Crisis derails disaster
response conference

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By Russ Lynch
rlynch@starbulletin.com

Professionals trained to handle emergencies and disasters were all set to show their abilities at a conference this month at the Hawaii Convention Center.

Emergency and disaster got in the way, so the program has been postponed.

The "R.U. Ready? Disaster Response Fair," originally scheduled for Sept. 29 and 30, was to have been part of the Governor's Conference on Volunteerism Sept. 28 through Oct. 2.

Organizers said the Coast Guard, the National Guard, the Salvation Army and state and county civil defense personnel were to have played a major part in the fair. The conference also was to include safety equipment and services exhibitors and a lot of "hands-on" activities to show people what to do in emergencies.

A main participant was to have been Debbie Hampton, a key Red Cross volunteer in the response to the April 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

The overall volunteerism conference and the disaster fair have been postponed and are tentatively rescheduled for late February, the organizers said.

For now, those who have expertise in handling disasters don't have time for such events.