By Mike Boyer
The Cincinnati Enquirer

How would your company deal with a flood, tornado, fire or major power failure?

Surviving such natural and man-made disasters will be the focus of the first Business Emergency Planning Association daylong conference starting at 8 a.m. Wednesday at the Sharonville Convention Center.

The association is a new initiative of the Red Cross, which has drawn support from Cincinnati Bell, Sara Lee and Milacron Inc. among others.

"We want to see businesses succeed and fully recover if they are faced with an emergency situation," said Gary Miller, Red Cross director of disaster services. "To do so, they need to plan and be prepared - this program can help ensure the long-term survival of a business."

Ten national and local speakers will address topics such as basic planning, workplace violence, systems recovery and business impact analysis in a series of breakout sessions.

Keynote speakers include:

•  Barry Pruitt, a workplace violence victim and now a consultant on business disaster recovery.

•  Nick Chilton, a former Procter & Gamble Co. manager and now president of a Marion, Ohio, company that survived a devastating 1996 fire with the aid of competitors.

Cost of the session is $125 for association members and $150 for nonmembers.

For information, go to www.cincinnatiredcross.org/bepa or call 792-4020.

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E-mail mboyer@enquirer.com