Staffers at the IBA (Institute of Business Appraisers) have survived seven hurricanes over the years, most recently the wrath of Wilma, which struck in October, 2005. Such disastrous experience had honed the Institute’s reaction response—and its packing skills, “so that every employee had his or her key materials down to a single box and a remote employee workstation ready to go,” says executive director Michele Miles, JD, who wrote about the IBA’s experience—and their empathy for victims of hurricane Katrina—in this summer’s Valuation Strategies. Within hours of Wilma’s devastation, the IBA was back on-line; within three months, it had “nearly moved back to repaired space. Our interim loans have been repaid, and our insurance claims . . . accepted, thanks to an overload of documentation.”

Miles also gives credit to disaster planning resources such as the SBA’s toolkit (www.sba.gov/disaster/getready.html#facilities); and electronic documentation storage by FedEx/Kinko’s, OfficeMax, and other national providers. The IBA also urges appraisers “to act like the fortunate,” and help those affected by Katrina and other national disasters. For more on its giveback program, “On the Shoulders of Giants,” visit www.go-iba.org.