Former Verizon Safety Manager Awarded Franchise 

AUGUST 24, 2009                                                                                                   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ROSWELL, Ga. – With more than 20 years experience in workplace health, safety and regulatory compliance, Jeff Kady was a natural fit for Firestorm – and vice versa.

Kady, of Easton, Pa., is the CEO of Cosmos Consulting and former National Manager for Safety and Health at Verizon Communications. With Verizon, Kady was responsible for all aspects of employee health and safety, including corporate policy and compliance, human resource IT, emergency preparedness and business continuity, developing an overall culture of safety and integrating safety into the business model. As Regional Safety Manager in Western Pennsylvania, Kady handled training, incident investigation and analysis, OSHA complaint response and hazard assessments.

Kady also has 30-plus years experience in firefighting, rescue, hazmat and emergency response in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania, including participation in the development of a multi-agency federal-level mock exercise that won presidential recognition.

So it’s no surprise that Kady’s vision aligns with Firestorm’s focus on the human impacts of disaster (Every Crisis is a Human Crisis), and goal of building a Culture of Preparedness in the U.S. private sector. After learning of the opportunity through a Business Alliance Inc. broker and completing the due diligence process, Kady was awarded a Firestorm franchise this month.

Firestorm (www.firestorm.com) is a national leader in business continuity, communicable illness/pandemic planning, vulnerability analysis and crisis management. Franchisees utilize all capabilities of Firestorm -- which provided the on-site crisis management support at Virginia Tech -- including its name and trademark; operational methodology including plans, policies, procedures and training; and access to its staff, Expert Council and Online Resource Center.

Kady cites the “quality of the groundwork that has been laid in preparation for franchises,’’ as a critical factor in his decision to become a Firestorm franchisee. “The tools that have been put together would be very difficult to compile on your own. It’s a perfect fit to have all that in place.’’

The implementation of Public Law 110-53 (Title IX-Private Sector Preparedness), which mandates the Department of Homeland Security initiate certification of business continuity planning in the private sector, creates wide-ranging opportunity for the BCP industry. Other significant drivers include the global health crisis presented by the swine flu (H1N1) pandemic and other communicable illnesses; the worldwide economic crisis; the increase in natural disasters related to climate change; and elevated exposure to mass violence threats nationally and internationally.

 “Jeff’s background gives him a complete understanding of the exposures faced by a large corporation such as Verizon, but also an appreciation of the human toll all disasters bring,’’ Firestorm Executive Vice President Hutch Hodgson said. “He will be able to help organizations of all sizes and types be prepared to ensure their resiliency and viability.’’

Kady’s Firestorm franchise will operate out of Easton, Pa. He can be reached at (610) 442-9524 or jkady@firestorm.com.

For more information and a complete list of the states in which franchises are currently available, visit www.firestorm.com. To obtain a copy of the Firestorm Franchise Disclosure Document, contact Hodgson at (770) 643-1114 or hhodgson@firestorm.com. Media inquiries should be directed to Mike Pennetti at mpennetti@firestorm.com or (678) 557-9243.