James Lee Witt Associates Awarded Contract to Assist State of Iowa with Storm Recovery
James Lee Witt Associates Awarded Contract to Assist
State of Iowa with Storm Recovery
To provide technical, professional services to support recovery efforts and for FEMA Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation program services
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 12, 2008--GlobalOptions Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: GLOI), a leading provider of domestic and international risk management services, today announced that James Lee Witt Associates (JLWA), its Crisis Management and Preparedness Services Division, has obtained a two-year contract with the State of Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division (HSEMD) to provide disaster management consulting services in its efforts to recover from recent severe tornado and flooding events that struck the state.
JLWA will support the State of Iowa in three primary areas: coordination and strategic planning for long-term disaster recovery; facilitating the delivery of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) programs/other federal programs; and providing technical assistance and programmatic guidance to State of Iowa and local governments and qualifying private, non-profit organizations, impacted by the disaster. JLWA will also help organize and advise the Rebuild Iowa Office (RIO) established by Governor Chet Culver to comply with federal regulations and procedures.
"We are pleased to have the opportunity to work with the Iowa HSEMD in order to expedite their recovery," said James Lee Witt, Chief Executive Officer, James Lee Witt Associates. "We have had success in working with public assistance and hazard mitigation programs in other states that have been similarly affected by natural disasters, and our experienced team is well-equipped to assist with maximizing the use and availability of these funds."
Witt Associates will assist HSEMD in implementing its responsibilities as a "grantee" for FEMA grants, specifically the Public Assistance (PA) Program, which is designed to reconstruct public and non profit facilities. The contract will also include JLWA assisting with the management of the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). Funds from the HMGP will provide Iowans with resources to reduce the risk of disaster losses in the future. JLWA experts will be on-site to provide programmatic and administrative staff to HSEMD management and personnel.
"We are looking forward to working with Witt Associates as we begin the recovery process, getting disaster recovery funds expeditiously to the communities that desperately need them," said David Miller, Director of HSEMD. "With Witt Associates' knowledge of disaster recovery as well as the FEMA public assistance and mitigation grant processes, we anticipate that communities affected by the storm will get the aid they need more quickly and efficiently."
Witt Associates is performing similar services for other state and local governments, including a contract with the State of Louisiana where the firm has worked to assist the State in obtaining more than $3 billion worth of PA grants for Louisiana parishes that lost most of their entire infrastructure in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. The FEMA Public Assistance Grant Program is a $6 billion federal reimbursement program created to help states and localities recover from disasters. Similarly, JLWA managed the HMGP for the State of Louisiana, helping to secure over $2 billion in federal funding for future loss prevention.
In addition, Witt Associates was hired by the State of Oregon in 2007 to help them with the recovery from severe winter coastal storms, and was successful in implementing grants management protocols to maximize federal funding. In 2006, Witt Associates assisted the Commonwealth of Virginia with the implementation of the PA program for two back-to-back Presidential disaster declarations, assisting them with maximizing available assistance awards.
"After a disaster like the one Iowa has faced, it is crucial to get money into the hands of the affected communities, and help the state get public assistance funding as quickly as we can," said Dr. Harvey Schiller, Chairman, GlobalOptions Group. "We expect that we will be able to not only maximize the funds to be received by the Iowa HSEMD, but to do so in a timely manner."
GlobalOptions Group
GlobalOptions Group, with headquarters in New York City and offices in 16 cities, is a provider of high-end risk assessment and mitigation services to Fortune 1000 corporations, governmental organizations and high-profile individuals throughout the world. GlobalOptions Group's services currently include risk management and security, investigations and litigation support, and crisis management. These engagements take GlobalOptions Group staff around the world and are typically highly-sensitive engagements where GlobalOptions Group is interacting with senior leaders in corporations and governments. Its overall mission is to identify, evaluate, assess, prevent and correct issues that may threaten people, organizations or strategic initiatives for corporations or governments. Additional information can be found at www.globaloptionsgroup.com.
Statements in this press release regarding the company's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. The company wishes to caution readers not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which statements are made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1994, and as such, speak only as of the date made. To the extent the content of this press release includes forward-looking statements, they involve various risks and uncertainties including the successful integration of acquired businesses and revenue run rates.
Certain of these risks and uncertainties will be described in greater detail in GlobalOptions Group's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. GlobalOptions Group is under no obligation to (and expressly disclaims any such obligation to) update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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