Plan.Meet.Repeat January February 2019 Issue plan meet repeat jan feb 2019 | Page 10
Event Safety Corner….
W
hen planning an event, there is so much to do.
You must plan for the event itself, but in the
course of the event there will undoubtedly be things
that wreak havoc with the most carefully laid-out
plans. Typically, there are things that most meeting
planners and event coordinators are used to dealing
with such as travel problems, cancellations,
complications brought on by severe weather, and of
course, last-minute schedule changes!
But what about planning for the safety of the event,
the attendees and your own personal safety?
That is what this new Event Safety Corner is all about.
Each article will discuss and bring awareness to
various ways you can improve your personal safety
before, during and after events.
In the past you may not have given much thought to
staying safe throughout the event or when traveling
to and from. However, every day we are reminded in
the news about threats to our safety and well-being
that are surprising and shocking. Not only do they
take us off-guard, they seem to be occurring with
increasing frequency.
Many people choose to ignore potential threats. They
think a problem won’t happen to them – that it will
happen to “someone else” and so they don’t think
about it. Others simply fail to prepare because they
don’t believe that they have the power to do anything
about it.
I am here to inform and educate you on what potential
problems you may encounter during your “event
window.” This is the time between when you leave
home to go to the event until you return home from
it. Every aspect of the “event window” will be
discussed in detail in this and future articles.
10
Plan Meet Repeat Magazine Jan/Feb 2019
It is imperative that you acknowledge that your safety
and well-being could be affected in an instant from any
number of threats – digital or physical. So who am I to
share this information with you? I’m glad you asked!
My name is Pete Canavan, and I am a Personal Safety
Expert. My unique blend of personal and professional
expertise comes from my ability to keep people safe and secure
in both the online world and the physical world. I have
worked as an IT consultant for over 25 years, keeping
my clients’ computers, networks, data and accounts
secure from all manner of digital threats. As a martial
arts Master, for over 20 years I have trained hundreds of
men, women and children to become proficient in
self-defense through my classes, workshops and
seminars. In addition, I have kept college students safe
as a university public safety officer and have also worked
as an event security professional protecting entertainers,
vendors and attendees.
Safety begins with you. If you are not paying attention,
are uninformed or careless, problems can and will occur
– I guarantee it. Often these problems can be avoided
with advance preparation and awareness. This enables you
to identify potential threats and take precautions and actions
that minimize your risks. It doesn’t need to be difficult!
In fact, once you start, this will become habitual so that you
find yourself being able to quickly size up a situation in
order to maximize your personal safety.
Let me use a real-world example to illustrate a series of
threats that almost everyone faces on a daily basis.