Upcoming Events: 7/19-7/30 COMMUNITY BASED DISASTER RISK REDUCTION 7/25-7/29 U.S. National & 10th Canadian Conference on Earthquake Engineering 7/26-7/29 Disaster Management and Crisis Response Africa 2010 7/28 (2 days) MDA SBIR Industry Day 8/2 (4 days) International Conference on Cyber Security (ICCS) 8/3 SARMA Board of Directors Meeting 8/3 SARMA Officers & Committees Meeting More

President's Corner

Dear Fellow SARMA Members, I had the good fortune of spending this July 4th in St. Louis, Missouri. Not surprisingly, the grounds of the Gateway Arch are a focal point of the Independence Day celebrations. As I walked past the bollards ringing the site, down into the museum underneath, I passed a bank of dispensers for hand sanitizer. From the observation deck, the flood-swollen Mississippi River was on full display below me. The juxtaposition of so many hazards was inescapable. In the past, we dealt with each of these issues as a discrete problem that could be addressed by the application of targeted resources. Massive flood walls contained the swiftly moving waters of the Mississippi that day. No one appeared sick on my tour, and the bollards preventing unauthorized vehicular access to the site did their job. All well and good, I thought to myself, until resource constraints force you to start making difficult choices. I believe we are nearing that point, and when we truly cross the threshold, the work you do as professional risk management practitioners will become even more important than it already is. In these challenging economic times, it will become vital to ensuring national resilience. In this regard, the work of SARMA in advancing the profession by maintaining the Common Knowledge Base, establishing training and certification programs, and cultivating the next generation of risk management leaders is essential. I am pleased to announce others see it that way, as well. In July, SARMA welcomed two new Bronze-level Corporate Patrons: Integration Innovation Inc.(i3) and ICF International. They join a select group of companies as SARMA's flagship sponsors in 2010. The work of the Association would not be possible without this generosity --I hope you will join me in saying thank you, and also take a moment to consider how you, too, can contribute. My best, Kerry Kerry L. Thomas President

Copyright © 2007-2008 SARMA
All Rights Reserved