SMOOTHING THINGS OVER: IDCE drewon not only New Orleans’ experience handling natural disasters but also the Big Easy’s unique culture and charm.

ter was a perfect fit for New Orleans.” The IDCE partnership would become the first of its kind in

the United States. “The convention center didn’t want to just go out and build a show that could be just anywhere,” Hemphill said. “There’s relevance of the subject matter toNew

IDCE2012 Breakdown

What: 2012 International Disaster Conference & Expo Where: Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans When: Jan. 17–19 Who: 1,687 emergency-management professionals from 27 countries Why: According to IDCE’s website, “IDCE brings together emergency management, homeland security, and disaster industry professionals from the public and private sectors around the world to share lessons learned and forward think- ing regarding the policies, procedures, and best practices shaping disaster preparation, response and recovery, loss mitigation, business continuity, and more.”

Importance: IDCE is the first U.S. trade show to be owned and managed by a partnership that includes the hosting con- vention center. Speakers of note: Former U.S. Homeland Security Secre- tary Tom Ridge; FEMA AdministratorW. Craig Fugate; LT. Gen- eral Russel L. Honoré, U.S. Army (Ret.);Walt Ehmer, president ofWaffle House; and Willy Steenbakkers, The Netherlands Ministry of Security and Justice Exhibitors: 169 companies

Orleans, to Louisiana, so it makes sense.” Although the details of the partnership are proprietary, both

sides maintain that by combining forces to produce the con- ference, the result is greater than the sum of its parts. “The dif- ference between our model and the European model is that

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