Hurricane Ian First Responders Honored at "Win the Storm Conference" in Fort Lauderdale

Event opens with military-style parade recognizing storm's front-line heroes

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 13, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Storm Ventures Group (SVG) kicks off the 9th annual "Win The Storm Conference" (WTS) with a parade recognizing Hurricane Ian first responders on Wednesday, March 15 at 9 a.m. at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Broward Convention Center located at 1950 Eisenhower Blvd. Local politicians, dignitaries, community members and the media are invited to the parade and conference. RSVP is required.

Parade participants include emergency services and disaster response; police and fire personnel; electrical grid linesmen; emergency mitigation companies; tree and debris removal companies; demolition; Army Corp of Engineers; Blue Tarp Army; general, roofing and restoration contractors; policyholder advocates; military color guard and marching band; and hurricane and flood victims and families. These Florida heroes will be recognized for their efforts in a "pass in review" style parade led by retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, U.S. Army. The parade will wind through the Expo Floor and end in the Main Conference Room, where presenters and 6,000 seated attendees will commemorate their work. A complimentary VIP luncheon will be held for the first responders and parade participants from 12-2 p.m. in the convention center's Main Conference Hall B.

"Storms and catastrophic events have been increasing exponentially across the globe over the last 20 years. Often, the first responders that help these communities recover don't get enough recognition," says Anthony Delmedico, producer of the Win The Storm Conference and Tradeshow Expo. "In addition to the traditional emergency services personnel, first responders also include thousands of contractors, policyholder advocates, and non-profits who assist property owners in recovery and rebuilding efforts. The insurance claims process is very difficult for property owners to navigate alone, and depending on various governmental agencies, laws, regulations and state statutes that govern carriers, that process can slow or speed the recovery efforts. Our annual conference puts a spotlight on that issue via open debates and discussions, as well as recognizes those who rebuild communities after large storms and catastrophic events like Hurricane Ian."

Held March 15-17, WTS is the leading conference and tradeshow expo for general contracting, restoration, roofing and solar companies to gain advanced education, training, technology, and tactics to help property owners recover after large storms and catastrophic events. Learn more at https://youtu.be/bZju_Mf75MM.

The three-day event includes speakers, presentations, panels with live Q&A, over 100+ industry-specific breakout sessions, evening receptions, awards night, as well as a full tradeshow expo floor full of the industry's leading vendors and suppliers that serve the nation's $100B+ storm and catastrophic restoration industry.

According to reinsurer Swiss Re, Hurricane Ian caused the second-largest insured loss after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and was ranked top five costliest storm. Ian made landfall near Cayo Costa, Fla. on Sept. 28 as a strong Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 150 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Recent data from modeling firm RMS estimates up to $67B in property damage throughout Florida, the Carolinas, Georgia and Virginia, and another $10B in National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) losses. The RMS estimate reflects losses from property damage, contents, and business interruption, across residential, commercial, industrial, automobile, infrastructure, watercraft, and other specialty lines. According to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation's (OIR) most recent data, 683,456 Ian claims have been filed to date, and 76% of claims are closed.

"Ian was a historic and complex event that will reshape the Florida insurance market for years to come. Given the complexity of the event and the multiple drivers of the loss, our ability to deploy multiple RMS field reconnaissance teams to conduct damage assessments throughout Florida, including the heavily affected areas of Fort Myers and Cape Coral along the southwest coast, has been a critical component of our analysis," said Mohsen Rahnama, chief risk modeling officer, RMS.

On Thursday, March 16, keynote speaker Doug Quinn of the American Policyholder Association (APA) will present on the main stage at 3 p.m. on policyholder issues affecting residential and commercial property owners. At 4 p.m., a Policyholder Advocate Panel comprised of industry experts, hurricane victims and property owners will dive in further and openly discuss these issues with an interactive Q&A session with the audience. Politicians, dignitaries and media are invited to attend. RSVP is required.

On Friday, March 17, Melanie Griffin, secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), will participate in a Hurricane Ian Recovery Panel on the main stage at 11 a.m. discussing similar talking points related to rebuilding, high fives and ways to improve hurricane recovery efforts. Politicians, dignitaries and media are invited to attend. Open Q&A session will be held. RSVP is required.

WTS is offering free tickets to Florida veterans and military personnel who would like to attend. One-day passes are available for $250 to local business owners and entrepreneurs, regardless of industry. Tickets range from $500 for General Admission to $2,700 for Elite VIP. Learn more and register at http://www.WinTheStorm.com or call 330-57-STORM for more information.

Committed to reducing the skilled labor shortage and providing alternative paths to lucrative careers, SVG is providing free access to local high school and college students to learn about the construction, restoration, roofing and solar industry. Email [email protected] to RSVP. WTS breakout session topics include courses on entrepreneurship, business development, technology, virtual reality (VR) training, AI, drone photography and video, building teams and company culture. Industry-specific sessions will be held on managing large loss claims, disaster preparedness and recovery, emergency services, estimating, production, software, cybersecurity, and marketing.

"There are many issues across the explosive $100B+ storm and catastrophic event industry and our aim is to provide a venue that addresses all of them. We provide numerous educational sessions, panels and debates with industry experts. We integrate the latest technology. Key touchpoints this year include improving hurricane recovery efforts, creating new programs that can be scaled nationally with local high schools and colleges to beat the skilled labor shortage, and of course, always stopping to recognize our first responders. This industry is on the front lines of disaster recovery and weather events are not going away. We are committed to providing the most advanced training and readiness to contractors throughout the nation and abroad," says Delmedico.

The WTS 2023 Diamond Sponsor is CMR Construction & Roofing, a Florida-based company ranked ninth nationwide by Roofing Contractor magazine's Top 100 list.

About Storm Ventures Group
Storm Ventures Group (SVG) is the premier catastrophic management consulting and joint venture firm. SVG is a global leader in training construction industry professionals how to help property owners recover quickly after catastrophic storm events. The SVG team brings over 25 years of experience in commercial and residential construction, insurance restoration, and best practices in construction management to the rapidly growing insurance restoration industry. SVG products include SVG University (SVG U), a virtual online training platform for general contractors, roofing, construction and restoration professionals. SVG U includes a full course library of hands-on, engaging, industry-specific training videos with courses, chapters, and testing to help contractors scale. SVG U launched the SVG U Virtual Reality (VR) goggles to provide a 360-degree virtual reality training environment. Regardless of weather conditions such as rain or cold, new hires can train 24/7 indoors in a real-life virtual platform with a laser pointer and a set of goggles. The SVG annual "Win The Storm Conference & Trade Show Expo" attracts, trains and mobilizes construction and restoration companies throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia to successfully manage catastrophic storm events, build sales teams, rebuild communities and streamline operations to scale. For more information call 330-57-STORM or visit us online at http://www.StormVenturesGroup.com.

To RSVP for the annual "Win The Storm Conference & Trade Show Expo", visit http://www.WinTheStorm.com.

Media Contact:Elev8 Consulting Group
386-243-5388
[email protected]

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Media Contact

Kaylie McIntosh, Storm Ventures Group, 1 330-577-8676, [email protected]

Alexis Bott, Elev8 Consulting Group, 386-243-5388, [email protected]

SOURCE Storm Ventures Group