HSTC To Launch Online Resource Guide, Grow Members By 40%;
Names Homeland Security Strategies Official Online Publication
The Homeland Security Technology Council (HSTC) is primed to launch an online Homeland Security Resource Guide, along with an aggressive plan to grow its membership by 40% in the next six months.
“Currently, many government agencies are searching blindly for information regarding Homeland Security products and services. We want to aid everyone in learning more about key issues, products and technologies available for their consideration,” says Paul Bettencourt, acting director, HSTC and a member of the board of directors.
The online resource guide is designed to be a user-friendly directory. Government agencies and the general public are able to search its powerful database for products, services, and detailed information related to Homeland Security offerings. Available free of charge, the online resource guide will link government audiences with key Homeland Security suppliers.
Homeland Security Strategies: Views You Can Use 
The HSTC has also named Homeland Security Strategies official HSTC online publication. Published with the Public Sector Institute, this important communications channel aids the HSTC in its mission to:
· Help government and private sector audiences learn about Homeland Security technologies by providing a forum for technology users, manufacturers, and suppliers
· To evaluate technologies, develop standards and best practices and communicate with government, investors and the public.
The non-profit HSTC’s goal is to maximize industry’s ability to assist in coordinating effective local, state, and national efforts to use Homeland Security products and services.
Join The Cause, Join The HSTC
HSTC members gain a listing in the online resource guide as well as the opportunity to network with suppliers, HSTC partners and government agencies on key security issues. Other benefits include video documentaries, produced by the Federal Business Council (FBC) and HSTC, on each member company, its products and services. And the HSTC also provides federal agency contacts, as well as discounted services for trade shows.
HSTC members can also participate in one of 275 events planned by the HSTC and partners the Federal Business Council and Public Sector Institute. One upcoming event is the Homeland Security Summit, set for next April in Atlanta, aimed at emergency first responders.
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“Currently, many government agencies are searching blindly for information regarding Homeland Security products and services. We want to aid everyone in learning more about key issues, products and technologies available for their consideration,” says Paul Bettencourt, acting director, HSTC and a member of the board of directors.
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Key Efforts Underway
Meanwhile, according Bettencourt, other key efforts currently under way include:
· Organizing seminars and expos throughout the U.S., based on information gathered from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Red Cross, to aid in improving family emergency preparedness.
· An HSTC online catalog of emergency preparedness products, including a 911 emergency cell phone, and an evacuation kit, which includes the phone, water, dry food, and air filtering masks.
· The creation of regional seminars, including the upcoming Homeland Security Summit in Atlanta and a Harbor Security Seminar set for the Boston area next March.
· Specialized HSTC certification -- via work with several universities – that put an HSTC seal of approval on Homeland Security products listed in directories.
· A Homeland Security “Help City Directory,” with 30 pages of preparedness information from the Red Cross and FEMA, including condensed emergency preparedness information, and evacuation maps are due out in the next year.
· A similar HSTC Emergency Preparedness Handbook to be marketed to corporations interested in providing such information free of charge to employees.
The HSTC also plans to offer the Homeland Security Strategies publication to corporations interested in providing regular security technology information to their employees online.
To learn more, visit the HSTC’s web site at www.thehstc.us.
This article was written by Public Sector Institute contributing writer, Barbara DePompa. She can be reached at bdempompa@comcast.net. |
