Back To Business Workshop To Assist Businesses In New Orleans Area
Release Date: October 4, 2005
Release Number: 1603-062
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BATON ROUGE, La. -- Businesses in the City of New Orleans and in surrounding parishes trying to recover after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita will receive a big boost from federal, state, parish and local governments, as well as private industry, during a one-day workshop to be held in New Orleans on Thursday. The event, Back to Business, will begin at 8 a.m. on October 6, at the Sheraton, at 500 Canal Street , New Orleans . The purpose of the workshop is to provide businesses with the information they need to get back in business again and to offer them insight on prospective contracting opportunities. Admission to the workshop is free. More than 1,000 people are expected to attend.
Vice Admiral Thad Allen, principal federal official and federal coordinating officer for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita recovery efforts, will welcome attendees. Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco and Mayor C. Ray Nagin of New Orleans are scheduled to briefly discuss their vision of recovery for the region.
Introductions will be followed by a panel with officials from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), who will discuss how low-interest disaster loans can help businesses get back on their feet and resume operations. Representatives from the state and city offices of economic development will discuss how they can assist business owners as well. Other panels will include topics ranging from permitting and inspections to legal issues and utility hookups. In afternoon sessions, major contractors will be on hand to discuss subcontracting needs, and federal, state and local officials will detail government contracting opportunities.
Workshop presenters include:
- Pat English, U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- Al Judd, director, Field Operations Center-West, U.S. Small Business Administration
- Kevin Boshears, director, U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
- Eugene Cornelius, SBA district director, State of Louisiana
- Mike Olivier, secretary of economic development, State of Louisiana
- Don Hutchinson, director of economic development, City of New Orleans
- Mike Centineo, director of safety and permits, City of New Orleans
- Stephen Gogreve, manager of inspections division, Office of the State Fire Marshall
- Jo McLean, sanitarian regional director, Region 1, State Office of Public Health
- John Smith, secretary of labor, State of Louisiana
- Robert Wooley, insurance commissioner, State of Louisiana
- Parish presidents
- Program experts from federal, state and local agencies
- Randy Helmick, director of response and recovery, Entergy
- Other representatives from private industry
FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
SBA is the federal government's primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and private non-profit organizations fund repairs or rebuilding efforts, and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover uninsured and uncompensated losses and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations.
Last Modified: Wednesday, 05-Oct-2005 07:41:57