Next Meeting:

 WITI and ACP Southeast Florida

WITI South Florida
Regional Network Event
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
5:45 pm - 8:00 pm



Space is limited; we encourage pre-registration to guarantee admission.
Take me directly to the registration form.
ACP members need to RSVP to RecoveryAdvice@att.net



South Florida Business Continuity: Communications and Safety Initiatives
Protecting your business assets and supporting the goals of emergency preparedness programs go hand in hand. This month’s WITI program focuses on strategic services for business continuity, including communications and safety initiatives by Time Warner Telecom, American Red Cross, and Department of Health. On June 17th WITI is partnering with ACP – Association of Contingency Planners, whose organization is comprised of business continuity executives and professionals in the field who set emergency response and recovery trends. Our event sponsor is Time Warner Telecom.

Important for your Business Continuity

The strength of our communication networks are measured by service interruption. In an emergency situation, this is a vital component for survivability to connect people and organizations through protected networks. Our speaker from Time Warner Telecom, Christopher Gaffney, Vice President and General Manager of the Florida region, will talk about next-generation technology and the solutions designed to support and protect the growing infrastructure of the South Florida networks.

The American Red Cross Program, One in a Million – Heroes of American Red Cross is committed to reaching one million people by 2012. To present this program for the American Red Cross will be speaker Hunter Ruffin, Director of Health & Safety Services. Mr. Ruffin will speak about working with businesses to train in First Aid, CPR/AED and Water Safety, as well as steps businesses can take to help employees prepare for emergencies at work and at home.

The Broward County City Readiness Program is partnering with organizations in Broward County to serve as distribution points for emergency vaccines and supplies. Matt Nankin, Assistant Cities Readiness Initiative Coordinator with Broward County Health Department Office of Emergency Operations will speak about the city’s initiative.
About Our Speaker(s):
Hunter Ruffin, Director of Health & Safety Services, serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.

Matt Nankin, Assistant Cities Readiness Initiative Coordinator, Broward County Health Department, Office of Emergency Operations.

Christopher Gaffney, Vice Present and General Manager, Time Warner Telecom Inc.
Event Date and Venue
This event will be held from 5:45 pm - 8:00 pm on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at:
Sheraton Suites Cypress Creek
555 NW 62nd St.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309
(Map)
Schedule:
5:45 – 6:15 Sign in; networking; hors d’ oeuvres will be served; cash bar
6:15 – 6:30 American Red Cross One in a Million Program
6:30 – 6:45 Department of Health City Readiness Initiative
6:45 – 7:00 WITI and ACP introductions
7:00 – 7:30 Time Warner Telecom Protecting South Florida Infrastructure
7:30 – 7:50 Speakers Q & A
7:50 – 8:00 Event closing
About Our Sponsor(s):
Time Warner Telecom Inc., headquartered in Littleton, Colorado, provides managed network services, specializing in Ethernet and transport data networking, Internet access, local and long distance voice, VoIP and security, to enterprise organizations and communication service companies throughout the U.S. As a leading provider of integrated and converged network solutions, Time Warner Telecom delivers customers overall economic value, quality, service, and improved business productivity. These capabilities enable Time Warner Telecom to provide South Florida businesses with the next-generation services that protect their networks and help grown their businesses. For further information, please visit: http://www.twtelecom.com
About Our Partner(s):
http://www.acp-international.com
Pre-Registration:
Pre-Registration fees are as follows:
· Free for WITI members
· $25.00 for non-members
Refund Policy: Please check your calendars carefully, as we will be unable to issue refunds. If you are unable to attend, we encourage you to find a substitute to take your place. If you do wish to substitute, please email Tech Support.
Please plan to pay in advance. We accept checks and credit cards.
Pre-Registration Deadline:
All registrations must be received by Monday, June 16, 2008
For More Information...
· regarding registration or event details, contact Ann Jakits (ajakits@bellsouth.net).
· regarding pre-registration, contact Tech Support.
Register for this event
Become a WITI Member.

 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 14

ACP is excited to announce our next meeting topic "Building Business Continuity Capabilities" During our meeting, attendees will learn how lack of planning can introduce risk to organizations, which could impact facilities, information resources, staff and telecommunications. Verizon Business will discuss the importance of planning for the potential loss of business critical functions and resources. They will identify practical solutions based on Verizon's extensive experience in the field.

