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Southern Bell , Piper Aircraft , Publix, as well as the banking community have prepared contingency plans in event of such an event . It is primarily among the smaller businesses where hazard mitigation and disaster preparedness have minimal attention . September 11 'h has again raised the awareness among the business community of the need to be prepared . As part of the LMS effort, the Indian River County DES extended i vitations to the business community to participate as a member of the LMS Working Group . Florida Light & Power Company , the ARC - Indian River County Chapter, and Southern Bell Telephone Company have been active in the planning effort . However, keysectors of the community were not represented such as finance , agriculture , medical , building supply , as well as Council on Aging , Piper Aircraft (a major local employer) , The Indian River CountyNero Beach Chamber of Commerce , and the Sebastian Chamber of Commerce . There is a definite need to augment private sector involvement before the private sector can become a player in the community' s hazard mitigation efforts . The most important activity that needs to be implemented is an LMS Private Sector Subcommittee . There are a number of activities in which the private sector can become involved in the LMS effort; however, the first and foremost obstacle has been energizing the interest of businesses to become involved in the process in the first place . In most communities , there are businesses that clearly understand that it is in their interest to develop a hazard mitigation plan prior to an actual event occurring . These are the organizations that need to become the core private sector group that spreads the word about the importance of " being prepared , " taking steps and creating a plan before the disaster occurs . The private sector body needs to be developing materials that raise awareness and educate businesses of the need to be prepared for potential disasters that may occur. It is envisioned that expanding the roles and responsibilities of private sector businesses in disaster events , beyond those that have historically been involved , will require educating businesses of the importance of hazard mitigation planning . Besides awareness and education , other roles that businesses can assume to strengthen private sector involvement in the LMS include business contingency planning and creating a private sector - emergency support function (a procedure to assist the business community c uring a disaster event) . Not only does the business community benefit, but the community as a whole benefits as well . Both activities would mitigate against the local economy becoming disrupted following a disaster. A key element in mobilizing the private sector, and an initial task of the Private Sector Subcommittee would be the development of an "Action Plan " that sets out a list of priority activities the Subcommittee would like to achieve in the coming year. 3-28