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Emergency Management, Emergency Services, & Disaster Spox

Day-2 of FEMA Basic Public Information Officer Program

Posted on July 6, 2017 by rusnivek

Day-2 of FEMA’s Basic Public Information Officer Couse started out with reviews of all crisis interviews.

Collaborating on communications tactics with various agencies allows PIOs to craft the right message – esp in a disaster.

Erica had a chance to share JIC efforts from the Republican National Convention.

And you know I shared some tactics and tips on ascertaining open source info utilizing geolocation/metadata during a National Special Security Event. I also chatted briefly about tools field PIOs should use when deployed out.

After lunch we were fortunate enough to hear from a great panel discussion: Indiana State Police Sgt. John Perrine, the Information Officer for central Indiana and RTV6’s Investigative reporter Paris Lewbel.

Both panelists candidly shared information with everyone attending.

Side note: Sgt John Perrine is the brains behind the truly viral PSA hit on vehicles turn signals. Check it out here.

Great to work with so many pros today.

@rusnivek

This week, we are starting another G290…

Posted on July 5, 2017 by rusnivek

Another great start to a solid G-290: Basic PIO Course with WTFD.

Greetings and welcome to everyone in Region-5 by Capt Mike Pruitt.

Started out the morning with building a base of core PIO principals including reviewing writing that targets a specific target audience.

Photo credit: M. Pruitt

Ahem. Press releases are almost dead.

Erica talked about how critical Incident Communications Analysis plays a big part in how our audience uses/digests information.

We started all the on-camera interviews after lunch. Lots of great interviews…

Photo credit: M. Pruitt

…and solid techniques showcased in the field interview exercises…

Photo credit: M. Pruitt

…many of the participants are already functioning as PIOs within their own communities.

Photo credit: M. Pruitt

Group work in the afternoon…

…with more discussion and reporting out of critical facts while writing talking points.

We are so fortunate to have such a diverse class of participants willing to share information.

Reporting live from the most funnest PIO class ever…

@rusnivek

3 Regions in April including my favorite social media course

Posted on April 2, 2017 by rusnivek

Spring has sprung and April is here!

First and second week will be packed with planning meetings for upcoming functional and full scale exercises as well as some follow up on upcoming Emergency Management / PIO classes and national conferences. Lots of work for classroom fun stuff. Additionally I’ll finally get a chance to sit down with some SES folks for strategic planning career development.

Third week will be in Florida (Region-4) teaching my favorite #NDPTC advanced social media course – PER-344 Social Media Tools & Techniques. Whoop whoop!

The Fourth week will be a busy one as we finalize another social media course for FEMA certification at Sacramento County’s EOC in California (Region-9). Then double back to some of my favorite peeps from Georgia (Region-4) for more Emergency Management preparedness courses.

Region-5, Region-9, and Region-4 = Lots of great classes upcoming.

You know me, I’m just glad to serve constituents who make a difference in their communities every single day.

@rusnivek

Whoa, that went well… #AlohaFriday

Posted on March 24, 2017 by rusnivek

Whoa….whoa…..whoa……

After getting reassigned from the JIC to the FCO, I was evaluated on my performance.

So yeah, that went well.

Great to support the FCO as well as the FEMA Region-1 Incident Management Team (IMAT) this week.

Trust me, without the support of countless PIOs and numerous External Affairs peeps, we could not have accomplished our tasks assigned.

My hope is that we continue to increase our knowledge and expand on ways that we can serve each of our communities daily as well as during any disaster or emergency.

We must relentlessly pursue knowledge from educators who are willing to share their craft with others.

Listen to all of our communities and share kernels of knowledge with others in an open forum so that other PIOs can learn and make good decisions.

It is incumbent upon us to coordinate the response effort for those who have nothing.

And most importantly, it is our duty to serve this great nation.

Demobing now.

Great week.

@rusnivek

Reviewing the recap from the big 2017 PIO Conference

Posted on February 25, 2017 by rusnivek

Finally reviewing some of the recap video from the PIO Conference in January.

Erica Creech

Great time with over 100 seasoned Public Information Officers (PIOs)…

Jennifer Ciaccia

…from multiple states including from all over Ohio.

Kevin Sur

Saturday night fun stuff.

@rusnivek

The smell of fresh EOC in the morning…for a brand new Social Media course in Colorado

Posted on February 22, 2017 by rusnivek

“I love the smell of fresh EOC in the morning…”

Let’s get our social media on!

