A message from Trace’s founders on re-launching Disaster Forum in 2023.

We (Trace Associates Inc. [Trace]) are proud to be hosting the re-launch of Disaster Forum – A premier conference for disaster and crisis management, emergency management, and business continuity practitioners.

Disaster Forum was first hosted in 1998 by a volunteer group in which Paul Riopel and his team at Emergency Response Management Consulting (ERMC) were involved. Paul and ERMC took over running the conference from 2005 to 2018. Trace is honoured to be working with Paul to bring back this event and continue his vision of it as the preferred and most valuable annual event for the emergency management community.

We first met Paul in 2012 when we engaged ERMC to help us create our own Emergency Response Plan for Trace. Over the years, Paul and his team have been instrumental in helping us learn and prepare for emergencies in our business. As Paul was getting closer to retirement, he suggested that Trace diversify its service offerings into emergency management and business continuity consulting. We hired experts in this field and, in collaboration with Paul, began offering these services in 2019.

We decided to bring back Disaster Forum because we noticed a gap – there are few opportunities for disaster recovery, emergency management, and business continuity professionals to come together and learn from each other and build relationships. We heard from our team and our clients that they are missing an opportunity to find support, share ideas, create opportunities, and collaborate. Our own Health & Safety practice lead, Peter May, said recently that “The time to make connections with our peers and share critical knowledge is at an event like Disaster Forum, rather than in the midst of a disaster or emergency,” which is so true.

In recent years, we’ve noticed additional pressure on governments and industry to respond and adapt to emergencies and disasters. We all work hard to be prepared and reduce risks to our employees, our communities, and our businesses, but disruptive events such as natural disasters, industrial emergencies, and cyber attacks happen despite our best preventative efforts. Our goal is to help our communities and industries by bringing back a space for professionals to come together and we see being the host of Disaster Forum as a natural fit for us in achieving this goal. We love connecting people, building long‑lasting relationships, and lifelong learning.

We hope you can join us in Banff, Alberta on October 25 and 26 to learn from leaders in the areas of emergency preparedness and response, effective communication, managing mental health, crisis leadership, and more. Come and be a part of strengthening this community again! https://disasterforum.ca/

Darrell Haight, President and CEO

Rhonda Smith, Chief Operating Officer