Kite Key Electrifying Coverage of the 2006 National Flood Conference Hear ye! Hear ye! Monday’s Docket! Breakfast & Exhibit Hall Open 7:00–8:30 a.m. Opening General Session & Awards Ceremony 8:30–10:00 a.m. Workshops 1-6 10:30–11:45 a.m. Lunch on Your Own & Exhibit Hall Open 11:45 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Workshops 7-11 & 12-15 1:30–2:45 & 3:15–4:30 p.m. Exhibit Hall Open 4:30–5:30 p.m. Welcome to the 23rd Annual National Flood Conference For the next 3 days, we will explore together the status of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), where it is going, and how we can better support each other in mitigating flood disasters throughout the United States and its territories. Whether this is your first National Flood Conference, or you are a returning conferee, you can look forward to numerous opportunities for learning about flood mitigation and protection issues. In the General Sessions and Town Halls, we will discuss the latest NFIP changes—such as the revisions to the NFIP Elevation Certificate and the impli-cations of those revisions, the FloodSmart advertising campaign’s newest products and strategies, and the development of new materials and techniques as a result of recent legislation and the devastating 2005 hurricane season. In response to your requests, we have also restructured the conference program to allow participants greater flexibility in making workshop selections and to create more time for networking between workshops. Those of you attending this year’s conference represent a variety of backgrounds and specialties. There is much that we can learn from each other. I urge each of you to introduce yourself to people around you at mealtimes, in the workshops and other sessions, and in the Exhibit Hall. This conference is a rare opportunity to share our insights about NFIP issues with each other and to find ways that we can make this program even more successful. Visit the Exhibit Hall and talk with exhibitors whose products and services may be new to you. Don’t hesitate to ask questions and brainstorm solutions with everyone you meet. Let us know what has been effective and what could change for the better in the work you do to help your communities prepare for and respond to flood disasters. The success of the NFIP rests on each of us. The people and information you need to more productively interact with the NFIP are here in Philadelphia. I wish you a rewarding conference. Sincerely, David I. Maurstad Director Mitigation Division First-Timers Get a Head Start About 30 people new to the National Flood Conference got a head start on conference activities by participating in Sunday’s First-Time Attendee Orientation. The hour-long, afternoon orientation provided first-time attendees with a brief overview of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and tips for making the most of the educational and networking opportunities available at the conference. The presenter was Edie Lohmann, Regional Offices Manager for the NFIP Bureau and Statistical Agent. Picked Your Workshops Yet? All conference workshops are open this year, and con-ferees may attend whichever they chose. However, because the workshops you are most interested in attending may appeal to many others, we urge you to arrive early. Make Your Vote Count When you visit the Exhibit Hall today and tomorrow, be sure to stop at the booth of the Public Awareness Materials Contest and vote for your favorites among this year’s entries. Write Your Own companies, insurance agencies, and other NFIP stakeholders have submitted their best creative materials aimed at helping consumers and others understand the risk of floods—and the need for flood insurance. Entries are grouped in four categories: Printed Marketing Material; Advertising Material; Training Material; Website. Winning entries in each category will be announced at the conference’s Closing Breakfast on Wednesday morning. Runners, to Your Marks! There’s still time to register for Tuesday morning’s 10th annual 5K Run & 1-Mile Fun Walk. Sponsored by the National Lenders Insurance Council (NLIC), and officially dubbed the NLIC Flood Run, the event starts at 7:00 a.m. Each participant will receive a race T-shirt. The entry fee is $20, payable at the NLIC table near the conference registration desk. Proceeds will be donated to the Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services Program of the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Don’t Miss Tuesday’s Town Halls Five concurrent, 2-hour Town Hall Meetings will be held at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow in the Freedom and Philadelphia Ballrooms. Each led by a panel of flood insurance and mitigation experts, the Town Halls (Workshops 16-20) will cover: • Floodplain Management and Mapping • Marketing and Risk Communication • Lender Concerns • Underwriting • Claims These designations are meant to indicate the focus of each Town Hall, not to limit attendance to any particular group of NFIP stakeholders. The Town Halls combine panel discussions with plenty of time for questions and answers. Pilot Reception Packs ‘em In Several hundred early arrivals for this year’s National Flood Conference overcame “travel travail”—and enjoyed good fellow-ship and great food—at Sunday evening’s annual Opening Reception and buffet sponsored by Pilot Catas-trophe Services, Inc., of Mobile, AL. The family of Pilot company founder, the late Walter D. Pilot, Sr., has spon-sored the reception for more than 20 years. (insert photos) (Left to right, above) Daphne Pilot Fondé, Grace Pilot, and Rodney Pilot (Left to right, below) As in years past, the stars of evening were the Pilot family’s jumbo Gulf shrimp, here enjoyed by Mark Schnellingel of Texas and Jody Dunnigan of Nebraska. SECURITY REMINDER For your personal safety, do not leave the hotel wearing your conference badge. Do you really want to identify yourself, on the street, as someone from out of town?