The Road From Hurricane Rita

The Texas Tribune and The Beaumont Enterprise are pleased to present a special event marking the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Rita's landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast, and their forthcoming joint reporting project, The Road From Rita.

Join us at Lamar University for a discussion on lessons learned from Hurricane Rita, and whether Texas is better prepared for such storms in its aftermath. The dialogue will include a look ahead to the future of emergency management and mass evacuation plans in Texas. Tribune Editor Emily Ramshaw will moderate.

Our panelists are:

- State Rep. Joe Deshotel, D-Beaumont
- Carl Griffith, former Jefferson County judge
- Debbra Mamula, policy adviser to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and former executive vice president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association
- Brad Penisson, captain with the Beaumont Fire Department

In addition to the panel discussion, we invite storm survivors to come early to share video testimonials of their Rita experience. The testimonials will be filmed from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 2 p.m. in the Setzer Center, Room 133 and will be shared on the website for the Road From Rita project.

This event will be held in the Setzer Center Ballroom at Lamar University in Beaumont. It is free and open to the public and includes a light lunch.

The conversation will also be livestreamed at texastribune.org/livestream (starting at noon), and the video will be accessible for viewing afterward.

This event is presented by Provost Umphrey Law Firm, LLP, in partnership with the Beaumont Enterprise, and hosted by Lamar University. Tribune events are also supported through contributions from our founding investors and members.

Disclosure: Though donors and corporate sponsors underwrite our events, they play no role in determining the content, panelists or line of questioning.