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Emergency Management, Emergency Services, & Disaster Spox

A few moments with my favorite JIC Managers

Posted on January 28, 2020 by rusnivek

A glimmering light of happiness as I got a chance to spend a few moments with my favorite Joint Information Center (JIC) Managers Beth DeJesus and Erica Creech.

(L to R): Beth DeJesus, Kevin Sur, and Erica Creech. Photo cred: EllaMonster

Beth and Erica were my JIC Managers throughout the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Additionally, Beth was the Cleveland JIC Manager during the December 2016 Christmas plane crash out of Burk e. Erica was my JIC Manager during the 2014 Ebola case in Cleveland, 2012 Hurricane Sandy Response, and the 2013 three girls missing in Cleveland case.

During our quick meet up, we talked about work/careers and ongoing efforts. And yeah, they tried to get me to move back to Cleveland.

But most importantly, we talked about family, kids, and the things that really mattered. Hard to believe but this PIO thing isn’t easy and in leadership roles, it’s hard to find people/friends who truly understand the complexities of the position and can sympathize in the daily challenging situations. We all have armor, we just need to decide how long we wear our protective gear.

Just like back in the day, we were able to slot back into our normal self and the redic things that come with Emergency Support Function ESF-15. I miss that kind of camaraderie and the cohesive bonds we shared with so many of our public safety partners from across the state.

Yeah, I miss my favorite JIC Managers…

@rusnivek

FEMA OEMA JIC/JIS Course today

Posted on January 23, 2020 by rusnivek

Starting out the day with the FEMA OEMA G0291: JIC/JIS course.

So glad to see Father Fire….I mean Chief Warner….I mean Captain Warner here at the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

While wearing a different hat, we can confidently say that no matter what uniform we wear, our efforts to protect our community goes beyond just the normal 8-5 job. It truly is a calling for public safety pros to serve their community.

While in module-3, we had a reporter from Cleveland-19 Action News WOIO show up here to do an interview with one of our participants in the class – the Lake County (Ohio) Sheriff Frank Leonbruno.

Solid, poised…

…and deliberate words for the current situation. Well done Sheriff!

Fortunately, Cleveland 19 News Reporter Kendall Forward and Videographer Marty DeChant had a few minutes to spare as they were kind enough to share their thoughts on PIO interactions with public safety PIOs.

(L to R): Kendall Forward, Steve Bosso, Kevin Sur, and Marty DeChant

And since I had them with us, I had to ask my favorite question: On the record? Is that really true?

The afternoon provided us the opportunity to bring everyone together in the JIC scenario and collaboration with all attendees. This class addresses various participants but making it all work is the hallmark of Phil Politano’s vision – all culminating in the joint press conference.

Shout out to all participants in this week’s class. Proud of the work you’ve done as well as the contributions to your community.

Welcome to the world of PIO!

More importantly, I am glad to see so many familiar faces this week.Seeing all of you leading your respective departments is inspiring as I truly can say “I knew you when…”

Go forth and Tweet good stuff!

@rusnivek

FEMA Basic PIO Day-2 with Media panel!

Posted on April 3, 2019 by rusnivek

Day-2 of the FEMA Basic Public Information Officer’s course here in Summit County, Ohio! Starting off discussion on body language and non-verbal cues from Bosso.

I was fortunate to have a few of my media peeps stop by to say hi.

Cleveland 19 News (@Cleveland19news) Director of Digital Content Amanda Harnocz (@AmandaHarnocz)

News 5 Cleveland (@WEWS) Reporter Meg Shaw (@MegDShaw)

So glad to hear their insights to news media engagement and interactions.

We opened the floor to questions and our new PIOs had some deep questions on conflict resolution and maintaining relationships.

Proud to have media members attend all my classes as an integral part of getting the message out.

A hallmark sign of a solid PIO? Always building media relationships BEFORE an emergency.

Thanks you Meg and Amanda!

In the afternoon, we had a quick public safety panel from

Cleveland Police (@CLEPolice) PIO Sgt Jennifer Ciaccia

Cleveland Fire (@ClevelandFire) PIO Lt Michael Norman

Outstanding to hear from working PIOs who have worked so hard to improve the image of their departments during challenging times.

And finally, to close out the day, we had a quick visit from Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office (@CuyahogaSheriff) PIO John O’Brien (@jobjr)!

Providing solid media interactions and being firm on your stance as a PIO is critical in assuring your agency is seen as a trusted and guaranteed source of information. Thankful to hear positive stories from John for all of our class today.

