By Kimberly Hopson
L’Observateur

LAPLACE –  In an effort to equip residents in storm prone regions for the upcoming hurricane season, Home Depot locations in storm-prone regions across the nation
will host hurricane
preparedness workshops.
The events are part of an unprecedented single-day outreach including more than 700 Home Depot stores from the Gulf Coast to New England. The LaPlace Home Depot’s workshop will take place on Saturday, July 27, from 10 to 11:30 a.m.
Home Depot is taking pre-emptive measures to protect residents from 2013 hurricane activity, which is predicted to be above average. Home Depot experts will cover
critical hurricane readiness topics, such as storm prep projects, generator safety, sizing generators for specific home or business
needs and assembling disaster preparedness kits. The workshops are free and open to the public.
Aaron Bordelon, district service manager, guesses that Home Depot has been holding the workshops for at least 15 or 20 years. Funding is not an issue since the Home Depot brings in local experts and vendors to conduct the workshops.
“The mission of it is just to better inform
our customers and let them know what Home Depot can do to help them prepare for a hurricane and also to let them know that we’re there for them and make sure that they brace themselves for the hurricane season that is upon us,” said Bordelon.
The hurricane preparedness workshops are part of a larger initiative aimed at expanding Home Depot’s hurricane operating plan. The company has moved workshops farther north this year and increased its supply chain readiness in northern facilities, including a new rail-connected distribution center serving Long Island, Queens and Brooklyn. The company also recently announced the opening of a unique satellite storm recovery location in Seaside Heights, N.J., to support recovery efforts post-Hurricane Sandy.
Event registration and additional information is available online at workshops.homedepot.com.