LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) – On Tuesday, during the Joint Business Contracting Workshop in Lafayette business owners learned how to go about working towards securing a contract for themselves. It can be a challenge to keep business coming in when a disaster strikes.

A contract with local and state government to use your services is one way to survive. “The federal and state government are limited in what they can provide; so naturally we contract for those things we can’t get,” says Waskom.

James Waskom, was appointed by Governor Edwards as the Director of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.

The workshop was held at the Louisiana Business Emergency Operations Center at Abdalla Hall on Cajundome Boulevard. Waskom explains the center serves as the backup to the state’s center in Baton Rouge. “One of the purposes of the Business EOC is to reach out to these businesses and get them registered, then they have a repository of businesses of different types of businesses that they can reach-out to in case we need something,” adds Waskom.

A representative of Servpro of Lafayette – a water and fire restoration company – listened closely. “What do I have sitting in the warehouse that could be a benefit to businesses or in the recovery process?  Things that we don’t think about,” notes Servpro Account Executive Priscilla Clemens Cazayoux.

A disaster can be something other than a hurricane where necessities could range from cardboard boxes to bulk cleaning supplies. Tim Cole is the Private Sector Liaison for FEMA Region 6. “We also fires and lighting. There are some man-made events. We are seeing this recent terrorism incident,” adds Cole.

Cole explains that the Louisiana Business Emergency Operations Center is considered the leading pioneer in businesses and government working together. Cole says a business has to be prepared on the front end. “To withstand whatever happens and that they have a plan in place to get there employees back. That gets the tax base back up,” says Cole.