Leo Grover pictured with New Orleans Mayor, Ray Nagen, following hurricane Katrina.
Scott Ennis, of Law Offices of Scott Ennis.
Kindred spirits: Frances Hewitt, of Tucknott Electric Company, and Shannon Enea, of RMC.
JoAnn Dean, above left, made her return with Phoenix Restoration, with Barbara Hall, of Marine Claims Services, Inc.
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Disaster lurks in the Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Central Valley areas of Northern California. With a levee system in precarious repair, flooding of the region could become widespread with little or no warning.
“Where is our region’s comprehensive plan,” asked MVCA’s October guest speaker Leo Grover, of Pinnacle Emergency Management. “A half million people would be affected by levee breaks,” he stated.
A well-seasoned veteran of dealing with natural disasters, having been cast into the Katrina recovery effort shortly after opening for business, Grover is working with the Army Corp of Engineers on a “what if” scenario for Northern California.
“We are fortuate,” he said, “to have so many qualified professionals in the property restoration industry in our local area. There should be no reason for us to need outside companies to come save us when disaster strikes.” However, preparatioins are needed.
“I want a really good plan in place,” he stated. “I know I’m just a fly, but this industry has a big voice,” he continued humbly.
“Nobody talks about when the levees break,” Grover said, with a clear air of frustration in his voice. “Where is that funding?” He therefore has taken it upon himself to do all he can to build awareness of the potential for real disaster, “so that our industry will be able to respond.”
MVCA President, John Tucker, inquired as to how various public agencies have received his discussion and concerns. Mr. Grover stated that “they didn’t even have awareness of the restoration companies in the area.”
When asked whether there was a board or agency looking at this, Leo replied that they were just being formed, and that there is funding happening to get a business response plan put in place. In fact, Leo Grover is now in the inner-workings of those efforts.
“The government is looking to the insurance industry to take care of a lot,” he stated. So, one may expect that regional restoration companies would get the call when/if the time comes. Having a strong and organized plan in place ahead of time will no doubt serve to ease at least some of the hardship such events bring.
Thanks to all our October Meeting Door Prize Contributors |
