Collier County residents age 55 and older have until the end of the month to grab one of the last open seats at a free disaster-preparedness summit at the Ritz-Carlton, Naples. The 3rd Annual Emergency Readiness Summit is set for August 29 and organizers say registration is already nearly full.
The event was announced in a Facebook post from the Collier County Sheriff's Office, which is organizing the summit alongside Sheriff Kevin Rambosk, Collier County, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, AmeriCorps and 9/11Day as part of the county's broader Day of Service initiative. The daylong summit runs free of charge for eligible seniors, and includes breakfast, lunch, three expert-led breakout sessions of the attendee's choosing, and a free emergency readiness resource kit, according to the sheriff's office post. Registration is being handled through Eventbrite, and organizers describe space as limited.
Former U.S. Secret Service Director Lewis Merletti is scheduled to deliver the keynote presentation. Merletti led the Secret Service from 1997 to 1999, protecting Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton, and served as a U.S. Army Special Forces veteran in Vietnam before retiring to Naples, according to CBS News.
What Attendees Can Expect on Site
Logistics for the day are already public. The summit runs from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. with complimentary valet parking and no self-parking option, and registered seniors can choose three breakout classes from ten total course offerings, according to Southwest Florida Online News. An event syllabus published on AllEvents listed session topics including FEMA recovery and application processes, weather awareness and flood mapping, CPR/AED training, post-hurricane environmental public health risks, pet emergency preparedness, and active shooter response — a curriculum that goes well beyond generic hurricane advice.
The summit is grant-funded and organized in conjunction with national service initiatives, pairing disaster-preparedness training with 9/11 remembrance efforts, the outlet's report notes. That combination reflects the event's dual purpose: emergency instruction alongside a civic memorial honoring first responders.
A Summit That Started in a Library
The event has grown considerably since its debut. Collier County held its inaugural Emergency Readiness Summit on September 14, 2024, at the South Regional Library in Naples, targeting adults 55 and older and distributing emergency kits to the first 200 registered households, according to The SWFL 100. The 2nd Annual summit moved to the Naples Grande Beach Resort on September 12, 2025, offering six expert-led breakout options and an awards ceremony recognizing local first responders, per United Way of Collier and the Keys. This year's move to the Ritz-Carlton, and the addition of a nationally known keynote speaker, marks the summit's third consecutive expansion.
Why Seniors Are the Focus
The targeting of older residents is rooted in demographics. U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts data from 2024 shows 34.8% of Collier County's population is 65 or older, well above Florida's statewide average of 21.3%. A community issue paper from the Collier Community Foundation put the figure at 36% of residents 65 or older, adding that 25% of that group lives with a disability and 32% falls below the ALICE survival budget threshold for older adults — a fixed-income vulnerability that stands in contrast to the county's affluent resort image.
The summit also connects to a year-round infrastructure. The Collier County Sheriff's Office maintains a Community Emergency Response Team volunteer program, training residents through a 24-hour disaster simulation course to form neighborhood emergency response teams, according to the agency's own materials.
Recent Storms Underscore the Stakes
The urgency isn't hypothetical. Naples has faced a 60-mph severe thunderstorm warning in recent weeks, and wildland brush fires have forced evacuations in Golden Gate Estates and sent campers fleeing during the Bear Island brush fire earlier this year. Those events illustrate the kind of fast-moving hazards the summit's breakout sessions are designed to help seniors navigate.
Seats for the August 29 summit are described as nearly full, and interested residents age 55 and older can register through colliercountyers.eventbrite.com while space remains.
