Conference 2023

The Valley River Inn recently suffered a fire in a room in a wing of the hotel. Damage seemed to be confined to a few rooms in one area of the wing. Initially we were told our event was still good to go, but now we have been informed that the hotel can't be back in business through April and they had to cancel our booking.

Thus we are canceling our conference scheduled for April 14-16, 2023 and will postpone it until we can book an alternative venue at a time that works well for our attendees.

Please contact the hotel regarding your room reservations if you do not hear from them directly.

Our group will contact all those who have registered for the conference and arrange for refunds of any fees already sent in.

Thank you all for your interest in and enthusiasm for the conference, and especially thank you for your dedication and work preparing our communities to be ready for disasters and other emergencies.

LEADERS' CONFERENCE
DISASTER RESPONSE AND GENERAL AVIATION
GROUPS WORKING TOGETHER TO BETTER
SERVE THOSE IN NEED AND OUR COMMUNITIES

The following Bulletin contains the original schedule and registration information, which will likely remain the same or similar when the conference i rescheduled.

LEADERS' CONFERENCE
DISASTER RESPONSE AND GENERAL AVIATION
GROUPS WORKING TOGETHER TO BETTER SERVE
THOSE IN NEED AND OUR COMMUNITIES

POSTPONED - originally scheduled for Friday Evening April 14 to Noon Sunday April 16, 2023
Valley River Inn, Eugene, Oregon

Greetings! And thank you for your continuing enthusiasm for this important conference. This is our 2nd NOTICE, following the SAVE THE DATE notice sent previously.
In addition to some of the information we sent out before, this bulletin includes:

Please read this carefully and do not delay registering if you are planning on attending. We have limited venue space and hotel block rooms and expect them to fill up rapidly, based on the surveys we have already received.
We are inviting leaders from General Aviation Volunteer Pilot and other charitable aviation groups; Emergency Management and other associated agencies at all levels of government including tribal governments; Aviation and Airport Management groups; and many Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (VOADs), such as food distribution, search and rescue, infrastructure repair, amateur radio, medical support, etc.

We will all enjoy learning from one another how to involve volunteer pilots and their organizations in supporting our communities' aviation transportation needs during emergencies and following disasters.
The objective is to explore how aviation groups such as those participating in the West Coast General Aviation Response Plan can best serve your disaster relief organizations’ needs for fast, additional aviation transportation support through collaboration with the General Aviation community.

The conference is organized to maximize interactions involving leaders acting as presenters, panelists, and attendees rotating through those roles in order to take advantage of everyone's expertise and experiences in robust dialogues, as opposed to providing only a set of presentations by designated speakers.

In addition we are providing plenty of opportunities for all attendees to meet one another and socialize during various events.

As Jim Origliosso of the Oregon DART has noted, "We often accomplish more with a handshake than in endless chains of emails!"

Final details such as featured speakers, changes, etc.,
may be provided in one or more subsequent bulletins.

Arrivals and enjoyment of local attractions and recreational opportunities; Registration and Check In for Hotel and Conference

Discuss schedule and venue details, including scheduled breaks and meals. Distribute printed materials and other resources provided by attending leaders and their groups.

Session 1: Short History of Volunteer Based General Aviation Disaster Relief Responses

Over the years General Aviation pilots and groups have provided vital services during emergencies and following disasters. This session will briefly describe a number of the situations where general aviation has so served.

Session 2: Leader and Panel: Emergency Management Agencies, NIMS and ICS

A prominent leader in the field of Emergency Management and a panel of emergency managers at various levels of government will describe how their organizations respond to, and are responsible for, the official responses during declared emergencies and disasters. They will tell how they work with many organizations, including volunteer groups, to provide aid and relief in stricken communities. The session will include a discussion of the National Incident Management System and the Incident Command System

Session 3: Leader and Panel: Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOADs) and other disaster response support groups.

VOADs are local or state groups of volunteer based support organizations, listed and supported by the National VOAD. They and other volunteer based groups work to provide vital services to Emergency Management agencies and their communities. They may be made up of public, private, nonprofit, faith, and volunteer organizations and agencies who may play a role in all phases of a disaster: preparation, response, recovery and mitigation. Examples include food and supply provision and delivery, preparing communities for potential disasters, organizing volunteers to engage in cleanup or search and rescue, providing essential communications services during outages through amateur radio volunteers, etc. This panel will discuss their work and needs and how aviation resources can help them and how they can support air relief efforts.

