Family Emergency
Preparedness Workshop
Would Your Household Survive a Widespread Blackout?
Saturday, October 17, 2026 | 10:00AM - 6:00PM | OTTAWA, ON
Don’t plan for a crisis during a crisis. Join retired Canadian Army officer and strategic operations expert Tom Marazzo for an exclusive, full-day interactive workshop.
This is not a passive lecture. You will dive directly into a hands-on, guided working session to stress-test your current household readiness against a prolonged grid failure. Identify your hidden resource vulnerabilities, eliminate critical safety gaps, and walk away with a personalized, written emergency action plan in hand.
Meet Your Instructor
Tom Marazzo is a retired Canadian Army Officer, author, speaker, and civic innovator with 25 years of military service. He brings extensive, real-world expertise in leadership, strategic operations, and crisis management directly to our community.
A Practical Approach to Family Readiness
Drawing on his extensive military background and training in structured operational planning, Tom teaches civilians how to prepare for emergencies with clarity, discipline, and confidence.
No Fear Tactics: His framework completely rejects extreme, fear-based "prepper" thinking.
Practical Action: The curriculum focuses entirely on helping ordinary families, community leaders, and organizations build actionable, written plans before a crisis occurs
Tom is the author of The Emergency Act and The People’s Emergency Plan: A Civilian Guide to Structured Emergency Planning. This book adapts elite military planning principles into a step-by-step framework that helps everyday citizens analyze risks, identify resource gaps, assign household responsibilities, and make critical decisions under pressure.
Beyond his training courses, Tom leads the development of Toto, a civic engagement platform designed to help citizens communicate with elected representatives and organize vital local initiatives. His lifelong mission is to give ordinary people the tools, confidence, and structure they need to take meaningful action in their own homes, communities, and country.
Training Overview
This full-day workshop will guide participants through the development of a practical written household emergency plan.
The primary training scenario will be a prolonged local blackout. The blackout scenario provides a realistic foundation for planning because it may affect heating systems, lighting, private wells, sump pumps, refrigeration, communications, medical devices, transportation, access to essential services, and the ability to remain safely at home.
The course is designed as a guided working session rather than a lecture. Each module will introduce a planning concept, provide practical examples, and allow participants time to apply the concept to their own household circumstances.
Training Objectives
What participants will achieve by the end of the day:
Complete a comprehensive household profile.
Rank threats most relevant to your property.
Build an immediate blackout emergency response plan.
Audit household equipment to identify critical resource gaps.
Assess local evacuation routes and utility dependencies.
Outline required tasks, constraints, and key assumptions.
Evaluate shelter-in-place versus relocation relocation options.
Stress-test your chosen plan against changing conditions.
Define critical decision points and contingency actions.
Finalize a complete, written household blackout plan.
Create a prioritized post-workshop action checklist.
Adapt your new blueprint to flooding or ice storms.
Schedule
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Introduction — Why a Written Plan Matters
Explain the difference between owning emergency supplies and having a written plan that can be followed under pressure.
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Household Profile and Planning Priorities
Identify household members, medical needs, mobility concerns, pets, vehicles, heating systems, water sources, and other factors that affect the plan.
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Threat Identification and Ranking
Identify the threats most likely to affect the household and determine which scenarios should be planned for first.
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Emergency Hasty Plan
Develop a rapid response plan for the first several hours of an unexpected local blackout.
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Equipment Inventory and Resource Gaps
Review the equipment and supplies required to carry out the Hasty Plan, identify what is already available, and record remaining gaps.
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Understanding Your Environment
Assess household utility dependencies, local routes, obstacles, available resources, and possible relocation destinations.
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Building the Planning Foundation
Record the Situation Overview, Facts, Assumptions, Constraints, Deductions, Tasks, and household objectives.
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Item description
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Developing and Selecting a Course of Action
Compare three practical options: remain at home, prepare to relocate, or relocate before conditions become unsafe.
