To our CEPP associates:

Our meeting in Colorado Springs on September 9th exceeded our expectations. Our initial introductory meeting was attended by 52 members of the private and public sectors, including the military.  The Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, FEMA, the Colorado Department of Public Safety, Marriott's Residence Inn, the Colorado State Patrol, Booz Allen Hamilton, Northcom, Lockheed Martin, and emergency managers from Colorado Springs and El Paso County were among the attendees. Also, staff members from Senator Mark Udall and Representative Doug Lamborn's offices were there as well.<!--Break>

The primary purpose of the meeting was to provide attendees with information about CEPP and its value to the community. Brief presentations that included overviews of the CONNECT Colorado resource registry, the SATool, our partnership with the CIAC, and the initiative to expand CEPP throughout the state accomplished much of the overview.

After those presentations, an open forum was held to better understand how local attendees would like to see CEPP serve their community. One of our next steps is to form a local Steering Committee to plan for CEPP's work in Colorado Springs and the surrounding region. Seven volunteers have stepped forward already for the committee and we'll meet in Colorado Springs in early October. We also have volunteers who will assist in organizing future meetings, speakers and meeting sites in the region.

All in all we were very pleased with the meeting and it looks like we've taken a large step in expanding CEPP's valuable message and services to another part of our state.