What Every Business Should Know About Disaster Preparedness

In this milestone 200th episode of Chamber Amplified from the Findlay-Hancock County Chamber of Commerce, Doug Jenkins sits down with Gary Lehman from Ohio Homeland Security to discuss a critical, and often overlooked, topic for businesses: disaster preparedness and resilience.

From severe weather to cyber attacks, many businesses are not fully prepared for disruptions that can impact operations, employees, and customers. Gary shares insight into how the Ohio Public Private Partnership (OP3) helps connect businesses with resources to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

•  Why 85% of critical infrastructure is tied to the private sector 
•  The most common preparedness gaps for small businesses 
•  How businesses can build simple continuity plans 
•  Real-world examples of businesses stepping up during disasters 
•  The importance of coordination during emergency response efforts 
•  Free tools, training, and security assessments available through OP3 
•  How to get connected and start preparing your business today 

Whether you’re a small business owner or part of a larger organization, this episode offers practical steps to help you protect your business and your team.

Music and sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com

Transcript

Why Disaster Planning Matters

Doug Jenkins 0:04

Hello everyone and welcome back to Chamber Amplified, brought to you by the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce. I'm your host, Doug Jenkins. Each week here on the podcast, we're talking about things that matter the most to local businesses and organizations, from workforce and leadership development to marketing, IT issues, and the everyday realities of running something that serves our community. Today is our 200th episode of Chamber Amplified. And to celebrate, I somehow cut the inside of my gum with a potato chip before recording this, so we're just gonna see how well I can talk for the intro and outro for this. We are tackling a topic that a lot of businesses don't think about, at least until it's too late. 85% of critical infrastructure in the US is actually in the private sector, which means that businesses play a larger role in disaster response than you might realize. So today we're talking about what happens when things go wrong. Severe weather, cyber attacks, power outages, you name it, you need to be prepared for it. And your business should have a plan in place before that happens. Even if you're not part of critical infrastructure, you need to have those plans. We're going to tell you about the resources that are available for that as well. And it's not just something that affects big corporations. It's probably easy to think that that's who needs to be concerned about it. And they do, but our medium and small businesses need to be diligent in this regard as well. We're also talking about a resource that a lot of businesses may not have interacted with before, but you're going to want to after this. It's the Ohio Public Private Partnership. Gary Lehman of OP3 is my guest today. If you've never thought about the disaster planning for your business, today's an episode that might just change that. And if you enjoy the podcast, don't forget to leave us a rating and review. Make sure to share it with others as well. And a reminder, we're on YouTube now as well. So if you really want to share the message, it's real easy just to share that YouTube link in your social media feeds. Now let's get into it. Gary, I'm excited to get into this, but let's get people familiar with OP3 first and just exactly what that is.

Gary Lehman 2:05

So the Ohio Public Private Partnership, uh, it started back about 12 years ago. And if people are watching, um if you're watching the news, you'll see that in our news, that um sorry, my power. Uh that in the news, you'll see that there's a lot going on. Uh right now, we're in the middle of a shutdown uh with Department of Homeland Security. Uh FEMA's roles are changing. So the Ohio Public Private Partnership, or any of the private partnerships across the United States, bring in the private sector into the public sector to help prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. Uh CISA, uh, if you've heard of that term, has basically said that 85% of our infrastructure is within the private sector. So it's a key component to making sure we as a society are prepared for disasters.

Doug Jenkins 2:57

That's a stat that I don't think a lot of people would be aware of. That 85% in the what are we talking about when uh it's infrastructure that's within the the private sector?

Gary Lehman 3:07

Yeah, so uh, I mean, even even things that you don't think of, like buses um within the cities and stuff, are actually within the private sector. Um, airports, uh, you know, there's there's 16. CISA has defined 16. Uh, anywhere from even our electric grid is private sector. So there are a lot of things out there that people think are public that are actually private. So uh with OP3 or any of the private sector liaisons across the United States, uh, there's a saying uh with both uh the private sector liaisons and emergency management agencies, if you've seen one, you've seen one. So we're all set up a little bit different. But the thing of it is is that we go all the way down to the small businesses through SBA, all the way up to big corporations. Um, but it it includes everybody in that umbrella.