Say #Aloha to the brand new FEMA / NDPTC Social Media Engagement Strategies class!

Reporting live from the State of Colorado Emergency Operations Center…

@rusnivek

Day-2: Basic Public Information Officers Course #PIO #PAO

Posted on February 16, 2017 by rusnivek

Day-2 of FEMA / Ohio EMA Basic Public Information Officer course.

Many of our participants wanted to know what is was like to implement a media pool for an international audience so we obliged by showcasing the May 2013 landmark case of the Cleveland Survivors’ Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight.

After discussing interview tips, we reviewed all media interviews. Everyone got a chance to openly review their newly acquired PIO interview skills.

PC: E. Creech

Sharp PIOs providing some sharp witty responses to the fictitious disaster.

Great discussion on redirection…

…and phrasing…

…and transitional phrasing or bridging…

…and reversing a negative…

…and of course the “no comment” conundrum.

All these in class activities help better our PIO on camera TV interviewing skills.

Meanwhile, a few participants tried to manually control the interview by holding my mic hostage.

Fun times.

Looking forward to our G291: Joint Information System / Joint Information Center class tomorrow on #AlohaFriday.

@rusnivek

Final day of the AH #IMT #Logistics Section Chief course w/ OH-TF-01

Posted on February 10, 2017 by rusnivek

Day-5: Final day of the DHS/FEMA Ohio EMA All-Hazards Incident Management Team Logistics Section Chief course.

Again, special thanks to FEMA USAR Ohio Task Force-1 for hosting this week.

Solid morning as we talked about how the LSC frequently meets with the PSC well before much of the action happens.

In fact, it is likely that the LSC is at least 5 steps ahead of the OSC – to plan to supply and equip our tactical operations with the stuff they need.

Ohio EMA LSC Phil Johnson brief the class on how county agencies interact with our activated State EOC focusing in on resource ordering and task assignments.

Like good Logistics Section Chiefs, we debated the merits of pre-staging resources before they are needed for faster deployments and anticipating needs (leaning in).

Lots of discussion on EMAC and the success that the State of Ohio had with 2016 events including the 2016 Republican National Convention which was classified as a NSSE.

We discussed demobilization plans as well as factors that could contribute to delayed demob. As always, we emphasize on the safe return of all crews from disaster deployment.

At the end of the day, we were able to tour the DHS/FEMA USAR OH-TF-1 facility.

Amazing stuff!

Logistics plays a HUGE part of daily operations as they have thousands and thousands of pieces of deployable items needed for disaster operations.

So as you can see, LSCs have an insurmountable task of keeping order during non-disaster times.

For those in the military and are truly Logistics pees, I believe this is an amazing piece of equipment.

If you are a pro, and like to sling load your stuff, you should consider getting a few.

Special thanks to all the pros from DHS/FEMA Ohio USAR Task Force-1.

Yes it's Friday. That is an Aloha Shirt.

Yes it’s Friday. Look closely. That is an Aloha Shirt.

Superb ending of class with participants from numerous states on this #AlohaFriday!

Proud to serve my country and train other IMT LSCs from across this great nation.

@rusnivek

February is almost all Region-5 and a roll out of a brand new social media course in Colorado

Posted on February 4, 2017 by rusnivek

January was fast paced but February 2017 is going to be lots more hustle too!

In the first week, its another great Basic Public Information Officer’s course and Joint Information Center course at Wayne Township Fire. Love me some Region-5 baby!

Second week, I’ll be leading the Incident Management Team Logistics Section Chief Course in Dayton – the home of Ohio Urban Search and Rescue Task Force-1 (OH-TF-01). Teaching FEMA EMI courses are super fun. Week long Logistics is AWESOME!

Third week, we will be back in Athens, Ohio bringing our Basic Public Information Officer’s course (G-290) and Joint Information Center course (G-291) with one of my favorite instructors Erica aka Mama PIO in Region-5 again!

Fourth week, I head back to Centennial to debut a brand new course for FEMA/NDPTC on social media. Looking forward to seeing my Colorado peeps again at the state Emergency Operations Center. Region 8 in the hizzouse!

fema_regional_map

Busy February! Hope to see you my classes!

@rusnivek

Teaching in the NM DOC – Social Media Tools and Techniques

Posted on January 11, 2017 by rusnivek

Hello Wednesday! Getting a chance to teach my favorite advanced class – PER-344: Social Media Tools and Techniques at the State of New Mexico Department of Public Health.