Tag Archives: 9

July is here! #2019

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July!!! 3Q and the start of the second half of the year is rolling! July will definitely be a busy one as

First week, lotsa planning including the IPEM and ICS re-certification process.

Second week popping a FEMA PIO Awareness course with my new friends at Mundelein Fire (Lake County, IL).

Third week is vacation. First one all year. Don’t bother me.

Fourth week, we got more on the ICS refresher and then a few more ICS classes including an ICS-400 course for our DoD partners and the Illinois Air National Guard.

Fifth week, we got more planning and fun with ICS, EM Courses, and the ramp up to a few brand new courses debuting with my office.

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To recap, it’ll be an intense two region month with 5 and 9.

Hope to see you out there.

@rusnivek

 

National Preparedness Symposium Day-3

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Final day of the 2019 National Preparedness Symposium here at CDP! Lots to share as we open up the day with a long talk on cyber.

Hint to Emergency Managers, Cyber is the sexy incident now…so I suggest you plan and design with your training manager now. Yep, you heard me right, cyber = sexy.

Noooooooow switching from cyber to FIT – because we will all get a FIT!

Here to listen in on the deets for the FEMA Integration Teams (FIT) from my FEMA LNO in Hurricane Irma, ladies and gents, put your hands together for…….. John Allen!!!!!

John Allen, better known as FEMA’s Director of Preparedness Integration and Coordination out of HQ has been point person for this effort started when previous FEMA Administrator Brock Long started.

This program imbeds FEMA Planners at specified locations to support all state, local, tribal, and territory (SLTT) partners. Rollout has been ongoing as this is a phased effort. Many of the 56 FITs are not staffed yet.

Also fortunate to have one of the FIT Leads with us from Idaho – hiya Justin!

Great to see that kind of partnerships on all levels including building confidence in the SLTT’s efforts. The most beneficial aspect of the program would be that the FIT can provide RRCCs and NRCC accurate SA/COP for real-time operational assessment and needs. So more than just an FEMA LNO, these FITs are able to integrate and provide immediate support.

But truth be told, the FITs are really integrated into their community as they live there. They work there. They are part of the response, recovery side of any event or incident that state may have. Great idea!

Me? I’m totes interested.

Riding on the wave of productivity, we popped back into our regional groups again and talked about our lessons learned from this symposium.

We discussed at length how we can help each other under blue/grey skies time…and really support each other during event/disasters.

Here’s a little behind the scenes of the group. Everyone participated including solid contributions from our tribal partners.

After all, isn’t that the mantra of Emergency Management? Building relationships before a disaster?!?!? See, even the pros practice what we preach!

In breaking for lunch, I know many of you remember taking IS-100, IS-200, IS-700, IS-800 and remember this slide.

I wanted to dispel the rumor, that is NOT me.

Saw a few of the FIWA folks in the hall and thanked them for their help during our MRTs as well as our pre-disaster deployment support prior to Irma. While there, I had them check my FEMA phone and tuned up. They reminded me that I still needed to do my yearly compliance training on “Security Awareness”

#whoops

As the symposium closed out, we had the color guard from the Anniston Police stop by to retire the colors.

Everyone who attended work tirelessly in protecting our nation from emergencies and disasters. We all believe in helping out and supporting all our communities because a prepared nation is a more resilient nation.

On the door step of the Memorial Day weekend, we all pause to remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice to protect everyone in this great nation.

Be safe out there folks!

Reporting live from the 2019 National Preparedness Symposium…

@rusnivek

Social Media Engagement Strategies for the AZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ peeps!

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Thirsty Thursdays are here and we’re popping another Social Media Engagement Strategies class here at Pima County EMA (Arizona).

And of course we gotta keep it real to the course creator – our good friend Cheryl Bledsoe!

For those that know the origins of this picture, know how important it is for us to keep it consistent.

As instructors, we often love to incorporate pop culture references into class. This class was no different.

Oh yeah! Luckily it isn’t Wednesday.

So great to see collaboration with the NPS Wildfire folks. Also great to see a fellow Type-1 PIOs in the audience too.

Great minds think alike as we continue to prepare and engage various audiences…including during non-fire season.

Not only are we prepping tweets and Facebook posts, we are also diving deep into strategy.

Plans are soooooo important esp when we focus in on social media. Yes, many PIOs are responsive, but we also need to be strategic about our operations. When participants walk away from this class, they have in hand, a starting point for social media strategy that includes their partner agencies.

Since we can’t just run and gun, we must not cross the streams.

Ray, just don’t look at the trap.

Outstanding discussion amongst all participants as we share success stories and challenges we face daily on social media.

More importantly, it’s good to see genuine smiles in class. Lotsa smiles.

Facilitating discussion helps enhance relationships with all providers in disaster response and recovery. Additionally, people can address gaps and maybe…MAYBE find an agency that can assist or mutual aid in to fill that shortfall.

Proud to bring this engaging class to our partners in Arizona!