The 85% Private Infrastructure Reality

Doug Jenkins 3:58

One of the things we talked about when we were getting ready for this episode is that a lot of businesses just are not prepared for whatever the worst case scenario may be. We've certainly had plenty of severe weather roll through this region here already this year. That's just one example of things that you need to be prepared for. What are the things that you see businesses overlooking when it comes to the things that could impact infrastructure and then how they're able to get back on their feet?

Gary Lehman 4:26

So usually your large companies have at least one person, if not several people, designated to preparing for disasters, making sure that, you know, they're they have what's called continuity of operations. But your small companies don't always have that. Like just simple stuff, like what is the contact of your personnel? Do you have that? You know, we're so used to technology today, but do you have it printed out? So that if you lost power or or lost your computer, if you if your computers have been compromised, are you able to contact both the your uh your people and also uh the people, the uh organizations that use your services or business or something? But every small business should at least have a small booklet where they can continue to operate even uh during a disaster or recovery after the disaster. You know, what are the what is your insurance number? What's copies of your insurance? Uh, what are key things that you have to get up? How are you gonna get those up? So these are things that every business, every private sector business should be thinking about that they don't always think about when they're smaller. They're they just like, well, I don't think that's ever gonna happen to me. And then it's even personal preparedness, you know, what do you have in your car? How about your family plans? You know, your business, your first priority in with all of us is okay, we do have a business, but our families are important. So what do you have uh what do you have set for them? What plans you have ahead of time for them? And and OB3 kind of helps to bridge this gap to bring in those conversations and those tools and resources uh to help businesses prepare for disasters like that.

Small Business Continuity Basics

Doug Jenkins 6:10

Uh what I think about Findlay businesses, I think that especially those that are downtown, I know we're prepared for one thing, and that's flooding. Uh we've had our fair share of it. Mercifully, we haven't had a whole lot lately, even with the the heavier rains that we've seen um as we record this podcast. Uh, is it if you're prepared for one type of event, like a flood, is it easy to overlook some of the issues that you could run into with other types of events, or are they all, I mean, I imagine the playbook's kind of the same, but you need to have different scenarios listed out.

Gary Lehman 6:45

So, usually the first interface for uh any business is with their local EMA. So every county, there's 88 counties in Ohio, and those counties usually are in interfacing with the businesses in the county or should be. So the first step is to make sure you're plugged in with them. But they usually have an overall uh, you know, they have SOPs and they also have emergency incident plans, emergency action plans, so that uh they are, you know, they they do like a what is the most likely thing to happen. And then with that, they have plans for that. But it's it's like with anything. I think uh Muhammad Ali or one of the one of the uh the boxers out there. Or my Tyson. Yeah, Tyson, you have a plan until you get punched in the face, or you know, the military, you know, we have a plan until first contact. It's the same with businesses. So you you basically think of all the things that could go wrong, you interface because all disasters begin local and in local, but the first step for businesses is to be connected with their their county EMA, or if they're a bigger uh city, they might have a a city EOC and an EMA within that city, like uh Cleveland or Columbus or uh down in Hamilton County.

Doug Jenkins 8:00

So we've seen uh an uptick in severe weather over the last couple of springs here in Ohio. Have you seen people be able to put these plans in action? And uh has it been demonstrably better for those who have that plan compared to those who haven't? Maybe uh some success stories that you've seen.