This will be an interactive meeting with lots of group discussion.
Topics covered will include:

· Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery History and Scope
· Qualitative & Quantitative Business Impacts
· Best Practices for building Business Continuity Capabilities
· Case Study from the Field

Our speaker will be Howard Peace, Principal Consultant at Verizon Business who is responsible for delivering information security and business continuity consulting services and has 20+ years of business continuity and disaster recovery experience serving employers and consulting clients in a wide variety of industries in the US, Central and S. America and the Middle East. Most recently he developed and managed the Business Continuity Consulting Practice at Avaya, Inc and has been responsible for the establishment of a number of enterprise-wide business continuity functions for major corporations such as Cisco Systems, VeriSign and First Union National Bank. Additionally, Mr. Peace is a Certified Business Continuity Planner and was a member of the ANSI X9.E9 Authentication Standards committee and was the Data Security Officer for the Manufacturers Hanover Trust.

Meeting logistics include:
Location: Signature Grand Davie
Date: Wednesday, May 14th
Time: 5:00 – 7:30 PM

Additional: Appetizers and non-alcoholic drinks will be provided and there will be a cash bar available. There is a $10.00 cost to attend the meeting for non-members and members can attend for free. If you join ACP at the meeting by filling out a membership form and submitting a check then meeting attendance will be at no charge. We welcome new members and any questions about ACP Chapter perks including discounts at industry conferences and access to a variety of industry benefits.

RSVP TO:

Laura Mallet CRP CBCP  RecoveryAdvice@att.net
ACP SE Florida Program and Marketing Director
ACP International Board of Directors, Public Relations Director

ACP 2008:

Past Meetings:

Wednesday, February 13th

 
MEETING TOPIC: 2007 lessons learned
REGISTRATION AND APPETIZERS: 5:00-5:30PM
MODERATED GROUP DISCUSSION ON 2007 LESSONS LEARNED 5:30-7:30PM
MODERATORS INCLUDE
Linda Hoffman, Manager of Systems Control/Disaster Recovery at Baptist Health South Florida  and ACP SE Florida President
Laura Mallet CRP CBCP, Citrix Business Continuity Program Manager; ACP SE Florida Program & Marketing Director, ACP Corporate Public Relations Director

Joe Paul, MBA, FCITSM Global Disaster Recovery Architect

COST: $10.00 Non-members, FREE to ACP members
VENUE:

The Grape Las Olas 706 E. Las Olas Blvd. Fort Lauderdale, Fl 33301 954-467-2433
COMPLIMENTARY FOOD AND DRINK: Iced tea, soda, Pellegrino, French press coffee or tea. For food: some spreads; hummus, gourmet olives, gourmet cheeses, some appetizers; quesadillas, pita pizzas, and antipasto.

Last Meeting:  click here for Pictures from Past Meetings

 August 16, 2007

Location:  Westin Hotel - Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Time:         5:00 - 7:30 pm

Agenda:

• Registration and networking 4:30 to 5:00 ACP Welcome and announcements
• Meeting begins 5:00
• Speaker 1 - Dr. Jim Anderson

                         1 Way In, 1 Way Out:
                      New Technology & New Solutions For
                   Southeast Florida’s Unique BC Challenges


                  Speaker: Dr. Jim Anderson, Verizon Business
                        Date: Thursday, August 16, 2007
                             Time: 5:00pm – 7:30pm
   

     Abstract:
     Southeast Florida is one of the most beautiful places in the world to
     live and work. However, that beauty comes with strings attached that
     every contingency planner is all too well aware of. Hurricane Andrew
     struck 15 years ago and yet it still drives much of the business
     contingency plans that businesses are relying on. The world has
     changed a great deal since then and the types of threats that
     Southeast Florida organizations face have changed and grown. This
     presentation will provide you with the information on the new tools,
     new technologies and new approaches to designing business continuity
     solutions that have become available in the past few years. From the
     threat of Bird Flu to something going terribly wrong at Turkey Point,
     those scenarios that most affect Southeast Florida will be covered.
     Verizon Business and Strohl Systems will make sure that you’ll leave
     this event completely up-to-date on what new solutions are now
     available to you and filled with practical ideas for how you can get
     the internal support that you need to BE PREPARED!

     Speaker:
     When it comes to preparing for the worst, Dr. Anderson knows what he
     is talking about. He has over 20-years of first hand experience
     working for some of today’s largest companies solving real-world
     problems. Being a born over-achiever, he got off to a good start by
     completing his undergraduate college education in Computer Science in
     3 years. He went on to earn a Master’s and Ph.D. in Computer Science
     as well as an MBA. He has worked in engineering, program management,
     marketing, sales, and Sr. Management Positions. His experience has
     spanned many different industries including defense,
     telecommunications, retail, not for profits, cable, IT, consulting,
     and academia. Just to be a show-off, he has co-authored books and
     written numerous magazine articles and technical papers.


     Much of Dr. Anderson ’s career has been spent working in the middle
     of chaos. He has worked for many different large multi-national
     companies including Boeing, Siemens, Alcatel, and Verizon as well as
     multiple startups. Dr. Anderson confesses that he was on the front
     line of the Dot Com adventure; however, he disavows any
     responsibility for how that whole thing turned out.


