Miami, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2012 -- The Continental Group (TCG), a FirstService Residential Management company, will host two Hurricane Preparedness Seminar Panels for Condominium Associations with the first being on Monday, May 21st from 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at Jarvis Hall located at 4501 N. Ocean Drive, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida 33308. The second will be held on Wednesday, June 6th from 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at the Hollywood Beach Culture & Community Center located at 1301 S. Ocean Drive, Hollywood, Florida 33019. The events are open to all residents of the community, Condo Association Board Members and Property Managers. Admission is free.

The Atlantic Hurricane Season begins June 1st and ends November 30st. Compared to 2011, weather patterns will yield a less-conducive environment for tropical storms to develop. Strong, high-level winds are in place over the western and central Caribbean, promoting increased wind shear. If these high-level winds do not abate, increased wind shear will inhibit tropical storm development early in the season.

“When it comes to hurricane preparedness and disaster recovery, TCG, the leading community association management company, offers best practices based on over two decades of experience on the proper way to prepare and protect our communities from hurricanes, as well as provide them with disaster recovery services,” said Tim O’Keefe, CEO of The Continental Group.

The May hurricane seminars will be moderated by Julie Magaldi, Director of High-Rise Operation Assessments for The Continental Group. The interactive panel will discuss best practices in hurricane preparedness and focus on helping attendees create a realistic, functional plan critical for successful preparation, response and recovery should a hurricane strike. Panelists will include Turner Billups, TCG’s Vice President of High-Rise for Broward County; Raul Schwedt, Structural & Mechanical PE for RAS Engineers; James Pearlson, Project Manager for RAS Engineers; Dave Vaughn, Certified Arborist for Lukes-Sawgrass Landscaping and Dave Guenther, Branch Manager for Lukes-Sawgrass Landscaping. Prior to the seminar, over a dozen vendors will exhibit their products and services as related to hurricane preparation and restoration for condominiums. Vendors will include roofers, landscaping services, elevator services and generator providers, to name a few.

Topics will include steps for creating a personal hurricane plan, including: How to protect your community, common areas and property, how to prepare for an evacuation, what to expect before, during and after a storm and how to train your community and residents to respond quickly and efficiently in the event of a storm.

For more information or to RSVP, please visit http://www.eventsTCGMGT.com/ibshurricane or contact Astrid Marten at 954-734-4455 or email amarten@tcgmgt.com. All attendees must be pre-registered.

The June hurricane seminar will be moderated by Julie Magaldi, Director of High-Rise Operation Assessments for The Continental Group. The interactive panel will discuss best practices in hurricane preparedness and focus on helping attendees create a realistic, functional plan critical for successful preparation, response and recovery should a hurricane strike. Panelists will include Louis Pincus, Senior Vice President for The Continental Group; Raul Schwedt, Structural & Mechanical PE for RAS Engineers; James Pearlson, Project Manager for RAS Engineers; Dave Vaughn, Certified Arborist for Lukes-Sawgrass Landscaping and Dave Guenther, Branch Manager for Lukes-Sawgrass Landscaping. Prior to the seminar, over a dozen vendors will exhibit their products and services as related to hurricane preparation and restoration for condominiums. Vendors will include roofers, landscaping services, elevator services and generator providers, to name a few.

Topics will include steps for creating a personal hurricane plan, including: How to protect your community, common areas and property, how to prepare for an evacuation, what to expect before, during and after a storm and how to train your community and residents to respond quickly and efficiently in the event of a storm.

For more information or to RSVP, please visit http://www.eventsTCGMGT.com/holhurricane or contact Astrid Marten at 954-734-5522 or email amarten@tcgmgt.com. All attendees must be pre-registered.

In addition, TCG will host a free “Hurricane Preparedness for Associations Webinar” on Wednesday May 23, from 11 a.m. – Noon. To register for the webinar, please visit https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/765405586.

To learn more about The Continental Group, call (954) 925-8200, toll-free: (800) 215-2316 or visit http://www.thecontinentalgroupinc.com.

About The Continental Group, Inc.
Founded in 1990, The Continental Group’s corporate headquarters is located in Hollywood, FL.

It also has regional offices in Boca Raton, Miami, West Palm Beach, Wellington, Vero Beach, Orlando, Tampa/St. Petersburg, Jacksonville and Destin. The company is the largest manager of condominium and homeowner associations in the state, and one of South Florida’s leading private sector employers.

Today, The Continental Group manages and maintains 1,500 Associations and more than 310,000 residential units. As the leading community association management company in Florida, Continental pioneered many of the practices widely utilized throughout the industry today.

The Continental Group is a subsidiary of FirstService Residential Management (FSR). FSR is the largest manager of residential communities in North America, overseeing more than 5,600 properties and over 1.3 million residential units. FSR is a subsidiary of FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ: FSRV, TSX: FSV), a global leader in the rapidly growing real estate services sector, providing a variety of services in commercial real estate, residential property management and property services. More information about FirstService is available at firstservice.com.

To learn more about The Continental Group, call (954) 925-8200, toll-free: (800) 215-2316 or visit tcgmgt.com.