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Wargaming and Decision Points
Test the plan against changing conditions, identify trigger points, and determine when the household should change its course of action.
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Writing the Final Household Plan
Assemble the completed worksheets into a practical written blackout plan with roles, actions, routes, communications procedures, and contingencies.
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Adapting the Plan and Identifying Next Steps
Identify how the blackout plan can be adapted to ice storms, flooding, and other threats, and complete a prioritized Remaining Actions List.
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The concluding portion of the day provides an unhurried space for participants to transition out of the workshop environment.
Attendees are invited to connect, discuss insights from the day, and build meaningful relationships with fellow safety-conscious community members.
A full-service cash bar ($$) available on-site.
Select Your Ticket Tier
Choose between our VIP Bundle or General Admission tickets. Seating is capped to maintain an interactive, hands-on learning environment for all participants. VIP Bundles are limited.
VIP BUNDLE (Lunch included)
What Is Included:
Full-Day Admission: In-person training and interactive workshop access.
Premium Workshop Material: A hardcopy workbook of The People's Emergency Plan: A Civilian Guide to Structured Emergency Planning by Tom Marazzo. Includes fill-in-the-blank templates to document your custom household plan.
Exclusive VIP Book Signing: Dedicated access to the post-event book signing and individual photo opportunity with Tom Marazzo.
Hot Lunch: Select one of the following premium dining options at checkout:
Option 1: Hot Pasta – Beef or Ricotta Cheese Manicotti with spinach, homemade tomato sauce, garlic bread, choice of tossed or Caesar salad, dessert, and coffee or tea.
Option 2: Butter Chicken – Butter chicken served with rice, tossed salad, dessert, and coffee or tea.
A full-service cash bar ($$) will be available on-site.
Catered Hot Lunch Add-On
(For General Admission Ticket Holders)Enhance your workshop experience by adding a premium, catered hot lunch to your registration. Because venue dining numbers must be finalized prior to the event, all meals must be pre-ordered; on-site food purchases cannot be accommodated.
Price: $35.00 (Includes 18% Service Fee)
Menu Options (Select at Checkout):
Option 1: Hot Plated Pasta – Beef or Ricotta Cheese Manicotti served with spinach, homemade tomato sauce, a side of garlic bread, your choice of tossed or Caesar salad, dessert, and coffee or tea.
Option 2: Hot Plated Butter Chicken – served with rice, a tossed salad, dessert, and coffee or tea.
A full-service cash bar ($$) will be available on-site.
General Admission: Family Emergency Preparedness Workshop
(Lunch NOT Included)
What Is Included:
Full-Day Admission: In-person training and interactive workshop access.
Premium Workshop Material: A hardcopy workbook of The People's Emergency Plan: A Civilian Guide to Structured Emergency Planning by Tom Marazzo. Includes fill-in-the-blank templates to document your custom household plan.
Community Networking: Access to the post-event community mingle segment from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM.
Dining Options & Add-Ons:
Catered Hot Lunch Add-On: Available for $35. Please add this option to the cart before completing checkout. On-site food purchases cannot be accommodated.
Bring Your Own Lunch: Standard ticket holders are welcome to bring a packed lunch. (A microwave will be available on-site).
A full-service cash bar ($$) will be available on-site.
⏳ Subscriber Pre-Sale Ends June 29, 2026(Deepest savings)
Frequently Asked Questions
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The workshop takes place at a premium venue in downtown Ottawa. To maintain a private, secure environment for our attendees and special guest, the exact address and parking details will be shared exclusively with ticket holders.
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Please plan to arrive 15-30 minutes in advance to ensure you have time to register.
The event will start on time at 10:00AM sharp. We appreciate your collaboration in arriving on time to avoid any disruptions.
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There are three convenient parking options available near our downtown venue:
Free Parking: Available directly across the street. Spaces are limited, so we highly recommend arriving early or carpooling if you are attending with group members.
