What every business in Florida should know ...

I'll go out on a limb here and say that Florida is to hurricanes what Kansas is to tornados.  We're like hurricane alley down here and as such should have the best preparation, response and recovery for these massive storms.

At this morning's Realtor Business Hour with the Manatee Association of Realtors, we got a firsthand look at Manatee County's Public Safety Center.  Wow was it impressive - both the facility and the dedication, professionalism, knowledge and friendliness of the people working there.

We could go on and on (and on and on) about the how amazing this place was but you just have to take a tour yourself.  It's amazing to see one of the premiere facilities in the state and learn how it works.  Here's a taste from the Bradenton Times:


Media Day at the Brand-New Manatee County Public Safety Center from The Bradenton Times on Vimeo.

As a follow up to the tour, we will be working on our "Continuation of Operations Plan" for the 2011 Hurricane Season.  Our tour guide told us that 40% of businesses that close due to disasters end up closing for good - we don't want that!  So, we are using the resources from the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council and the Florida Business Disaster Kit to get our plan in place.