The Northwest Missouri Regional Council of Governments and Northwest Missouri State University are teaming up to offer two workshops designed to help local businesses that have been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The first Business Continuity Workshop is being held virtually, via Zoom and is scheduled for Tuesday, March 23, at 5:30 p.m. There is no cost to attend the workshop. Those planning to attend should register online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/business-continuity-workshop-1-tickets-139018601379.

John Carr, Program Coordinator and Instructor for the Emergency and Disaster Management program at Northwest Missouri State University, will facilitate the workshop which will focus broadly on business continuity (efforts taken to ensure your business can still provide services and bring in revenue regardless of it being affected by a hazard event). Topics being discussed will include basic information about emergency planning, threat and hazard identification, risk assessment, planning processes, and other preparedness efforts. Attendees will also be able to request topics and ask questions through a pre-workshop survey.

In addition to teaching courses, Carr serves as Exercise Director for Missouri Hope, the largest full-scale disaster training exercise in the region. The exercise brings together students, faculty, and partner agencies from throughout the country, allowing Northwest students first-hand experience in disaster response operations. Outside of Northwest, Carr serves as the Executive Director for the Consortium for Humanitarian Service and Education, a non-profit focused on promoting full immersion, full behavioral, simulation exercises to college students in the fields of emergency management, nursing, homeland security, and humanitarian relief. Carr also serves his community through his work with the Boy Scouts of America, American Red Cross, and support of emergency management initiatives in Northwest Missouri. Carr has a master’s degree in Emergency Management from North Dakota State University, a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Northwest Missouri State University and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Science from Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama. His research interests include citizen engagement in emergency management processes, Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs), simulation design, and emergency management in higher education.

The March 23 workshop is the first of two Business Continuity Workshops being funded with Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) funds that were awarded to the Northwest Missouri Regional Council of Governments by the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration. The second workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, April 13, at 7:30 a.m.