FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK
Yes, They
1862 Old Lemay Ferry, Arnold, MO 63010
(636) 282-5800; Fax: (636) 282-5802
Internet: www.drj.com
E-mail: drj@drj.com
Still Need Us!
By RICHARD L. ARNOLD, CBCP
Lately there has been some discus- sion among people outside of our industry about priorities and where disasterrecovery (DR) and business
continuity ( BC) fall in this faltering economy.
In fact, some have proposed to back-burner
BC activities. Are they right? Probably not!
With the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11,
2001, disaster, it is time to take stock of what
has happened in business continuity since
that day. The industry had to change the way
we think, the way we plan and the way we
prepare, and we did.
If we only look at the events of 2010, only
six months in, we have suffered one catastrophic flood, the great Nashville flood and
we are in the midst of the worst oil spill in the
history of our country. Granted, one of these
events could not be predicted or controlled.
Mother Nature has a will of her own. But,
questions remain about the oil spill.
So things are fairly normal in our world.
We still have unexpected events like earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes and power
outages that people like us prepare for on a
daily basis. DR and BC professionals have
continuously preached the gospel of planning
for the unexpected and react with a plan. Yes,
they still need us!
A major part of our job is selling, or at
least convincing people with a wide variety
of priorities, that DR and BC must be an integral part of any organization.
Planning for a damaging event requires
information about like events of the past, or
at the very least, information about events
with similar consequences. As we all know,
history repeats itself.
If an organization doesn’t prepare, they
may be doomed to a protracted process costing a fortune and maybe the company’s survival. Some people say times have changed.
And yet, they haven’t. By the way, they are
predicting seven major hurricanes this year.
One can image what a Category 2 or 3 hurricane would do with the oil slick in the gulf. It
would be a catastrophe of major proportions.
Yes, they still need us!
EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER
Richard L. Arnold, CBCP
richard@drj.com
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Jon Seals
jon@drj.com
SENIOR EDITOR
Janette Ballman
janette@drj.com
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Pamela Clifton
COPY EDITORS
Jay Bender, CBCP (Retired)
James Hammill, CBCP
ADVERTISING / INTERNET
Robert Arnold
bob@drj.com
CIRCULATION
Laura Baugh
laurab@drj.com
In our effort to continually gain corporate
support for our profession, for the first time
we are including in this issue of DRJ the
Executive Guide to Business Continuity.
This special report summarizes why every
executive should concern themselves with
business continuity and justifies that concern.
It illustrates why BC should be incorporated
into the subculture of every organization.
In an earlier publication I mentioned retiring
from active participation in the management of
DRJ. Bob Arnold has the reins but I will periodically write an article in the magazine that I
believe may be of interest to our readers.
DRJ Fall 2010 in San Diego is rapidly approaching. Our conference theme is
“Conquering The Tough Challenges.” Let us
help you with those challenges by joining
us in September for the No. 1 conference in
the industry. If you would like a brochure,
visit our Web site at www.drj.com. Register
early because we already have more than 439
people registered. See you in San Diego!
Oil-covered pelicans in the Gulf of Mexico are
netted and transported to a cleaning facility.
CEO
Richard L. Arnold, CBCP
richard@drj.com
PRESIDENT
Robert Arnold
bob@drj.com
CONFERENCE DIRECTOR
Patti Fitzgerald, CBCP
patti@drj.com
CONFERENCE REGISTRAR
Mercedes Knese
mercedes@drj.com
WEB EDITOR
Mike McClain
mike@drj.com
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
Pat Corcoran, IBM
Michael Croy, Forsythe
Jeff Dato, MBCP, Pinnacle Airlines
Edward S. Devlin, CBCP, E.S. Devlin & Assoc.
James Hammill, CBCP, JMH Consulting Inc.
John Jackson, Fusion Risk Management
Jerry Montella, Mail-Gard
Randy Till, CBCP, Till Continuity Group
Belinda Wilson, CBCP, IBM
William Worsley, CBCP
INTERNATIONAL CONTACTS
England: Thom Hetherington
Business Continuity
Phone: 0161-237-1007
thomh@tempus.demon.co.uk
Japan: Shinji Hosotsubo
Crisis Management and Preparedness Organization
Phone: 03-3519-6270
hosotsubo@cmpo.org
Republic of Korea (South): Chae Ok Han
Disaster Focus, sponsored by Korea BCP Association
Phone: +82-2-735-0963
admin@disasterfocus.com
Spirit of St. Louis Airport in the great flood of 1993.
EXECU TIVE PUBLISHER
richard@drj.com