Lunch break: We will adjourn to the dining room and enjoy lunch and discussions around the round tables.

Session 4: Panel: Overview of different types of Volunteer Pilot Organizations; the role of the Air Care Alliance; and a look at how many of them support disaster relief operations

About 75 Volunteer Pilot Organizations (VPOs) and similar charitable aviation groups fly needy patients for care, serve following disasters, provide introductory and educational rides for young people, transport veterans to their care facilities or to ceremonies honoring their service, fly animals from kill shelters to those that can find homes for them, conduct environmental support missions including wild animal surveys or relocations, and in general fly for a variety of humanitarian purposes.
The Air Care Alliance is an umbrella group representing most of these organizations, and operates an online referral system to connect those needing services with the groups and pilots who can help them. Our panelists will discuss the different ways these groups operate and help those in need and the ways their volunteers have served following disasters.

Session 5: Speaker: Development and Benefits of the Disaster Airlift Response Team Program (DART)

A founder and leader of CalDART, the original DART development program, will discuss the purpose of DARTS, how they are formed and operated, how they interface with government entities and VOADs, how they scale to fit the needs of a response ,and essential aspects of aviation operations. A major focus will be on the significant benefits that access to general aviation volunteers can provide, such as helping airports recover following a disaster, transporting relief workers, medical personnel and supplies, rescue dogs, and equipment into an affected area, and moving homeless family members and injured persons away, thus relieving the burden on local service providers.

Session 6: Panel: Leaders from California, Oregon, and Washington DARTS and from BC AERO of Canada Discuss Their Programs and Partner Groups

DARTs are tailored to their local areas and the states where they operate. Leaders in this panel will discuss their progress in each state, their deployments in support of various disaster responses, their evolving relationships with emergency management, local government, airport staff, other DART groups, and the area VOAD groups, and the various Volunteer Pilot Organizations whose members will be providing support from the region and other parts of the country.

Session 7: Leader and Panel: West Coast General Aviation Disaster Response Plan ( WCGARP ), Thunder Run, and the Benefits of Conducting Realistic Exercises

The originator of the West Coast General Aviation Disaster Response Plan will discuss the WCGARP concept as it has been evolving over the years, based on annual exercises, including the large Thunder Run exercise of June, 2022, in which international support was provided from Canada by volunteer pilot members of BC AERO. Panelists will include participants in the exercise from several DARTs and supporting VOADs.
Also for discussion: Mining Social Media for Disaster Response Opportunities. Our WCGARP leader has also been active in supporting Disaster Response around the country and the western hemisphere and will talk about the role social media has played in quickly identifying areas of need and getting aviation resources dispatched to support them.

Session 8: Saturday Wrap Up - Final Q & A and takeaways for the day; Preparations for tonight's Dinner and the Sunday Morning Sessions.

In this session we will have the opportunity to ask some followup questions regarding the day's discussions, brainstorm a bit about ideas for future collaborations, objectives, and needs, and then prioritize these topics for future action, as well as for deliberation in Sunday morning's breakfast roundtable sessions. Scribes will keep track of the information on flip charts.

Gather with your peers from the participating organizations and enjoy discussing the day's ideas and your lives and interests in the West Coast region over refreshments.

We will relax and enjoy a nice dinner, hear a bit about future plans, and learn something new from our keynote speaker. There are likely to be some fun surprises, too!

Session 1: Assemble at tables by interest groups for Roundtable Discussions over breakfast.

Representatives from Emergency Management, VOADs and related groups, DARTs, Volunteer Pilot groups, etc. will discuss what they learned, develop ideas and recommendations, keep notes, and report out.

Session 2 Assemble at tables by your state - California, Oregon, Washington, all others for Roundtable Discussions

Emergency Managers, VOAD and related groups, DARTs, Volunteer Pilot groups, etc. from each state will discuss what they learned together, develop ideas and recommendations, keep notes, and report out.

11:45 - Noon Final Information, Thank yous, and Departures including distribution of box lunches.

