A Note From The Chair

Michael Nowlan

It is nearing the end of 2022 and this year’s in-person conference in Sacramento placed a rubber stamp on it! FMA is very excited to report that our annual conference was a resounding success, because of all of you! The conference was a mixture of many of the tried and true elements, with plenty of interactive panels and dynamic technical presentations and fun events, with some new elements as well. This year we attempted to tackle many issues head on relating to Diversity/Equity/Inclusion and engaging our emerging professionals group with some robust topics and discussions. We held an informal lunch to find those people who are willing to join our committees. We even employed an affordable method of recording many of the presentations and panels via audio and screen capture. Sorry, it was not affordable to put cameras in each and every room to capture the faces of those attending the sessions. We may have our work cut out for us in teaching everyone to properly use a microphone though. We are thinking about employing headsets to capture every word from all of the more timid and less trained (with a microphone) individuals amongst us. We certainly will have our challenges in the coming year, but I’m confident that our floodplain management community will tread boldly through it together. By the way, I’m not referring to the metaphor of “treading water”, though it may feel that way to some. Some of the challenges will involve shaping FEMA’s NFIP reform and engaging our public officials on flood issues during a drought. One of the most significant challenges FMA will face in the next 6 months will be getting someone to replace our beloved Executive Director, Mary, and get the planning process for next year’s conference underway. Fear not! We have candidates interested in the position and we have conducted interviews and will conduct negotiations (hopefully) before the end of the year.

While no one seems willing to call an end to the pandemic we have all come through, FMA is confident that our floodplain community is a strong and resilient one. There may have been some of us who elected to not attend the in-person conference this year, but everyone’s contribution is to be applauded, working from home or back in the office. There will be lasting changes from 2020 in our workplaces for years to come, but there is nothing better than having face-to-face interactions, with the FMA Conference being a prime example. Cheers, Mike Nowlan 5

SAVE THE DATE

Floodplain Management Association Annual Conference September 5-8, 2023 Westin Bonaventure Hotel – Los Angeles, CA