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March 24, 2000
For Immediate Release
For more information, contact Jennifer Grover at PCA (847) 966-6200.
PCA Named National Project Impact Corporate Partner
The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently designated the Portland Cement Association as National Project Impact Corporate Partner, recognizing the Association’s contribution to Project Impact initiatives. Project Impact is a FEMA program designed to reduce the personal and economic costs of disasters by bringing together community leaders, citizens, and businesses to prepare and protect themselves against the ravages of nature.
"PCA earned the national partner designation because of its long-standing commitment to promoting disaster resistance through Project Impact," says FEMA Director, James Lee Witt. "This ongoing partnership will help educate people about the importance of building safer communities."
Based in Skokie, Illinois, the Portland Cement Association represents cement companies in the U.S. and Canada, conducting market development, engineering, research, education, and public affairs programs for its members. Every year, thousands of homeowners, homebuilders, engineers, architects, educators, and building officials attend PCA-sponsored seminars and purchase PCA publications on safe design and construction of homes, buildings, dams, and other new and existing structures.
PCA’s role in Project Impact was forged in the wake of the devastating May 3, 1999, tornadoes in Oklahoma. Working together, PCA and FEMA developed construction plans for concrete safe rooms that are now included in the FEMA publication Taking Shelter from the Storm. Safe rooms are windowless rooms designed to offer excellent shelter from tornadoes and hurricanes; they can be built as part of a new home or can be added to existing homes. Since last summer, thousands of homeowners and homebuilders have attended PCA-sponsored safe room seminars across the U.S.
Last December, PCA hosted a concrete safe room seminar, field trip, and information booth during FEMA’s 1999 Project Impact Summit in Washington, D.C. In January of this year, PCA and FEMA demonstrated safe room construction at the 2000 International Builders’ Show in Dallas, Texas. A similar demonstration is planned for the 2001 International Builders’ Show in Atlanta next February.
Lionel Lemay, PCA’s managing director of market promotion and Project Impact coordinator, said the partnership with FEMA is a natural fit. “We are committed to furthering the Project Impact philosophy through education,” says Lemay. “PCA plans to focus its efforts on working with Project Impact communities to conduct seminars on the benefits of disaster resistant construction.”
A detailed description of Project Impact can be found on FEMA’s Web site, www.fema.gov/impact. Additional information about the Portland Cement Association, its programs and publications can be found on PCA’s Web site, www.portcement.org, or by contacting Lionel Lemay, (847) 966-6200, llemay@portcement.org.
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