Letter from the President
Tim Rettig

An Emotional Business Conference

To stay current with the IT and business world, I attend quite a few business conferences. I’ve heard some great speakers tell some great stories at those conferences. Some stories have been funny, some sad, some inspirational, but none has moved me to tears, until now.

Inc. Magazine recently recognized INTRUST GROUP as the 635th fastest growing company in the U.S. on the Inc. 500|5000 list. Last week, I had the pleasure of attending their conference to receive our award, network with fellow entrepreneurs, and listen to some brilliant speakers. The event had some of the best speakers I have ever heard. They ranged from General Stanley McChrystal, former Commander of U.S. and International Forces in Afghanistan and former Leader of Joint Special Operations Command, to Ric Elias co-founder & CEO of Red Ventures, who had a front-row seat on Flight 1549, the plane that crash-landed in the Hudson River in New York in January 2009. But nothing could prepare me for the most memorable speaker of the event: Scott Harrison.

Scott’s speech detailed his life story, which took him from being a self-centered nightclub promoter, to joining the charity Mercyships, to founding Charity: Water, five years ago. I don’t have the talent to articulate in writing his fascinating life journey, but I did find a video of him telling his story at another event that you can watch here, if you are interested. The video is 42 minutes long, so make sure you make some time to watch it, because once you start, you won’t be able to stop.

In his speech, Scott explained that when he set out to start Charity: Water, he wanted the organization to be a new kind of charity. To do that, he established three goals for the organization:

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The Big Shake –
New Madrid Fault: 200 Years and Counting

Seminar in Cincinnati, OH

Are you slightly shaken but dry? Did you feel the Virginia earthquake?
With earthquakes and volcanoes active on every continent, it's time to pay attention to this very real source of human and economic catastrophe. In our own region the New Madrid Fault continues to be active with notable seismic activity as recently as 1995. California and Pacific Rim faults have held the limelight for more than a century even though their potential damage is dwarfed by the projected economic impact of New Madrid.

This seminar will explore what happened along the New Madrid in 1811 and 1812, discuss common misconceptions about the seismic zone and provide answers to the following questions:

• Why should I care about an earthquake when the threat seems remote?

• What impact would it have on my business?

• How would my business plan for an earthquake?

• Should I purchase earthquake insurance?

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National Preparedness Month: Have a plan to recover
by Rachel Stancliff, Heartland Technology Solutions

September is National Preparedness Month, driven this year by Agility Recovery, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Ready Campaign, and Citizen Corps. This campaign is an effort to encourage Americans to prepare for emergencies, whether it is at their homes, workplace, or communities.

The percentage of small- to medium-sized businesses that never recover after a disaster is staggeringly high, especially since the steps to putting together a disaster recovery plan are simple.

You never know when disaster might strike. Heartland Technology Solutions knows this very well – only weeks after we finalized our business continuity plan, a deadly tornado struck Joplin, MO, where one of our locations is based.   Read more