Paid Parking: A dedicated paid parking lot is located immediately beside the venue for quick and easy access.
Street Parking: Available on the surrounding blocks. Please check nearby city signage to ensure compliance with local parking regulations.
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Register directly on our official website at www.theGCexperience.com.
Subscriber Pre-Sale (June 15 – June 29): Exclusive early access with our deepest savings of $40 off the regular ticket price.
Early Bird Registration (June 30 – July 31): Public registration opens with early-bird savings of $20 off the regular ticket price.
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General Admission — Includes:
Admission ticket;
Copy of Tom's book.
VIP Bundle — Includes:
Admission ticket;
Premium seating;
Plated hot lunch;
Copy of Tom's book;
Exclusive book signing with Tom.
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Admission can be verified using either an electronic confirmation or a physical, printed copy.
To ensure a swift registration process, please have either form of confirmation ready to present to staff at the registration desk.
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Attendance involves a full day of learning and interactive planning, so casual, comfortable clothing is ideal. Dressing in layers is highly encouraged to ensure personal comfort regardless of room temperature variations.
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All ticket sales are final and non-refundable. If an unexpected conflict arises, the registration can be transferred to another individual at no extra charge. Please contact us at info@theGCexperience.com to initiate a transfer.
Should the event be cancelled, all ticket sales will be refunded back to its original method of payment.
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VIP Tickets: A catered lunch is included with all VIP registrations.
General Admission Tickets: A catered lunch can be added to standard tickets at the time of purchase ($35).
Bring Your Own Lunch: Guests are welcome to bring a packed lunch.
Important Note: All catered meals must be ordered and paid for in advance during registration. On-site food ordering will not be available.
Beverages: A full-service cash bar will be available on-site throughout the day for drink purchases ($$).
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Permitted Items:
Note-taking Materials: A pen and paper/notebook.
Personal Hydration: A personal water bottle.
Outside Food: Personal lunch and snacks (recommended for standard ticket holders who did not purchase a catered lunch add-on).
Prohibited Items:
Recording Devices: To protect the privacy of attendees and the intellectual property of the trainer, audio or video recording devices of any kind are strictly prohibited during the workshop.
You are free to take personal pictures of yourself and other participants (with their permission) during the networking hour after the workshop is completed.
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Yes, general admission ticket holders are welcome to bring a packed lunch.
On-Site Amenities: A microwave is available for attendee use.
Safety Restrictions: To protect attendees with severe medical conditions, foods containing common allergens such as nuts and shellfish are strictly prohibited.
Room Comfort: Out of respect for fellow participants in an enclosed space, please avoid bringing meals with strong aromas or odors.
Reminder: On-site food purchases are not possible; catered meals must be pre-ordered online during registration.
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Absolutely! If you’re purchasing your tickets separately, we ask that you indicate your friend(s) name at the checkout form so we can ensure that you are sitting at the same table.
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While all workshop participants will have the opportunity to meet and connect with Tom during the networking segment, the formal book signing and photo opportunity are exclusively reserved for VIP ticket holders.
To ensure a seamless schedule, general admission tickets will not include access to the signing line or staged photo sessions.
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If you require further information or special accommodations, you can email us, or complete the contact form. It will be our pleasure to assist you.
SPONSORS
Briden Solutions
Briden Solutions is a fantastic, family-owned Canadian business located in Calgary, Alberta. They are the real deal. When the Calgary floods hit in 2013, their team volunteered hundreds of hours sandbagging before the flood, and slugging mud out of basements afterward. During the Fort McMurray wildfires in 2016, they donated $50,000 in food to evacuation centers and firefighters. They truly care about Canadian communities and lead with their hearts.
We are proud to announce that Briden Solutions is giving away something huge to one lucky workshop attendee: One attendee will win a Deluxe 2-Person 72-Hour Emergency Survival Kit ($250 value). Big shoutout to Briden Solutions team for making a difference - we are better together!
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