As soon as meeting planners catch their breath, it seems, something else comes along with a new jolt. The economic downturn and Sept. 11 were only the first salvoes. The war with Iraq has dashed hopes of any turnaround in the U.S. economy in 2003, and then came severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Most everything within the control of meeting planners - from site selection to room block management, from security to insurance - has been called into review, and new blueprints created. In light of these developments, how much contingency planning is really going on?

National School Boards Association (NSBA) Contingency Plans and Preparations: "Since 9/11, we've had an evacuation plan in place," said Dobby Wall, NSBA assistant executive director, conference and meetings management.

"However, because of the war with Iraq and the fact that San Francisco (the site of the annual meeting this past April) could be considered a target, for the first time we put together an emergency response team, with the help of our security consulting company.

"The team of nine included senior staff at NSBA and professionals from the Moscone Convention Center and key city agencies; they could provide input about operations, security, meetings management, exhibits, and the association. We picked a spot away from Moscone to meet in the event of an emergency. And we decided in advance what to do if there was an internal threat or an external threat.

"We also had a communications tree with cell phone numbers in place so staff could contact each other. We actually thought long and hard about allowing coats or packages to be checked. We ultimately decided to go ahead, but you had to be a registrant to check a bag or coat."

What's Changed: "Our security people were much more involved on a daily basis with monitoring the situation. They had their ears to the ground and were in constant communication with the police department and FBI, especially since we were on orange alert.

"Some associations are asking their attendees where they are staying and whom to contact, and doing that under the guise of security - but really using that information to double-check room blocks. Our registrar was concerned that asking for emergency information could cause a backlash among attendees, so we didn't do it. However, we did ask exhibitors where they were staying and for an emergency contact.

"We did inform attendees, as well as staff, that we had plans in place and were on top of the situation. That made people feel more at ease. We probably hired more security than we normally do. But we did not change the way the meeting runs. To our members, it did not seem as if anything was unusual."

Costs: "These depend on how security conscious you need to be. You can do different things: require passage through metal detectors, arrange for mirrors to check underneath cars, or use dogs to sniff out chemicals or bombs size

"There are no contingencies for 16,000 people not attending a meeting."

American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Unforeseen Contingency: AACR canceled its 94th Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada, three days before it was to begin, as a result of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak. The decision by the Board of Directors reflected the concern of members - particularly those with clinical care responsibilities - to minimize the risk of spreading SARS, especially to those whose immune systems are already compromised from their fight with cancer. More than 12,000 cancer researchers were pre-registered to attend the meeting, and 16,000 attendees were expected.

Since AACR canceled its meeting April 2, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued - and then rescinded - a travel advisory against non-essential travel to Toronto.

The decision to reschedule (to July 11-14 in the new Washington, D.C., Convention Center) came after a large majority of registrants were surveyed and said they would like to move forward with the annual meeting. While the program content will remain the same, actual planning of the rescheduled meeting is requiring long hours from AACR's eight-person meetings and exhibits department.

Information on registration, refunds, and other details was posted on AACR's Web site and in e-mail blasts. The intense media attention triggered by the cancellation?s connection to SARS also served to quickly disseminate information.

Financial Implications: AACR registrants who cancel their Toronto registration before June 30 are issued a full refund. But the association is encouraging attendees to reschedule for the Washington, D.C., meeting. Individual registrants are responsible for contacting their hotels and airlines to cancel or rebook those reservations.

What's Changed: "From a logistics point of view, I?m starting from day one,? said Andrea Simon, AACR's director, meetings and exhibits. 'I have to do in three months what I normally do in a year. But not having the meeting would mean that an entire year would go by without sharing important cancer research.

"In the past, we were more concerned with a portion of our meeting not happening, such as losing a major speaker. Those were the contingencies that we really dealt with. The only extra contingency I put in my contract with all of the hotels was that if something happened to the center, we were released from our sleeping rooms. It could be something as simple as a flood, or a fire in some of the buildings, anything that kept us from holding the meeting in the place where we needed to. '

"Our meeting is the place for researchers to come together and share their knowledge, so canceling was not something we ever anticipated doing."

Perspective: "The [planners] dealing with SARS now have the luxury of being some time out from when their meetings are happening. My experience and theirs are quite different. Some contingencies you can plan for, but others are impossible. There are no contingencies for 16,000 people not attending a meeting. All you can do is stay quick on your feet and stay alert to everything that?s going around you."

