Rolling in on a Saturday to the EOC….
Wait a sec…WAIT A SEC….
Did one of our partners get their drive through testing station up and running already?
PIO to SITL: How do copy?
Man, the news is going to be all over this one…
Things got real serious for a Monday.
Where. Did. Everyone. Go.
Is it me?
Additionally, as things start to get serious, let’s recap today’s PIO fun.
And then radios were distroed.
Test test. Clarance, do you have clearance?
Heh. My COML is going to kill me. Where’s my radio strap?!?
Reporting live…
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 Burke. 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…
Another fine start to the FEMA PIO Awareness course here at Mundelein Fire Station 1!
Special thanks to DC Brents and the whole crew!
Lots to talk about as we intro the magic of public information to a new class. Of course we had a few words of wisdom from PIO John Nebl.
Great perspective and stories from Schaumburg Police.
If you were wondering, we are in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC)…so that’s a good thing.
Making your peeps train in the location that they would likely be activated to…is a solid practice.
With a diverse class, we are able to cover lots of topics and various situations. The all-hazards nature of this FEMA class allows us to better prepare our PIOs for any emergency.
Additionally, I love to share my experiences from large events and disasters with fellow colleagues from across the State of Illinois.
Training together better prepares us to coordinate and work together before, during, and after an emergency. That’s right, come on in and form Voltron.
Special thanks to all the staff from Mundelein Fire for the warm hospitality to our staff from the DuPage County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
Train like you fight!
Day-2 of the FEMA OEMA Basic Public Information Officer course here at Defiance County EMA.
As we start to expand the roles of the PIO, we gotta talk about social media and the impact it has on our every day tasks representing our brand…aka our agency.
Like all info on social media, there’s a ton of things to cover and we won’t be able to talk about ALL platforms. But we can talk about the primary ones that make a difference for any public safety agency.
Also a good time to share one thoughts with you too:
“I don’t care how many followers you have, I care about how you engage all of the followers you do have.” – @rusnivek
Much like Shania Twain, the volume of followers don’t impress me much. What makes a really good social media-er, is how that agency engages with their followers they do have.
I often get asked about in class mock interviews. We still do them as they are incredibly important for participants in a safe learning environment.
But ask any of my participants. They will tell you that it’s pretty real.
Additionally, how I facilitate that part of class nurtures and allows for self-reflection amongst all participants. This ain’t my first rodeo. My peeps are good as we prep them for a really bad day.
Mock press conferences allow our participants to put together a few skills they learned just yesterday.
Just like real press conferences, mock reporters are able to ask questions and test some techniques on running a successful press conference.
The best part?
Participants worked it like pros and did an excellent job in running the pressers! NOOICE!!!!!
Great teamwork and collaboration with everyone here. Strong support network, solid coordination, and nice weather – always a winner!
Proud of the work from everyone in class today.
I’m totes looking forward to tomorrow’s course – FEMA JIC/JIS Course
It’s just another Manic Monday as we start another FEMA OEMA Basic PIO Course here at Defiance County Emergency Management Agency (Ohio). Cue the Guns n Roses intro music!
Not going to lie, all signs point to a large contingent from our law enforcement community here today.
Lots of new PIOs in the audience today as we try to share the good word from so many agencies. Almost every ESF is represented!
All-hazards coolio on Monday!
As an added instructor bonus, we get a chance to see what campaigns that Ohio EMA has worked for previous outreach activities in Ohio. Hi Nancy!!!!!
My lunch time views include a few red fire trucks.
Ahhhhh, I feel better now.
And in classic fashion, we are most definitely doing on-camera interviews.
While seemingly insignificant, this is the part of the class that participants find is the most valuable for their ongoing career.
Me? I’d rather you have that experience and training and never use it vs never having that training and then being thrown to the wolves in a crisis or emergency.
Train like you fight right?
Reporting live from the EOC as I ask those challenging media-esque questions…
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!
Another great start to our ICS-300 course! Welcome to my house – DuPage County OHSEM!
Packed class with sooooo many public safety partners here.
This class has a bunch of activities so our participants can apply what they are learning immediately to the fictitious town of Central City.
Note: Central city is a fictitious town that we use in almost all of our classes. It’s not a real place. However, if it was, I would definitely not want to live there. Or eat the Coho salmon from there. Just sayin…
Great engagement from everyone here.
Proud to be hosting this course at our house.
Looking forward to class tomorrow!
Great afternoon talking to Holly and the American Red Cross Communications Team in Chicago! 
More training for our partners!
Looking forward to the fun classes upcoming with the entire Red Cross branch that serves Illinois for emergencies and disasters
Where is @rusnivek? 