Fall 1996 Articles

Disaster Recovery Journal

Volume 9, Issue 4
Fall 1996

Satisfied Attendees + Full Exhibit Hall = Successful Conference

By Janette Ballman and David-Glen Smith

E xpert speakers, innovative topics and networking opportunities were just some of the benefits enjoyed by attendees at Disaster Recovery Journal’s latest conference.
The conference, The Eighth International Disaster Recovery Symposium and Exhibition, was held September 9 - 11, 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia at the Hyatt Regency.
The seminar featured six general sessions, 10 breakout sessions and nine workshops, including three held on Sunday for the first time. An exhibition, which was open during the first two days of the conference, housed 81 booths.
Some 875 participants (including attendees, exhibitors, DRJ EAB members, DRI members and staff) were on hand to hear the speakers, learn in the workshops and view the latest technology in the exhibit hall.
The Sunday workshops, held from 2:00 - 4:30 p.m., were well received, with almost half of the attendees choosing to attend these optional sessions. Speakers and topics for the session were: Regis Bates, Jr., "What is a LAN?"; Barney Pelant, CDRP, "Obtaining and Maintaining Management Commitment to BRP"; and Cole Emerson, CDRP, and Robert Arnold, "Using the Internet as a DR Resource." Sunday evening kicked off the official opening of the conference with a welcome reception in the exhibit hall. This gave attendees the opportunity to meet the exhibitors, staff members, and to network with others in attendance.
On Monday, the conference began with General Session 1, given by motivational speaker, D.J. Harrington of Phone Logic, Inc. His topic, "Facing the Extreme Challenges," was designed to encourage attendees to stay positive even when faced with seemingly impossible tasks. The second general session, "Life on the Edge," was given by Brent Woodworth of IBM Crisis Response Team. Mr. Woodworth’s discussed how the written plan should be implemented in an actual crisis situation.
Monday afternoon’s sessions were: "How to Define and Develop Disaster Recovery Teams," by Ralph Borzyczkowski, CDRP; "Resumption Planning in Manufacturing," by Gerard Minnich, CDRP; "Global Corp. Data Protection and Recovery," by Nancy Thompson; "The Federal Response Plan Overview," by Ben Venturella; and "Chemical Bank’s Common User Area," by Lawrence Kalmis, FBCI and Arthur Graves, CDRP.
Monday evening, Digital Equipment Corporation hosted a hospitality. Tuesday morning began with General Session 3, Lloyd Smith’s presentation of "Oklahoma City Bombing Impact". Mr. Smith, Business and Government Continuity Services, talked about the lessons learned from previous disasters and how to avoid sabotage and terrorism. The session was followed with GS-4, "Lessons Learned from Previous Disasters," given by John W. Marini of Adjuster’s International. Mr. Marini offered details on several major losses businesses have suffered. These included the World Trade Center and Oklahoma City bombings, hurricanes and more.
On Tuesday afternoon, the conference continued with the remaining six workshops. These were: "Ready, Set ... Exercise," by Steven Goldman; "LAN Recovery for the Advanced Planner," by Regis Bates, Jr.; "Business Impact Analysis," by Barney Pelant, CDRP; "Planning for a Disaster," by Mike Morganti, CDRP, and Tom Campbell, CDRP; "Mitigating Risk Throughout Your Enterprise," by Paul Doyle; and "Intra-Day Recovery: Closing the Recovery Window," by John Lindeman and George Hakun.
Wednesday, the last day of the conference, offered the final two general sessions. Wes Melling of Digital Equipment Corporation presented "Disaster Recovery Into the Next Millennium," in General Session 5. He discussed how to construct multiple computer systems to avoid interruption to businesses.
General Session 6 was "Issues and Answers," a question-and-answer forum which allowed attendees to provide solutions to potential business problems.
This session was led by Ed Devlin, CDRP, of Strohl Systems, and Patti Fitzgerald, CDRP, of SIAC Corporation. The close of the seminar was followed by the Disaster Recovery Institute International’s course offerings. These certification classes continued through Friday, September 13.
Disaster Recovery Journal’s next conference will be March 10-12, 1997, in San Diego, Calif.

Janette Ballman and David-Glen Smith are editors with Disaster Recovery Journal.

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Last Updated--Thursday, Oct 24, 1996.