I am proud to be able to share and open connections for these new PIOs from across the state.

Tomorrow we take them from single role PIOs and form up Voltron in the JIC!

@rusnivek

FEMA OEMA G0291: Joint Information Center/System class at the Cleveland EOC! #PIO

Posted on October 26, 2018 by rusnivek

Happy AlohaFriday and a great start to the FEMA OEMA G0291: Joint Information Center / Joint Information System course here at the Cleveland EOC!

So naturally, we talked a bunch of JIC stuff including our third guest VIP – day shift Cleveland JIC Manager of the 2016 RNC and the led JIC Manager of the Christmas plane crash in 2016, Beth Zietlow DeJesus!!!

Not only sharing stories about coordination amongst local, county, and Federal agencies on the recovery process, Beth was able to share a few stories about the media on controlling the message and handling mis-information.

Great experiences to share with out new PIOs!

Outstanding class this week. Proud of the work and collaboration in class shared by everyone. Great to see these new PIOs as they increase their organization’s visibility.

Now go forth, and use your new PIO skillz for good!

Also, yeah.

@rusnivek

Day-2 of the FEMA OEMA G0290: Basic #PIO at Cleveland EOC

Posted on October 25, 2018 by rusnivek

Day-2 of the FEMA Basic PIO Course in Cleveland, Ohio!!! Starting out the day with one of the best JIC Managers in the biz, ladies and gents, one of the orig FEMA Master PIOs put your hands together for ERICA CREECH!!!!!

Sharing her experiences with the class on PIOs and coordination was critical in countless EOC and JIC activations.

In a heartbeat, I’d work for Erica any day in the JIC.

Don’t worry, we jumped back on the train (FEMA’s powerpoint slides) to talk and debate about press releases.

Since Steve is from media, he loves his inverted pyramid. But are press releases valuable? Needed? Seems we had quite the spirited discussion on the necessity and timely appeal of press releases.

After lunch, we were fortunate enough to grab, IMHO, the best of the best media talent in Cleveland.

Fox8: Jennifer Steer (@jensteer)

WOIO-19: Chris Tanaka (@Chris_Tanaka)

WEWS-5: Homa Bash Ball (@HomaBashWEWS)

WKYC-3: Barry Wolf (@photowolfTV)

Cleveland PlainDealer: Ginger Christ (@GChristCLE)

These pros not only talk a good game, but their social media skills are top shelf! I submit to you Barry’s fashion selfie from the front of the room.

Solid!

These folks were able to dedicate their time to answer any I mean ANY questions that our new PIOs had.

Proud to see new relationships and transparency with all parties involved.

Why? We hear of soooo many bad interactions and exchanges with the media. This kind of engagement showcases that if we work together and we share our knowledge of ongoing issues, we can help each other out.

I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am to see this kind of action happening in class.

Like nurturing new PIOs and helping them network…OMG THIS IS WHAT EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IS ALL ABOUT!!!!!!!!

Yeah yeah, I’ll get off the soapbox now.

But seriously, this media panel has been one of my absolute favorites to have because….well, because of this…

Brah, Tanaka’s got some seriously good selfie skillz. Many mahalos to all of my media panel that showcased the best of TV news media.

After the media panel left, we reviewed all of our on camera interviews.

Sharing our challenges but learning from others in a productive and positive way increases participant on camera skills.

To close out the day, we also had our second and most lauded PIO stop by. Ladies and gents, the orig filmmaker himself, raise the roof cause it’s Cleveland Fire very own PIO Mike Noooooooooooorman!!!!!!!

Glad to spend a few minutes with fire’s new PIO who jumped head first into the role for CFD. FYI-Mike was a participant in a class that Steve and I taught in Summit County Ohio so we are proud to see him flourishing in his role at CFD.

Outstanding and super fun day with everyone. Back at it tomorrow with another special guest and to talk about JIC/JIS!

@rusnivek

FEMA OEMA G0290: Basic #PIO at the City of Cleveland EOC!

Posted on October 24, 2018 by rusnivek

Outstanding start to this week’s FEMA G0290: Basic PIO course sponsored by Ohio EMA and the City of Cleveland Emergency Management!

Special thanks to CEM Alex Pellom for the invitation to hang for a few days in the Emergency Operations Center!

Guess who I get to teach with this week? Fresh off the disaster wheel, Assistant Fire Chief Steve Bosso!!!

