The recent severe weather events in the Midwest and South come on the heels of a year in which more people were killed by tornadoes than in the previous eight years combined, according to National Weather Service statistics. Many of the 550 deaths last year were tied to a devastating storm that ripped through Joplin, Missouri, on May 22, 2011.
The retail industry was not spared the impact of the Joplin tornado. But in the face of such unspeakable tragedy, retailers demonstrated incredible resilience and learned some valuable lessons along the way. We thought it would be a good idea to share those lessons learned with the retail industry to spare retailers from having to learn them the hard way. What better venue than at RILA’s Loss Prevention, Audit & Safety Conference?
On Tuesday, April 24, Chris Canoles, senior director of loss prevention at The Home Depot, will lead a general session “When Disaster Strikes: The Joplin, Missouri Story.” Chris will highlight what worked, what didn’t work and some of the changes The Home Depot made to its disaster preparedness and response plans based on the lessons learned from Joplin.
As the retail industry knows all too well, severe weather events can occur unexpectedly with little to no warning. This general session will provide conference attendees an unprecedented inside look into the response of one retailer and the opportunity to enhance their own preparedness. If you are attending LPAS 2012, you won’t want to miss this session!
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