Federal and broadcast officials, including the federal point person for IPAWS as well as the new president of NAB, are among those expected to participate in an upcoming EAS event in Washington.

The National Alliance of State Broadcasters Associations will host the 2010 EAS Summit Feb. 28–March 1 at the Hyatt Regency in Washington.

It comes at a time when much attention is being paid to the nation's alerting infrastructure and broadcasters' role within it. At the summit, broadcasters say they hope to expand efforts to make sure the government and public understand the role stations play in serving as the lifeline to the public in emergencies.

The National Alliance of State Broadcasting Associations represents the leaders of the 50 state broadcast associations, the core of the NAB's grassroots lobbying program.

A draft agenda is available on the NASBA Web site.

Scheduled speakers include Wade Witmer, deputy division director of the IPAWS Division, FEMA's National Continuity Programs Directorate; Gordon Smith, NAB president and chief executive officer; Jamie Barnett, chief of the Federal Communications Commission, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau; Leonard Charles, director of engineering Midwest Division of Morgan Murphy Media; David Layer, senior director, advanced engineering, NAB; Clay Freinwald, Washington State Emergency Communications Committee chair, and Bryan Fisher, director, Information Management Alert and Warning Systems, Alaska Division of Homeland Security.