ensure plan completion.
Businesses and organizations of all sizes are encouraged to attend. Advance registration is required. For further information, contact the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce at 512-393-5900 or chamber@sanmarcostexas.com.
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