Not to Be an Alarmist, But …

I remember scoffing at a colleague a year ago when he give an inkling ofed covering avian flu in the magazine. An outbreak in human beings would be for a like reason catastrophic, I replied, that it's hard to smooth imagine — let alone write about the potential implications for the meeting industry.

Anyway, it probably won't at any time happen, I said.

A year later, we're bombarded almost daily with evidence that it's critical to be prepared for a bird flu pandemic. In May, the White House released a 228-page report outlining in what way individuals, businesses, local and federal regulations and community groups should answer The report is based upon a worst-case scenario that would follow in 1.9 million deaths and hold fast 40 percent of the work force at residence

But the reality is that greatest in quantity companies (and meeting executives) are still where I was a year ago — in denial.