“Enduring Together – Persevering with Purpose”

The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season was one for the record books and a year that those involved in response and recovery efforts will certainly not forget. In Florida, the season was defined by three separate hurricane impacts, two of them coming within two weeks of each other. Hurricane Debby made landfall in the Big Bend as a Category 1 on August 5th. Hurricane Helene struck the same area as a Category 4 on September 26th, and Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane near Siesta Key, Florida on October 9th. Looking beyond Florida, we saw Hurricane Beryl bring wind and flooding to Texas and Louisiana, and Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic impacts in Western North Carolina.

Once again, rural counties in the Big Bend of Florida found themselves responding to hurricanes while in active recovery from the storms of past years. Additionally, heavily populated coastal counties along the west coast of Florida received historic coastal and inland flooding, and wind damage from Debby, Helene, and Milton. In Hurricane’s Debby and Helene, these impacts were felt even though landfall was hundreds of miles away. Storm surge levels from Hernando County south through Sarasota County were the highest many have seen in our lifetimes, flooding tens of thousands of structures along the coast and inland. The east coast of Florida also saw a significant tornado outbreak caused by Hurricane Milton’s landfall on the west coast.

Our theme for this 39th edition of the Governor’s Hurricane Conference – Enduring Together – Persevering with Purpose – represents a hurricane season that asked a lot of our collective profession. Multiple hurricane landfalls within a short period of time required continued service to our communities, often with little break, and a blurred line between response and recovery. This put added pressure on emergency management stakeholders and an increased importance on leaning on each other, collaborating across jurisdictions, supporting our teams, and persevering with the goal of improving outcomes for those we serve.

This year’s conference reflects a comprehensive training and workshop experience taking into consideration our diverse responsibilities that drive us to a shared goal. This year, our sponsoring organizations have selected 28 training sessions, 58 workshops, and an informative General Session to share lessons learned from the 2024 season and better prepare us for what the future holds. We also offer networking opportunities to meet and reconnect with colleagues across our profession and develop lasting partnerships across our emergency management community.

The Governor’s Hurricane Conference Board of Directors and Program Committee invite you to join us this year in West Palm Beach, FL as we apply the lessons of the past and persevere together!

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