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FMEA 2026 Hurricane & Storm Preparedness Forum
Limited to 150 municipal attendees & 12 exhibiting sponsors (members only)
Lynch
Florida’s public power community is gearing up for another impactful Hurricane & Storm Preparedness Forum! This one-and-a-half-day event kicks off with a Welcome Reception with sponsors on May 6, followed by a full day of sessions on May 7. Expect valuable networking opportunities and member engagement throughout.
FMEA’s annual Hurricane & Storm Preparedness Forum offers presentations on hurricane preparedness and response, mutual aid, FEMA, and other disaster and emergency response related issues, as well as opportunities for Florida public power utilities to share best practices and lessons learned from each other.
The forum brings together public power utilities from across Florida to:
- Share best practices for storm preparation
- Communicate effectively before, during, and after storms
- Utilize mutual aid for efficient power restoration
- Understand FEMA documentation requirements
- Hear expert forecasts for the upcoming hurricane season
2026 Hurricane & Storm Preparedness Forum begins
Agenda
| Wednesday, May 6 | |
| 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM | Pre-Forum Roundtable: 2026 Utility Roundtable on FEMA and Procurement Practices (register here) |
| 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM | Pre-Forum Meeting: 2027 Florida Lineman Competition Committee (register here) |
| 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM | Registration Desk Opens |
| 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM | Sponsor Reception & Exhibit Hall |
| Thursday, May 7 | |
| 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM | Breakfast & Networking with Sponsors |
| 9:00 AM - 12:15 PM | Morning General Session |
| 9:00 AM - 9:10 AM | Welcome and FMEA Updates. Amy Zubaly, Executive Director, FMEA |
| 9:10 AM - 9:50 AM | Public Power Mutual Aid and Emergency Management Resources: What’s New for Hurricane Season. Pat Hart, Senior Director, Resilience Programs, American Public Power Association. |
| 9:50 AM - 10:35 AM | FEMA Public Assistance Updates—Procurement, Eligibility, and Toolkit Updates. Michelle Zaltsberg, Shareholder, Baker Donelson |
| 10:35 AM - 10:50 AM | Refreshment & Networking Break |
| 10:50 AM - 11:35 AM | Wildfire Risks & Mitigation for Utilities. Jade Thiemsuwan, Executive Director, AGM - Enterprise Risk, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power |
| 11:35 AM - 12:20 PM | 2026 Hurricane Season Outlook & Forecast Innovations from the National Weather Service. Scott Cordero, Meteorologist-in-Charge, National Weather Service, Jacksonville |
| 12:20 PM - 1:15 PM | Lunch & Networking Break |
| 1:15 PM - 2:45 PM | Afternoon General Sessions |
| 1:15 PM - 2:00 PM | From Zero to Storm-Ready: How the City of Starke built a GIS and Resilience Baseline in a Single Day. Joel Berntsen,Chief Growth Officer, Noteworthy.ai & David Sparks, Electric Operations Manager, City of Starke |
| 2:00 PM - 2:45 PM | Power Outages: New Insights and Mapping Tools for Utilities. Matt Hope, Chief Executive Officer, PowerOutage.com |
| 2:45 PM - 3:00 PM | Refreshment & Networking Break |
| 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM | Breakouts and Open Floor Discussion |
| 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM | Customer Operations Breakout. Moderator, Korey Bush, Assistant General Manager - Customer Service, Lakeland Electric |
| 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM | Utility Operations Breakout. Moderator, Chad Lynch, Deputy Director of Electric Utility, Ocala Electric Utility |
| Attendee Registration* | |||
| FMEA Municipal Member | $125. Registration closed 4/15 when all seats were filled. | ||
| *Attendance to this FMEA event is only open to Municipal members and Hurricane Forum sponsors | |||
Exhibiting Sponsorships
These sponsorships were limited to just 12 Associate Member companies and are now sold out. View sponsorship opportunities for other FMEA signature events on our webpage.
FMEA Continuing Education Program
There are 4.5 Hours of CEU available for confirmed attendees, available to you in your FMEA Member Compass by clicking Continuing Education from the menu.
Conference Hotel Information
Embassy Suites Saint Augustine Beach Oceanfront
300 A1A Beach Blvd, St. Augustine, FL 32080
$199/night, $36 valet parking only.
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