Tag Archives: Ohio

Busy September 2016 = National Preparedness Month #NatlPrep #PrepareAthon

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August was solid, but September is going to be huge because it’s NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH!!!!!

First and second week, it’ll all be planning for a gigantic upcoming all-hazards PIO/PAO Conference.

Third week will be spent teaching ICS-300 for Ohio EMA to my friends in the SW part of Ohio. And then on Friday, attending the Ohio PIO Symposium.

Fourth week, I’ll be teaching at Washington DC’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management EOC. Upon return, then presenting at the Wayne County (Ohio) Fire Chief’s Conference on PIO/Social Media.

Fifth week, I’ll be presenting on PIO and cyber at the infrastructure at the statewide infrastructure protection conference in Region-7. Who knows, if I can do it, maybe some tactical training in Alliance too. #pewpew

And ALL month long, I’ll be participating in National Preparedness month activities that you can share with your constituents. If we can better prepare our peeps, we can increase our national level of community resilience.

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Thanks to the www.ready.gov program, it is easier than ever to get involved and prepared.

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Hope to see you engaging during this important month.

“Don’t Wait. Communicate. Make Your Emergency Plan Today.”

@rusnivek

PIO Tip: Frame your shot and reduce your onscene variables

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I was finishing up my AARs and found a picture from the last night of the Republican National Convention (RNC).

Quick tip for you PIOs doing field reporting: Frame your shot.

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Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams doing an interview with Time Magazine. Obvious chalked roadway with profane statement behind him. Videographer is recording at an upward angle to frame his subject.

During the RNC, we found that it was critical to frame the shot. Onscene shots were particularly tough because so many activist groups had signs, chalked, or painted words that are inappropriate for pictures or even worse yet, uncontrolled live broadcast hits (Periscope or FacebookLive or YouTubeLive).

Additionally, live outdoor broadcasts from the scene are challenging because it is difficult to control the natural and man-made variables.

So as PIOs we need to reduce any signs, ropes, wires, etc….that could affect your framed shot.

 

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Trust me, reduce the amount of variables to a bare minimum.

Focus your energy in delivering your message. #PIO

@rusnivek

 

PIO-ing Cleveland’s Public Square during #PrideInTheCLE #ClevelandPride

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Yesterday, I supported Cleveland Police on the #PrideInTheCLE #ClevelandPride event in Public Square.

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Much different from the Republican National Convention.

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Lots of families out and about (and enjoying) the new cool fountain in downtown Cleveland.

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Everyone was having a great time.

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Lots of speculation and talk about public safety not being around to support the LGBT community – all totally false. Public Safety will be there to support any community.

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Trust me, lots of public safety was on hand to support our entire community.

Cleveland Police Bomb Squad and K9 teams…

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Cleveland EMS…

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..even the Cleveland Police bike patrol was out supporting the day’s events.

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Lots of areas to cover.

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Partnerships with the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department and Cleveland Police Department are key in providing safety for everyone who attended the event.

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It was a relatively hot day so I am glad that many of the participants dressed appropriately for the event.

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Some not so much.

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Fun entertainment and friendly people staying cool out in Public Square.

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While waiting around, we had some time for a quick PIO selfie…

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Also had time for a few interviews with local media.

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Also happy to run into a long time good friend Mark Zinni who is the anchor for the Channel 3 Eyewitness News in Hartford, Connecticut. Great to see him again.

Thanks for the picture Zinni!

Thanks for the picture Zinni!

Can’t wait to see him again in Cleveland.

While out there, we even made a few new peeps into Junior Police Officers.

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Thanks Ken!

We were fortunate enough to do a few live interviews on Periscope from Public Square.

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We highlighted the event and gave a status report of the operations using Periscope.

Ever wonder what it’s like to hang with onscene PIOs? Here’s a behind the scenes shot of us doing some live interviews on Periscope.

Thanks for the pic Zinni!

Thanks for the action shot Zinni!

Trust me, it’s harder than it looks.

Overall, it was great to see so many people out on a Saturday afternoon in Cleveland.

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As always, I had a great time working the PIO magic with Jen!

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Hope everyone stayed dry while the rain hit.

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Great safe event everyone!