Afternoon on: Attendees and their companions may choose to stay and enjoy local attractions and recreational opportunities. See the information below the conference registration forms!

Sponsors are kindly hosting our Friday Reception and other events during the conference. The fee for the entire conference itself is only $125 and the Saturday dinner is $40.

Note that the costs of travel and participation in an educational event as part of one's charitable and volunteer work for nonprofit organizations is usually tax deductible. EVAC is a 501 c 3 charitable organization as are some of the other organizations involved in providing the conference. Ask your tax advisor if you have questions about the tax deductibility of your costs in attending, or for someone else's providing financial support for your attendance.

Download the form and fill it in on your pc or device there, then send it in as instructed.

If you received this information as an email the form may be already attached to it.

Use the payment link shown on the Conference Registration Form to pay after filling out the form,

or you can use the following link to go directly to the payment module at the bottom of this page if you choose to pay later: https://www.evac.org/conf-2023.htm#payments

VALLEY RIVER INN

A beautiful historic hotel in Eugene, Oregon

CALL FOR RESERVATIONS AT: POSTPONED

INDICATE ROOM BLOCK: “EMERGENCY VOLUNTEER AIR CORPS”

For hotel details and information visit https://www.valleyriverinn.com/

A limited number of rooms are being held at the discounted rate of $159.00 plus tax. Please contact the hotel directly at 541 743-1000 to make reservations and mention you are with the “Emergency Volunteer Air Corps” group. To obtain the group rate reservations must be made by POSTPONED. But will likely be filled much earlier.

Important: If the block is full let us know immediately so we can see if additional rooms can be added.

TRAVEL INFORMATION

AIR SERVICE: The primary airport for Eugene is Mahler Sweet Field, providing both good airline and general aviation access to the area. For airport and general information see the website at https://www.eugene-or.gov/1715/Visitors

Fly to Eugene with air service by Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Avelo Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines.

GROUND TRANSPORTATION FROM AREA AIRPORTS

If flying into the Eugene Airport:

VRI is a 10 mile ride from the Eugene Airport. The VRI shuttle may be available at 541 743-3000 however airline crew transport is their priority. We expect to have several conference volunteers available to provide ground transportation – call or text 541 521-7884. Uber, Lift, and taxi options are also available.
If flying into the Creswell Airport

VRI is a 16 mile ride from the Creswell Airport. The Creswell Airport (541 895-2913) has a courtesy car that may be available. You can also contact a conference volunteer at 541 521-7884.

OTHER TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS:

If driving your own vehicle, there is ample parking at the Valley River Inn.

AMTRAK provides service to Eugene and has a station in the city.

Interstate bus service serves Eugene.

In addition shuttle service is available to Portland International Airport

THINGS TO ENJOY WHILE IN EUGENE AND THE REGION

The Eugene area offers a wide variety of recreational, sports, and cultural activities. Wine tastings, fly fishing, and track meets are just a few of the attractions. If you are looking for things to do while in the area, the following link may give you some ideas.
https://www.eugenecascadescoast.org

For aviation buffs, consider a visit to the Oregon Air & Space Museum on the airport.

And another one for your bucket list is the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, the home of the incredible Howard Hughes H-4 Hercules Flying Boat, called by some the Spruce Goose, much to Howard's chagrin. It is located not far away in McMinnville, Oregon.
See https://www.evergreenmuseum.org/

More information on specific happenings around the weekend of the conference will be distributed as the time approaches. Depending on interest, volunteers may be available for ground transportation.

Intrigued? Stay in touch! Not ready to register yet? To remain on our list please express your initial interest today by:

OR by EMAILING Jim Origliosso of the Oregon Disaster Airlift Response Team at joriglios@gmail.com .

Also email Jim with your questions about the conference including sponsorship opportunities!

THANK YOU for your interest in the West Coast General Aviation Response Leaders' Conference and for your work preparing our communities to be resilient and ready for emergencies and disasters!

Another Link to Fillable Conference Registration Form: download the form to your own pc or device, then open and fill it out there. Follow the instructions for sending it in,

First complete the Conference Registration Form then complete all entries here and on the payment page that follows.

EVAC: the Emergency Volunteer Air Corpssm