American Osteopathic Association (AOA)

Contingency Plans and Preparations: "As a planner," said Ann Wittner, CMP, AOA director of administration, "I have a responsibility to be aware of the different security threat levels issued by the Department of Homeland Security, and have a plan in place to protect attendees at each level. What that boils down to is letting everyone know who will be in charge. We have on-site crisis plans, and different plans for each security alert level are distributed on-site to our staff in their information packets.

"The main point of the contingency plan is to get everyone safely out of the venue evacuation and relocation. Then in the event of an emergency, we want to be able to quickly provide attendees with as much emergency contact information as possible, including toll-free phone numbers for airlines, and phone numbers and addresses for local hospital and emergency rooms."

What's Changed: "In previous crisis planning, we would have included contact information for a physician in the area of the meeting, authorities at the facility, and local police. Now, we have different contingency plans depending on the "disaster" - terrorist threat, act of God, anthrax scare, viral contagion. Since our members are physicians, we have to be very forward in our thinking. Also, it?s important that meeting planners rely on local convention bureaus to assist in contingency planning. For instance, if there is a problem at the convention center, the bureau can help redirect your group, perhaps to a stadium."

Costs: "No real increase, just a greater awareness and more time spent preparing."

Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA)

Contingency Plans and Preparations: "We"re looking at our venues in Canada with fresh eyes," said Anne-Marie Laderoute, CICA manager, facilities and presentations."

Since the early 1990s, we have always included the venue's emergency procedures in our on-site file. Now our meeting manager's on-site binder is much more detailed, and includes such things as a listing of the event coordinators, an explanation of the procedure following an alarm, where we can find the hotel staff, where attendees will be relocated, and a checklist of action items. In addition, all members of our event team are certified in first aid and CPR and are required to keep their certification current."

 What's Changed: "We've become more aggressive about getting information from the venue. For example, we ask what other groups are attending at the same time as our meeting. If a potentially controversial medical or religious group is meeting at the same time we are, there may be demonstrators. So we would need to plan ahead to see how our paths may intersect. We"re much more proactive about preserving our attendees? quiet enjoyment of meetings.

"Also, since there seems to be no industry standard and each hotel assigns emergency services responsibilities differently - in some cases it?s a customer service representative; in others, it's the front office manager - we ask specific questions of the hotel in advance. That way we know exactly who will be our contact person in the event of an emergency. If the hotel holds a fire drill, our event team will ask to participate in that."

Costs: "It basically comes down to more administrative time spent on risk management."

SARS: "Our biggest challenge regarding SARS was fighting the perception of those living outside of Toronto. The international media and the WHO played havoc with the city. While most in the greater Toronto area were comfortable that the risks were confined to health care environments, those outside Toronto were not. How do you plan for events in a city people are afraid to come to"

"We had to cancel committee and board meetings. But we did not cancel or change venue for any of our educational events. Our approach was and is to monitor, gather data, and evaluate. We are flexible with our cancellation policy for attendees who don't wish to travel to Toronto and whose companies have a travel ban on Toronto.

"From the event perspective of our association, we have two issues: the health and safety of our attendees and the financial implications of a possibly prolonged SARS environment. The responsibility to provide a safe environment for our attendees is critical. Part of the evaluation and data gathering - in addition to status updates on containment and protocol from medical health officers will include:

• An analysis of participant make-up. Where are the majority of participants coming from?
• Does relocation make sense for any events?
• What are the practical implications (i.e. financial, program faculty)?

"Ultimately, it is what people believe that will drive attendance and could impact location. Fortunately, most of our events start in the summer and continue through to the fall, so we are not immediately forced to make decisions affecting people"

Printing Industries of America (PIA)

Contingency Plans and Preparations: "I just don't think that any meeting planner can be responsible for the safety, shelter, and feeding of their meeting attendees," said Kenita Hidalgo, CMP, director of meetings for PIA. "This is beyond our control. Once we leave our offices and get on a plane, arrive at a hotel, and attend a show, we (as attendees) do not own or control these environments. We are in the hands of the airlines, taxi, hotel, shuttle, and convention center.

"Meeting planners should keep themselves abreast of the issue and be armed with the knowledge of where to get information and what resources are available. For PIA meetings, it's just not feasible for me as a meeting planner to come up with a "contingency" plan for emergencies, since the facility in which the meeting takes place is equipped to handle this scenario and most likely already has plans in place."

Future Plans: "We are looking into insurance policies covering cancellation for some of our meetings, where before we might only buy hurricane insurance in the Caribbean. If something happened on site at the meeting, I could see that being part of an insurance policy that covers additional, unanticipated expenses. Cancellation insurance, though, is now very expensive."

Costs: "With associations, everything is related to what things cost and how they affect the budget. If the costs are not planned, we need to budget for them."