Day-1 of the NorthEast Illinois PIO Symposium and guess who gets to keynote the start….

That’s right, Cleveland Police Department Sgt Jennifer Ciaccia!

Packed house as we continue to tell the story about collaboration and coordination as field PIOs during critical events in Cleveland, Ohio.

Love sharing the message with other agencies as we continue to train with others in the ESF-15 realm.

Also focusing in on the needed equipment and specialized skills that are critical for in field PIO activities during a National Special Security Event (NSSE).

Always proud and honored to present and share with Jen.

Then later in the afternoon, we heard from John Nebl on Crisis Communications.

Timely talk esp since so many of our PIOs were fresh off National Preparedness Month wondering what to do about outreach efforts for October, November, and December.

Following John, I got a chance to discuss the PIO Networks that were used during disasters and emergencies during last year’s horrific hurricane season.

Sharing lessons learned and improvement plans allows us to train/educate other PIOs so they are better equipped to handle disasters of any shape and size across the US.

Even simple things like knowing your audience is critical when communicating with disaster survivors.

Telling the story about various agencies (including our own) is SO important.

We need to not only share that with the community, but also for our internal players as well. They too have families at home who are PROUD of the work and service they are fulfilling for those in need.

Glad to network with so many new PIO peeps!!!!

Definitely a solid Day-1 here at our NE Illinois PIO Symposium.

@rusnivek