Lexington Young Professionals Host Free Public Disaster Symposium

Lexington Young Professionals hosted a free public disaster symposium on June 14, 2013 at the Greater Lexington Chamber of Commerce building. Adjutant General Robert Livingston gave the keynote address, offering his experience and knowledge working with the South Carolina National Guard to keep the state safe from natural and manmade emergencies. The General’s tagline for his 2013 educational workshops and presentations has been “Disaster relief begins at home and in the local community. Be Prepared!”

With Hurricane Season beginning on June 1 and Tropical Storm Andrea passing through the Carolinas, it was a vital time for the community to receive planning tips and guidelines by emergency response experts.  The experts prepared residents for disaster by emphasizing safety tips to utilize before, during and after small or catastrophic events.

The event began with opening remarks by Town of Lexington Mayor Randy Halfacre and Town of Lexington Chief of Police Terrence Green. Lee Pitcovich, Founder and former President of Lexington Young Professionals, emceed the event.

Following the keynote address, speaker Derrec Becker, from Emergency Division Management, focused on hurricane safety and evacuation, and reiterated precautions and procedures to utilize during every type of local event.

Dave Seawell, of American Red Cross, provided insight on shelter information and protocol and surviving emergencies with children and pets.

The event concluded with a business emergency preparedness presentation by Tia Williams of SERVPRO of Lexington. With a daunting 60% closure rate for businesses affected by emergencies, The SERVPRO Emergency Ready Plan (ERP) app offers business and property owners a free step by step tutorial and planning system for emergency preparedness. The ERP is available at servpro.com/ready.

About 40 people attended the symposium. Breakfast was sponsored by Chick-fil-a and Flight Deck. Other sponsors included The Greater Lexington Chamber of Commerce, Livingston Insurance and Event Management, LLC.  Plans for a follow up Emergency Preparedness workshop are in the works.

About the Lexington Young Professionals: The Lexington Young Professionals (LYP) is a nonprofit organization of upcoming leaders in the Lexington community seeking to become a positive and progressive influence in the Lexington, SC community through networking opportunities, social interaction, service and involvement. For more information, please visit lexingtonyoungprofessionals.com or follow us on Twitter @theLYP. 


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