Don’t mind his grumps face, you’d be a bit tired if you were EMACed to work Hurricane Florence too. I’m excited to hear about his experience working with South Carolina’s Emergency Management Division PIO Derrec Becker.

And yes, if you were wondering, we are holding class IN the actual City of Cleveland Emergency Operations Center!

Interviews? Heck yeah – you know we did!

Incredibly valuable time on camera.

Spent some time doing group work and communications strategy with many partners from across the State of Ohio and the State of Pennsylvania.

Showcasing partnerships and strengthening collaborative messaging during the preparedness…

…will help during response phase planning and support for ongoing operations.

Additionally the blending of resources embodying the all-hazards mentality, is critical when dealing with larger disasters/emergencies. Here’s Police, Fire, EMS, Health, Public Works, and Executive Policy working together for a coordinated message.

Steve had a few injects too…like branding. Steve is a former photojournalist so he’s got the photog eye for these kinds of things with some fancy camera work…

And not to worry, in order to share real world experiences, we had our first subject matter expert – Cleveland Police Public Information Officer Jennifer Ciaccia stop by to talk about her experiences as the PIO for CPD.

So many issues to deal with esp during a National Special Security Event (NSSE) – the 2016 Republican National Convention! And of course a whole bunch of other cases including the 3 girls missing for 10+ years (Castro case), Facebook killer, CJ Saves CLE, St. Patrick’s Day Parade, etc….

Whew – full day! Great dynamic class.

Solid first day. Looking forward to day-2 of the Basic PIO!

@rusnivek

To my fellow Americans….Happy 4th of July! #2018

Posted on July 4, 2018 by rusnivek

To my fellow Americans….Happy 4th of July!!!

Cleveland, Ohio – 4th of July!

Here’s a few easy preparedness tips from the team at FEMA.

Leave the fireworks to the pros.
Keep children & pets at least 3 ft from grills & campfires.
Drink plenty of water – even if you don’t feel thirsty.
Check in on friends, family, & neighbors who don’t air conditioning.

And for those who are stuck inside/have to work, here’s a few fun option for you.

Maybe NYC is better?

No? How about Chicago?

Well, whatever you do, just keep it real safe everyone.

Happiest birthday to the greatest country in the world. #USA

America the beautiful.

@rusnivek

Keep everyone safe in #Cleveland

Posted on July 2, 2018 by rusnivek

Summer is here…so friendly reminder: Keep everyone safe.

And for those following along on the breaking news story today, pay close attention to this line: “A final meeting happened yesterday morning where the undercover agent and Pitts had a lengthy conversation — Pitts indicated his desire to participate in a terrorist attack on July, and his desire to kill military members and others.”

Be vigilant peeps.

Just to reiterate: FBI has the lead on all domestic terrorism issues.

@rusnivek

Teaching moment for PIOs to news media

Posted on June 29, 2018 by rusnivek

Let’s discuss this…because this news station/reporter could have made better decisions.

Soooooooo let’s use this as a good teaching moment. We Public Affairs pros are out there every day with the news media. Let’s revisit a few media relationships.

Perhaps in this situation, the news media was a askew on the important items and failed to think about the victim. I wish they would have considered the victim’s position. And if you heard the reporter say, “for the record” – the news story is NOT the record.

And yes, we as PIOs understand the mantra of following orders….TRUST ME we do. But taking the time to call, text, DM, etc….might be a good check between the PIO and media partners.

PIOs should reinforce to media that aside from going out to the scene, calling the PIO or the PAO might be a good option first. Most PIOs will tell you honestly if it’s a decent story or not. So establish trusted relationships before an emergency or disaster.

To my fellow PIOs – revisit your media relationships again. Wish them a happy summer and tell them to “be safe and do the right thing” – for realz.

Remember, the news media is our partner in proliferating information out during an emergency so as professionals, we should all work more closely together and use this as a PIO/media relations teaching moment.

Kudos to Newburgh Heights Police Department (located in NE Ohio).

IMHO: Yikes.

@rusnviek

Game 4 of the 2018 NBA Finals

Posted on June 8, 2018 by rusnivek

Starting game-4 of the 2018 NBA Finals in Cleveland, Ohio-

That’s right, let’s get some IAP action on for the Cleveland Cavaliers vs the Golden State Warriors!

Like all good Emergency Management actions – all briefings done and documents like the comprehensive IAP helps bring everyone together on the same operational plan.

As field PIOs, we are out and about during the game.

Half time inside FanFest was quite busy.