Gary Lehman 8:16

So um, so yeah, so we have some of the success stories, you know, like during COVID, uh, everybody uh basically, you know, they kind of rewrote it and everybody got into a mode and they they pulled out, you know, these plans. Um specific success stories. Uh this is kind of uh so I I'm thinking of the the wind that we just had yesterday. I haven't heard uh you know how uh what businesses did up there, but a lot of times a lot of the stuff is like there's a thing called Ohio Voad, and some of these uh have the um the NGOs that are out there that come in after it and you know, like the the the uh downed um trees and stuff and come in and remove those things uh from local businesses and stuff like that. Um but yeah, so there's those connections, and that's what I kind of do with OP3 is connect in those those Ohio Voads, connect in um other private sector. Oh, I'm sitting here dancing as I'm trying to think of. You're doing a great job tap dancing. Yeah, so January. So in January, we had uh Fern come through, right? And so a lot of people don't realize that Fern shut down Kroger's and Walmart, their distribution centers. Well, so they reached out to me, and I joke sometimes that I'm what the water boy. So um and it's kind of funny, I kind of accept it. But what we were able to do is uh I started working with our private sector uh folks, and through one of my private sector uh folks, they provided a truck that when uh Krogers got back up and running, they went and got bottled water. And specifically it was for Mount Gilead, Ohio. And through the private sector, we moved uh we moved water into that area because they had had a frozen water main break. And even though they got stuff up and running, uh there were uh nursing homes, there were uh places where there were elderly that didn't have clean water, and through the OP3 partnership, we were able to uh get water into them. And in fact, the follow-on from that is uh Ohio Warren uh brings together all water, wastewater uh people into one place, and and myself and Ohio EMA representative are going to go talk to them about preparing ahead that uh a lot of these uh small local, whether it's a city or a county, uh should consider buying water up front. But that's just one uh area that OP3 recently in the last uh two months actually worked.

Doug Jenkins 10:57

You mentioned uh Kroger and Walmart helping get the supplies back into where they need. Are there opportunities for smaller businesses to get involved with that too? I think uh what when I think of the Fiddley Hancock County business community, I know it's a very caring business community and uh we've seen it in action, whether it's uh the flooding down in in uh North Carolina and Tennessee from a couple of years ago, uh a couple of our logistics companies loaded up trucks and and sent things that way. Is there an opportunity to work through uh OP3 to make sure they're able to do that here in Ohio?

Coordination Wins After Disasters

Gary Lehman 11:30

Absolutely. I continue to build on this because uh when we do have a disaster, I reach out to give updates to the businesses and then I also provide solutions. So something that that I do uh within OP3 is I'm in contact with my private sector liaisons in other states so that we through back channels coordinate. So you have the Ohio EMA, you know, working for all of Ohio with the 88 counties, but because of private sector liaisons or the OP3 program, I can reach across those borders and talk to uh my counterparts in other states that are affected. And then with the partners within it, like the Walmart and um and uh Krogers and Myers and stuff like that, Walmart specifically, Walmart is kind of leads the way a lot of times on um on being proactive in getting involved, like during the tornadoes in Logan County. Before I could even get on scene or engage them, they had already sent generators uh into that area and cleaning supplies. And then once I got on scene, I connected with where they had put the stuff and got it to the area resource centers so that people knew where they could go pick those things up. But for small businesses, there's always that opportunity. Uh sometimes it's in cash donations uh up that way. Uh when you guys had uh, well, not your side, but over towards Cleveland when they had the straight line wins and the power outages last year. Uh, what we ended up doing is just uh we funnel cash donations in so that uh some of the food banks and stuff's uh needed more, they needed resupply. But all that's done through it's just uh coordinating. Um and and what we want to do is make sure that the small businesses are prepared themselves so that they can help themselves. But then there's other ways that uh if they can connect through OP3, we can uh do things like uh get stuff set to you know outside the area for those at like North Carolina or Texas or uh region four and FEMA.