     Most recently Dr. Anderson has been working with Verizon to resolve
     business contingency issues associated with their $20B project to
     build a brand new telephone network. In his spare time, he is the
     Chairman of a branch of the IEEE, a $270M/year not-for-profit
     professional organization and an avid member of Toastmasters.
 

Last Meeting:  

May 17, 2007

Location:  Westin Hotel - Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Time:         4:30 - 8:00

Agenda:

• Registration and networking
• Meeting begins 5:15/5:30 ACP Welcome and announcements
• Speaker 1 - Merrily Powell
• Mid-meeting break Coffee/Chocolate Fondue
• Speaker 2 - Franklin Fletcher
• Speaker 3 - Reginald Browne

Speakers: 

Merrily Powell - NC4 - Speaker 1

Merrily has been the Account Manager for NC4 since almost its inception in 2002, working with public and private sectors in the areas of Corporate Security, Business Continuity, Emergency Management.. She has experience working with public sector EMAs at the local, county, state and federal levels during her 5 years with another Incident Management software company in the late 90s.  Owned her own small software company providing business application software to companies in a variety of businesses categories. Merrilly has a  personal focus and belief in customer support and states”  No matter how good an application is, you need to be in touch with your customers.”
 

Franklin Fletcher, Senior IT Specialist IT Security for Broward County - Speaker 2

Topic:  Critical components of a DR / BCP plan and some of the pitfalls to avoid in the planning process.

Franklin Fletcher is a Senior IT Specialist IT Security for Broward County. He is responsible for insuring that the County’s data meets the confidentiality, integrity and availability triad. Franklin is the primary contact for the coordination of the County’s disaster recovery program to insure that the County is able to provide essential services to it citizens in the event of a disaster. He also works as a liaison to the EOC and the County’s agencies to validate that individual COOP plans are reviewed and current. Franklin has held various IT management positions at the South Florida Water Management District, Vivendi Universal, and Chase Manhattan Bank.  

Franklin has an MBA for the NY Institute of Technology and a BA from the City College of New York. Franklin is a Certified Business Continuity Planner (CBCP), Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP). 

Reginald L. Browne, Professional Standards & Special Investigative Unit, Broward County Schools - Speaker 3

Topic: School Security the new norm: Prevention, Response, Recovery  

Reginald has been working with the Broward County Public schools for approximately 10 years and has been working with youth & law enforcement for over 15 years He has been with the SBBC Special Investigative Unit for 8 yrs and has work experience in:  Drug prevention & psycho-social assessments, youth sexual offenders field, gang, emergency management, NIMS, terrorism, CPTED, and is a former teacher. 

Currently Reginald is the task assigned; Visitor management, STAR project manager, Emergency Response & Crisis Management grant manager and for the past 4 yrs Project designer for new school online safety plan. He is the coordinator for all School SAFE team emergency management training.

 

Past Meeting:  

March 15, 2007

Location:  Westin Hotel - Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Time:          7:30 -  10:00

Agenda:

• 7:30 – 8:00 Registration (Coffee and juices will be available at this time)
• 8:00 Breakfast and networking  (Full buffet style breakfast will be offered – Lots of choices!!)
• Meeting begins  8:30 ACP Welcome and announcements
• Nuance will be presenting:  9:00-10:00   

SpeechAttendant™

Nuance SpeechAttendant, the industry’s most natural and accurate speechenable auto attendant, allows callers to speak the name of a person, department, service, or location and be automatically transferred to the requested party—without the hassle of searching for phone numbers or waiting to speak to an operator. SpeechAttendant provides reliable call routing and information retrieval—24 x 7—for organizations with up to 25,000 directory listings. Combining powerful speech recognition with a simple-to-use conversational interface, SpeechAttendant routes callers through voice-driven menu options and provides speech-driven access to frequently requested information, such as operator hours, mailing address, and driving directions.  The end results are reduced costs, increased productivity, and enhanced caller satisfaction. 

Business Continuity Plan

The very latest in voice-driven high-speed notification technology for today's critical communications needs.  Now, corporate, industrial and government operations  can quickly access and activate automated "call trees"  – by voice - for immediate notification of key management, response teams, employees and countless others before, during and after a crisis.  Using speech to automate the process eliminates the need for remembering scenario numbers, extensions or group codes. Callers can send a notification with their voice simply by speaking who they want the message to go to-an individual's name, scenario or group, or a combination of these.

Speaker: Nuance Communications Ltd.

Robbie Austin has been in the Information Technology sector for over twelve (12) years employed by IBM, Nortel and Ronco Communications. He is a Regional Sales Manager for Nuance Communications, Inc. supporting the Southeast, which encompasses VA, WV, KY, NC, SC, TN, MS, AL, GA and FL.  Robbie has worked with a variety of public sector and enterprise accounts,