Participants Comment on the MET Program

The MET seminar environment is one of those few significant meetings where participants feel comfortable enough to openly discuss the underlying issues and challenge conventional thought. The multi-disciplinary, multi-agency, multi-governmental format promotes insightful questioning which results in a better understanding and ultimately better decisions.

The pandemic influenza METS that were conducted in both FEMA Regions V and VIII for senior government leaders effectively demonstrated the need for joint planning and training between and among states as well as the federal government. The seminars were professionally developed, produced and facilitated and served to strengthen preparedness efforts in pandemic Region C (FEMA Regions V&VIII).

The Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) MET seminar provided Mayor Menino and his leadership team with a great opportunity to discuss some of our most critical homeland security issues. The MET facilitator was professional and engaging, helping to ensure the full participation of our Cabinet members. The panel of experts were well accomplished, added great insight and experience to our discussion, and proved to be a wealth of information for our participants. During the MET seminar, Boston's leadership team was able to identify and discuss some of the key next steps our City must take to help improve our capacity as a community to prevent, respond to, and recover from a disaster.

The seminar has been a great opportunity to open up dialog between our company and the communities we serve. We have had several follow-up requests to sit down and discuss items brought up at the seminar. I intend to show the videos to our senior leadership in order to further emphasize the need for prior collaboration. I cannot emphasize enough how impressed I was with the professional manner in which the event was conducted.

I was so impressed with the program. Excellent organization of program. For once it made us confront possible (but hopefully unlikely risks). It was probably the most interesting and timely seminars I have attended as mayor. I am very grateful for the challenge and information. I hope the one council member who could not be there will be able to attend a future seminar.

Continued education and citizen preparedness can make the difference in saving lives. If we have an effective Government, prepared to respond accordingly to any event, and we provide our people with the right information in terms of prevention, we would then have succeeded at the end of the day in terms of mitigation and response to different emergency scenarios.

As Executive Director of the PR (Puerto Rico) Emergency Management Agency, I am pleased that we could organize activities such like this one, which demonstrated to the citizens that a partnership between federal, state and municipal governments is achievable, and I know that it also contributes in helping citizens assume their role in being adequately prepared for any type of emergency.