Doug Jenkins 13:33

I I think what might be lost in some of those efforts is that there is this effort to coordinate them, and it's it's a really good thing that there is. You mentioned that the Logan County tornadoes, uh, and that's uh that's one that always uh near and dear to my heart is not the right way to say it about the tornadoes, but I'm from uh from the Indian Lake area originally, and so uh a lot of people I know are affected by that, but it was really heartening one to see the local reaction, and it felt like a lot of the businesses maybe had the plan, but they wanted to pitch in right away. But then I know a lot of businesses from this area and all around the state wanted to get supplies there. But without that coordination from OP3 or from the Red Cross or from where it's at, that seems like that can almost get in the way faster than it can do anything. So that level of coordination and bringing it all together, because all of our hearts are in the right place when things like this happen, but just throwing all sorts of stuff at the at the problem can really create secondary problems if not handled correctly.

Gary Lehman 14:32

Yeah, and it's so we're working on uh, you know, across the state, we're working on what are ways to improve it. And it takes everybody, it's not just OP3 because it's when it happens like up there in Hancock County, it is the Hancock County's EMA that is the primary uh on all everything that's happening in that area when there is some form of emergency or disaster. So they're reaching back to the state for support, they're reaching back to the high EMA on things they can't completely handle or need support with, but they also reach over to OP3. So it's a combination of us all in effort to uh to help make us not only more resilient, but to respond to and then and help them recover because there's data out there in affected areas that there's been a major disaster. If they don't have things up by a certain amount of time, there's that secondary um emergency that businesses don't come back. They don't recover. So we want to make sure that we have businesses back up and running so that they can make money because that's what we're mainly here for is to support them, the local community, the family, the people, the families, and the businesses, uh, so the the area is vibrant again.

Doug Jenkins 15:48

We've talked a lot about disaster preparedness and recovery. Uh when you look at all of the things that OP3 does, are there services that maybe fly under the radar that you're particularly proud of or want people to know about to utilize more that maybe aren't in uh what we've talked about already?

Gary Lehman 16:03

Yeah. So if they become part of OP3, there's things that I connect them to. So there's a thing called SIMS, which is basically open source intelligence that they're available to, that it connects them with training, connects them to uh things that we're seeing in Ohio or across uh across the United States. Um, but the OP3 program connects them with that. We connect them with training. Um, we also connect them with we have a critical infrastructure unit. So that critical infrastructure unit will come out and do um a site survey on a business for free. They basically look at both physical security, cybersecurity, um, and they will help you uh at no cost to you. And then it's non-regulatory. When they give you the feedback, you can take and do with it as you will. Uh, but it just kind of gives you some ideas on how do I make my business more resilient uh to attacks and threats and stuff like that. A lot of people don't know about that. Um, so you know, the nice thing about um OP3 being within Ohio Homeland Security is I can connect them to the Intel or the information that they might not be in in other states because they're just simply within the emergency management agency. And, you know, we offer the ability for our uh private sector folks to come do a tour of the Ohio EMA and also see what's called the STAC, which the stack is a gathering hub uh for information and intelligence. Uh, but that also exists within the OP3 program, and a lot of people don't know about that.

Doug Jenkins 17:41

You mentioned cybersecurity, and uh that is always something top of mind. In fact, we're doing uh some programming on that a little bit later this month with our stronger business series. Um, and we've had guests on the podcast already this year that's saying they have seen an uptick on scams, cyber attacks, everything. 2026 seems like it's going to be a banner year. Uh, nobody who's just listening to the audio version saw my air quotes on that. Um there's been a decided uptick in that. Uh is that something that you're able to keep people abreast of through communication, through the agency and everything?

Gary Lehman 18:15

So, what I do is so we have what's called an OC3. And um, I know You guys have a lot of acronyms. Yeah, I know. OC3 is basically so OP3 is the private uh public-private partnership. OC3 is the cyber, uh, and I forget their whole term, but basically brings together all the cyber folks. In fact, Lynn Child, yeah, up in your area, she is actually in OC3 as well. But through OC3, there's a it's the same type thing. Once a quarter they have meetings um and they keep people abreast of the cyber side. So I don't have to, I don't have to do as much in that. I simply have a partner with them. Uh, but I do connect people because you have our thankfully our state is very robust when it comes to cyber. You have the Ohio Cyber Reserves, which if there's form uh a denial of service or some form of cyber attack, then it comes in, no costs. It's for small government that doesn't have the same funds, and it comes in and helps them uh mitigate and uh recover, hopefully, uh any damage uh that's done by a cyber attacks. And then there's also all forms of uh stuff within OC3 that the private sector can take part of, free training and stuff that helps companies uh be more resilient in cyber, which uh I through OP3 can connect them with those resources in OC3.

