A Note from IEDC President Jeff Finkle on Last Week's Tragedies

Last week was a very difficult time, with the bombing at the Boston Marathon, an industrial plant explosion in West, Texas, and major flooding in several states in the Midwest. The IEDC board and staff express our heartfelt sympathies to the victims, families and friends suffering from these tragedies and hope for a speedy recovery of those injured. If you would like to help, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce is suggesting financial contributions to the One Fund Boston, which has been set up by the governor, mayor and corporate community to support individuals and families directly impacted by the bombings. Also, you can consider donating to the American Red Cross. We also want to remind individuals that RestoreYourEconomy.org provides practical advice and resources for economic development professionals on critical activities to engage in before and after a major emergency, including how to help the business community prepare for and recover from major disasters. On Tuesday, April 23, IEDC produced a webinar on disaster preparedness with Rob O’Brian from the Joplin Chamber of Commerce and Warren Edwards from the Community and Regional Resilience Institute (CARRI). We also encourage you to visit the Learn section for other webinar recordings on post-disaster economic recovery topics. Please stay safe. All the best, Jeffrey A. Finkle President and CEO International Economic Development Council