The Partners in Emergency Preparedness Conference was combined from two different Pacific Northwest conferences in the mid-1990s. One event was the Western Washington Emergency Network (WWEN) Conference, consisting primarily of private sector emergency management and business continuity personnel, and the other was the Washington State Emergency Management Division (EMD) Conference comprised primarily of public sector emergency management officials.

During the 1990s, there were a string of regional disasters, including the 1993 Inauguration Day Wind Storm, the December 14, 1995 Wind Storm, the January 1996 Duvall Earthquake, and the July 1999 Satsop Earthquake. Public and business sector response to these disasters was found to be insufficient. Organizers from both the WWEN and EMD conferences, together with public outreach and education specialists from the business sector, fire community, King County Emergency Management, City of Bellevue, American Red Cross, and others, realized they all needed to work together to improve and coordinate community response, recovery, preparedness, and mitigation ahead of future disasters.

In 1995, the two conferences merged to form the Partners in Emergency Preparedness Conference (PIEPC). A joint conference committee was created to help put on the first conference. That committee included about 20 dedicated professionals from the public and private sectors, non-profits, and others.

The first conference was held in 1996 at the SeaTac Red Lion and was an overwhelming success with over 200 in attendance. Those attending found the subject matter experts from all four phases of emergency management, business continuity, non-profits, professional development, and many other topics, were excellent and offered a diverse curriculum. This combined conference effort began PIEPC’s commitment to networking with professionals from all sectors to build relationships BEFORE a disaster occurs, and to grow the field.  Having trusted partners in disaster management goes a long way towards a successful coordinated response and recovery.

As the conference grew in scope and size, professionals from other disciplines such as health care, education, utilities, law enforcement, and more, attended, presented and joined the conference committee. Attendance grew quickly, outgrowing the SeaTac Red Lion, and the conference moved to the larger Double Tree Hotel in Bellevue in the late 1990s.

By 2005, the conference had become more nationally known as one of the best regional emergency management conferences with greater attendance, exceeding the Bellevue Double Tree’s maximum capacity. The Tacoma Convention and Trade Center opened in the fall of 2004, and the Partners Conference was one of the first conference groups to use this new facility in the spring of 2006. Attendance exceeded 600.

The Great Recession resulted in attendance waning in all sectors thanks to tightening budgets and availability of on-line emergency management information. The decision was made to move to a smaller conference venue, and in 2019, the conference was held at the Lynnwood Convention Center.

Then early in 2020, the pandemic emerged. Resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from adversity and PIEPC made adjustments to its delivery of key information to the emergency management community. In the fall of 2020 and 2021, virtual conferences were held on a smaller scale. In addition, the conference began presenting a series of monthly webinars in July 2020 with subject matter experts on key timely topics. These monthly webinars were met with great success and attendance.

In the spring of 2022, an in-person conference was held at the Lynnwood Convention Center with nearly 300 very enthusiastic attendees and exhibitors. The feedback was that the presentations were timely and relevant, and many noted how great it was to be back at an in-person conference to network with so many partners – both new and old.

Support of the emergency management community is greatly appreciated as the conference moves to rebuild. The future looks bright as there is always a need to share knowledge, experience, and grow professionally, particularly as new emergency managers and responders join the field.

PIEPC is an all-volunteer and a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization. If you support the conference’s mission of building stronger emergency management partnerships through collaboration, continuous education, and encouragement of those entering the field, be a part of PIEPC. Visit www.piepc.org to learn more about how you can apply to join the conference committee, become a volunteer, and attend the conference in coming years.