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Have a great weekend!

@rusnivek

 

2016 Ohio #PIO Symposium #OhioPIO

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This year’s Ohio PIO Symposium will be held on SEPTEMBER 16, 2016 at The Ohio Department of Transportation’s Auditorium
1980 West Broad Street
Columbus, OH 43223

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8:00 a.m. – Registration and Networking Opportunity
9:00 a.m. – Opening Remarks

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2014 Ohio PIO Symposium (From L to R): Sur, Gonzalez, and Hysing.

(From L to R): Howson Staub, Sur, Bosso, and Pollack.

2015 Ohio PIO Symposium (From L to R): Howson Staub, Sur, Bosso, and Pollack.

Register here

See you there #OhioPIO

@rusnivek

 

BWC + Ohio EMS +Ohio SFM = free #Firefighter transition certification training

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FISCAL YEAR 2017 STATE FIRE MARSHAL VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER I TRAINING GRANT PROGRAM OVERVIEW AND APPLICATION
Thanks to a generous allocation of funds from the Bureau of Worker’s Compensation, the Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of State Fire Marshal (SFM) is pleased to announce the availability of the Volunteer Firefighter I Training Grant. This grant provides funding in State Fiscal Year 2017 (ending June 30, 2017) to pay for the costs of providing Firefighter I or Firefighter I Transition certification courses free of charge to select students by SFM approved class providers.

FY17+BWC+SFM+Volunteer+FFI+Training+Grant+package

FISCAL YEAR 2017 STATE FIRE MARSHAL VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER I TRAINING GRANT PROGRAM OVERVIEW AND APPLICATION
Thanks to a generous allocation of funds from the Bureau of Worker’s Compensation, the Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of State Fire Marshal (SFM) is pleased to announce the availability of the Volunteer Firefighter I Training Grant. This grant provides funding in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2017 (ending June 30, 2017) to pay for the costs of providing Firefighter I or Firefighter I Transition certification courses free of charge to select students by SFM approved class providers. By partnering with eligible class providers, it is the goal of the SFM to ease the costs to local governments, promote shared services and broaden the availability of these courses throughout the state. Grant funding is limited to $454,711.44 state-wide and will be dispersed to compliant course providers on a first come first serve basis. “Select students” are volunteer firefighters affiliated, as members, with fire departments that pay premiums (or local jurisdictions that pay on behalf of the fire department) to the Bureau of Worker’s Compensation state insurance fund in accordance with Section 4123.35 of the Revised Code and are otherwise in compliance with the Bureau of Worker’s Compensation regulations (“compliant fire departments”).

Now go and get your Fire/Rescue Department some free training!

@rusnivek

August is a 9-5-6 squared kinda month

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July was a success – phew! Now on to August.

First and second week, I’ll be in the left coast – Region-9 baby!

Third week will be in Columbus, Ohio (CBus!) for a few Emergency Management classes. A little love for the home state.

Fourth week I’ll head down to Oklahoma to teach with their state health department on some social media in Region-6 baby!

Fifth week, I’ll get a chance to present at the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Conference.

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It’s a 9-5-6 squared kinda month.

Just trying to keep up with the pros…

@rusnivek

Protest after protest after protest

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Lots of different groups demonstrated in Public Square today.

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Too many to count.

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Everyone wanted to be heard/seen.

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After things got rowdy, Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) worked closely together to keep the peace. disbursing hundreds upon hundreds of protesters is not an easy task.

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I can’t tell you how proud I am of all the ESF-13 resources that are deployed from across this great country to support our event.

@rusnivek

 

Dispelling rumors. Thanks Reuters.

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Day-2 in the Joint Information Center starts out with…dispelling rumors!

Reuters reported that a Cleveland Police Transport van was shot near the Republican National Convention utilizing the #RNCinCLE.
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#booya Reuters.

Immediate engagement using (retweeting) incorrect info.

Then JIC emailed out information to all media on media lists.


Also because of time and deluge of phone calls, the onslaught of emails, and the avalanche on social media…


Being nimble on multiple social media platforms, immediate dispelling of rumor in a public forum, and use of all associative hashtags was deliberate and purposeful.

Solid JIC work today PIO peeps!

@rusnivek