Doug Jenkins 19:37

Uh that's definitely somewhere where I guess when we talk about attacks, that's probably the most common attack vector or whatever you want to call it to small businesses, medium, and large-size businesses upside all the way up the chain, but you are able to help people with that physical security too. What are some of the trends you're seeing and being able to help people when it comes to just their physical physical security of their business?

How To Join And Final Takeaways

Gary Lehman 20:02

So, physical security, of course, starts with again bringing out the uh critical infrastructure folks because they will see ways to access into the building. Um, you know, they will they will basically tell you what your threats could be. Um they'll do they do intelligence on, you know, are these types of businesses being attacked more often? Um, you know, recently within at least the last five years, uh, you know, there were physical attacks on the grid, people going out to these sites and either shooting or trying to damage, uh, to bring the grid down or to uh compromise the our electric uh sector. So the physical security, you know, again, the things that we can bring are those intelligence coming through the SIMs from our stack, uh things that they should be aware of um that could be a threat to their to their uh organization. Uh, but yeah, a lot of it's in intelligence. And then also a lot of people don't know that Ohio Homeland Security also we certify the private investigators and the the uh the security guards out there. So all that comes through Ohio Homeland Security too. And I think a lot of people know that. So that our people are at least um they look at them to investigate them before you hire them as security guards and stuff.

Doug Jenkins 21:25

Gary, it's a wealth of information that you're able to provide and uh and get people connected with. Uh, if I'm a small business owner or large business owner, what have you, and I I want to get started with working through OP3 on whatever the project may be, what's the best way to get started with that?

Gary Lehman 21:41

That's that's a great question. So the the best way is if you if you Google it, do Ohio space op three, it'll take you right to my interface. And so in that, it takes three to five minutes to fill out the I want to be part of OP3. And then you'll receive an email back from me, and then uh I will start feeding you information uh you know whether it's like up in your area, we'll be doing a northwest uh regional meeting. But yeah, just simply Google Ohio Space OP3, and it'll take you to my website, and in my website you're able to register to become a member.

Doug Jenkins 22:21

Very good. Gary, we appreciate your time. Thanks for stopping on the podcast with us today.

Gary Lehman 22:25

Yeah, thanks, Doug. Appreciate it being the 200.

Doug Jenkins 22:29

So the biggest takeaway from today's episode, most businesses aren't as prepared as they think for when the worst possible thing can happen. And a plan doesn't have to be complicated. You just need to make sure that it exists and that you have access to it. Again, have that paper copy, have the binder, go old school. Don't count on the clown in an emergency. Even simple things like having those printed contacts key information, that makes a huge difference. And there are free resources available through OP3 and Ohio Homeland Security that you might not be using, but can get you set on the right path. I think the most important thing to realize is you don't have to figure this out alone. Use the resources that are available to you. You're already paying for this through your taxes, so go ahead and use these resources. Once again, thank you for listening to the 200th episode of Chamber Amplified. I can't believe that we're here at 200 episodes when we started off this journey uh four years ago now. Uh it was just sort of an idea we had to see who would listen, and it just continues to grow. So thank you so much for being a part of that. And we made it through me cutting the inside of my gum somehow. So that's a big win for this episode as well. A reminder, Chamber Amplified is a free podcast available to the community, made possible by the investment of our members here at the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce. If you're looking at ways to get your business involved in the community, a lot of times the chamber is the best place to start. And if you'd like to learn more about how you can do that, just send me an email, D Jenkins at Findlay Hancock Chamber.com, and we can talk about how an investment in the chamber not only helps your business, but the business community as a whole. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you next time on Chamber Amplified from the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce.