ALLIANCE FOR RESPONSE NEWS BRIEF

Congratulations to the Vermont Historical Society and other members of the Vermont Alliance for Response Steering Committee on a successful Forum August 31. Read about the highlights of the meeting and learn how a real emergency underscored the lessons of the Forum at http://www.heritagepreservation.org/AfR/Vermont/08-31-09.html.

More than 80 participants are expected for the Denver Alliance for Response Forum on Friday, October 25 at the Denver Public Library. Emergency managers, first responders, and security professionals represent more than 30 percent of the audience. The final agenda is posted at http://www.heritagepreservation.org/AfR/Denver/goals.html.

Two more Alliance for Response Forums are scheduled for the remainder of the year. The Triangle Alliance for Response Forum will take place at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh on October 23. The steering committee has assembled an impressive list of speakers. Linda Carlisle, the NC Secretary of Cultural Resources, will give the keynote address.

The Jepson Center for the Arts will host the Savannah Alliance for Response Forum on December 8, 2009. The program is structured to foster dialogue about the risk to Savannah�s historic treasures and the strategies needed to protect them. Information on both the Raleigh and Savannah programs will be posted at http://www.heritagepreservation.org/AfR/.

The many virtues of preparedness were demonstrated in combating a recent fire at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA: http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=32777. Several staff members are alumni of the 2003 Boston Alliance for Response Forum.

We�ll bring you up to date on local activities in Pittsburgh and other Alliance for Response cities in our next news brief.

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The Heritage Emergency National Task Force s a partnership of 40 government agencies and national service organizations formed in 1995. An initiative of Heritage Preservation and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Task Force has helped to protect cultural heritage from the damaging effects of natural disasters and other emergencies. Find valuable disaster resources at the Task Force Web site, www.heritageemergency.org

Heritage Preservation is a national non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of the United States. By identifying risks, developing innovative programs, and providing broad public access to expert advice, Heritage Preservation assists museums, libraries, archives, historic preservation and other organizations, as well as individuals, in caring for our endangered heritage.