Convoy of Hope preaches preparedness

One company especially impacted was Hammons Products. The black walnut producer lost several buildings, heavy equipment, vehicles and a significant amount of inventory.

The task of coordinating the company’s financial recovery fell largely on Treasurer Laura Ronald.

“I was in charge of coordinating all of those insurance claims,” Ronald said. “I have one picture that shows a lot of damage, but in that one picture, there were seven different insurance claims.”

Dealing with such a daunting task is never easy, but it’s even more difficult if a company doesn’t have a plan in place. That’s why Ronald is one of several businesspeople presenting information at Convoy of Hope’s Business Preparedness Seminar.

The April 23 event at University Plaza Convention Center is part of Convoy’s HOPE Begins Here series. The three-part program, whose name stands for Helping Others Prepare for Emergencies, was created to improve communication between various first-response groups.

“What we’ve noticed in that process is that many of those caregivers don’t speak the same language,” said Rob Clay, associate director of U.S. Disaster Response for Convoy of Hope. “As we look at preparedness, we realize there is a need to convene the various sectors of a community and talk about the issue of preparedness, response and recovery.”

The four-hour event features 11 seminars, ranging from planning for the unexpected to dealing with a pandemic influenza to rebuilding after a disaster.

Lin Thomason, Great Southern Bank’s vice president of information services, is speaking about financial considerations for businesses. In addition to having financial paperwork at the ready, he said that businesses need to have the right internal safeguards.

“You need to make sure in a disaster that you’re ready to carry on financially,” he said. “Who’s authorized to use your accounts at the bank? Is there someone else that can sign payroll checks in the event that you can’t? Those issues come up all the time even without a disaster, and with a disaster it can be pronounced.”

He said businesses also should ask their financial institutions about what protection and recovery plans it has in place. “Their disaster could quickly become your disaster if they’re not adequately prepared for such an event,” he said.

Great Southern is a sponsor of the business preparedness event, along with Empire Bank, Ollis & Co., Springfield Business Journal and University Plaza Convention Center.

The business preparedness event is the second of the three programs in the series. The first, on March 25, dealt with faith-based preparedness; the third, scheduled for May 3, is a family preparedness festival at Springfield Expo Center.

Convoy’s Clay said preparedness – whether in the church, the office or the home – builds the strength of the whole community.

“We’ve seen a lot of disasters where there has been subsequent economic downturn that has led to the demise of many local businesses that never came back,” Clay said. “We feel like when businesses are prepared for disaster, a community is more resilient, and the more resiliency we can build into each sector of a community, the faster the community will bounce back after an event.”

HOPE Begins Here

Convoy of Hope’s HOPE Begins Here series continues with the Business Preparedness Seminar later this month.

Tickets are still available.

When: 7:30 a.m.–11:30 a.m. April 23

Where: University Plaza Convention Center, 333 John Q. Hammons Parkway

Cost: $25 with advance registration; $30 at the door

Registration or more information: www.hopebeginshere.org or (417) 823-8998[[In-content Ad]]