@rusnivek

FEMA basic Social Media for Disaster Response and Recovery #Arizona

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Good morning Arizonaaaaaaaaaa!

Welcome to the Pima County Emergency Management Agency as we kick off another basic Social Media for Disaster Response and Recovery class. Welcome intros from Training Manager Sandra Espinoza.

Glad to see so many agencies from across the state represented here in class today. Additionally, also good to be teaching with fellow Tier-1 Instructor Mary Jo Flynn.

As you know, MaryJo is a Region 9er too (Sacramento, CA).

Like a good Emergency Manager, I’m always looking at what other agencies have and how they do business. And yes, I esp look at what kind of creature comforts they have in their EOC. And without a doubt, I’d swipe right for this amenity in my EOC.

The folks at Pima County EMA are most definitely proud to have this amenity. #TotesJelly.

As a basic class, we are constantly talking about new apps and features. Here’s MaryJo talking about the FEMA App and their Disaster Reporter feature.

And you know that privacy is a huge concern so we spend a bit on making sure your settings as a government agency as well as personal settings are up to date.

Yes, make sure all your social media stuff is in order before a disaster…or else.

Most seasoned pros know that real Emergency Managers can adapt to most any situations. Big or small, tough or easy, we are flexible and can adapt to anything.

For those are worried about MaryJo and little old me? No worries. We are assimilating in here just fine.

Giddup – reporting live from our stagecoach!

@rusnivek

Instructing FEMA NDPTC Winter Weather Hazards at Effingham County EOC #Illinois

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Starting out the morning in Illinois at the Effingham County Emergency Operations Center!

Glad to see sooooo many smiling faces here to learn about preparedness and science with our efforts to better prepare our public safety partners on winter weather hazards.

And sharing how critical the National Weather Service is to our daily response and every single Emergency Operations Center is essential for all professionals in any emergency. No matter where you are in the US, there is a NWS office to support your daily operations.

Sharing important information on the science of weather including how to discern these crazy charts, graphs, and data make it easier to understand how tough meteorologists have it when trying to forecast the weather.

And sharing real case studies and discussion the evolution of how response officials work together is critical for any community across this great nation.

Teaching at Effingham County helped me realize they got some really cool stuff here (aka Emergency Management toys resources!)

Special shout out to Pam and the entire crew at Effingham County EMA as well as everyone in Illinois Region-9.

Looking forward to seeing all of you at the next big one!

@rusnivek

Already December 2018? Are you serious?!?!?

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How in the world is it December already!

First week will be several NIMS/ICS courses for our County ESF-3 partners, few other Emergency Management courses for IL Region-9, and a Emergency Management/Health Department functional exercise w/ our CERT Teams for medication POD distribution.

Second week our office is hosting another FEMA G0289: PIO Awareness course and then a fun PIO Workshop at ABC7-Chicago on Friday.

Third week will be the FEMA G0290/G0291: Basic PIO Course and JIC/JIS course. Without a doubt a full class w/ wait list. Glad to finally nail this one for all of our partners in public safety, Cheers for Murray and Corey for championing this for everyone too.

Fourth week appears to be Christmas so likely yearly closeouts and wrap ups.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeowza. Honestly, I can’t believe 2019 is right around the corner.

@rusnivek

Day-1 ICS-300 with strong DoD participation

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It’s Monday morning so lets kick off another hard core ICS-300 course…in the Poinsettia Room! 🌺

Also known as the city’s Emergency Operations Center too.

Diverse groups today with a strong showing from our Department of Defense and local public safety professionals.

This kind of joint training provides us the opportunities to build stronger partnerships and even strengthen the preexisting bonds with DoD assets including a few special teams.

Lots of group work as participants figure out priorities and challenges during the first few hours and into the first/second operational period.

But working through the issues in a calm classroom will help reduce the amount of stress during an actual emergency. Finding out strengths and gaps and addressing them so that everyone can respond better to any incident. That’s right enhancing response capabilities.

Sound familiar? That’s what HSPD-5 (Homeland Security Presidential Directive-5) is all about. A coordinated response! <heavy breathing>

That is exactly what Emergency Management is all about – build relationships for a coordinated response. <heavier breathing>

And also proof, if you teach it right, you can get people to smile in my ICS classes.

Awww yeah!

Great work from all participants – lotsa participation from everyone!

Glad to see so much collaboration from local, county, state, Federal, and DoD assets.

And as always, thank you for your service to our great country.

Happy birthday Marty. It’s a great first day.

Looking forward to the next two days!

@rusnivek

March 2018 comes marching right in!

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March is…well marching in!

The first and second weeks will be dominated by serious meetings with government leadership, senior staff, and EM coordinators. And as usual we will likely have a few ad hoc meetings w/ DoD types and partner agencies.

Third week will be the FEMA basic academy in Columbus at the mothership (Ohio EMA). Shout out to Region-5!

Fourth week, for a hot minute, I’ll be presenting at the State of Georgia Conference on crisis communications and social media in emergencies. Region 4 baby!

Strategic month as we plan for upcoming events.

@rusnivek