Finally getting around to turning on dark mode in Facebook.
Don’t worry, Twitter has had this since forever ago.
Still dislike Facebook as a social media platform citing algorithm.
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Tag Archives: SMEM
Do I really need a ringlight?
Happy birthday TikTok!
Holey moley. TikTok has been around for a year.
Comparatively to other social media platforms, I have said “WTF” to more TikToks than Tweets, Grams, and snaps combined.
Yeowza.
Trending posts now include #Area51 #GitUpChallenge, #whoachallenge #FYP #ForYouPage
P.S. A rando kid told me that TikTok isn’t a verb. Yet.
#MediaMinutes interview w/ RTV6 Paris Lewbel
As part of our ongoing efforts to help enhance the skills of the PIO across the country, here’s another #MediaMinutes interview w/ RTV6 Paris Lewbel!
For more information on Paris-
@Twitter: https://twitter.com/PLewbel
@Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/plewbel/
@Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paris.lewbel
Happy Monday everyone!
Internal Comms training for my #EmergencyManagement staff
As we continue our training, we want to be cognizant of all kinds of skills needed to be successful in Emergency Management.
Many of you have been apart of a training or exercise…and have indubitably identified that communications is an action that needs more work. But how can you make that fun? Well, enter one of my Thunderbolt-esque exercises.
Giving the nod to former FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, these types of no-notice trainings engage our staff and forces them to think outside the box.
How outside? In this exercise, we cover
- Communications
- Type/Kind resources
- Staging
- Incident Command
- Terminology
- Nomenclature
- Scene size-ups
- Operations
- Sequential
- Prioritization
- Ordering
- Tactics
And to boot, it’s non-traditional training cause there are no powerpoints. Zero. Zilch. No joy. Gonzo. Nada Ghostrider.
As adult educators, we often forget that people learn things differently. Additionally, we as instructors need to explore outside our comfort zone and teach things in a classic lecture AND non-traditional style.
I am incredibly fortunate to have a staff that loves to train and enhance their skills. Train like you fight!
Want to know more? Want to train better? Come and be a part of my Emergency Management Team. You’ll see.
2019 National Preparedness Symposium (Day-1)
Early morning start to this Tuesday waiting for clearance from tower.
But before you know it, we are off heading 150 to the 2019 National Preparedness Symposium!
Awwwww yeah, training & exercises and all the FEMA peeps in one place here at the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Alabama!
Started off with a talk from the National Integration Center on the new National Response Framework and Community Lifelines.
Chad walked us through soooooo many programs that Doc talked about previously. Glad to see his work has carried through to inspire a new generation of Emergency Managers.
Continued with spirited discussion from my friends at FEMA EMI on the ongoing efforts for the Emergency Management Professional Program.
Lots of recs on what to take and complete as they could (hint hint) require this for EMPG grant funding employees. Yes that’s right, they can mandate these courses to qualify for grant funds.
So yeah, I’d suggest you get on those courses right away.
Then we hopped deep into a FEMA Region 5 meeting w/ our partners from Ohio, Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, and of course Illinois. Overview of exercises “Basically, June is going to be insane.”
Grrrrreat.
Then, it happened. One of the Training & Exercise Managers called me out as “The Legend! We have a picture of you on our wall!”
Me: Blush
Joliet Fire Deputy Fire Chief gave us the biggest shoutout as they said to the entire region “Did you know DuPage trained all the Aurora Police PIOs? Their first day of the job was the day they had that shooting.”
Either way, it was good to report out for DuPage County OHSEM and their significant efforts in training for all provides from across Illinois.
And of course got a chance to see a few familiar faces in the crowd from Rhode Island, Vermont, Texas, California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Tennessee, New York, Kentucky, Louisiana, and of course Illinois.
Great to catch up to FEMA Region 8 James Taylor who served as my Disaster Recovery Center Manager during Hurricane Irma for the Florida Keys.
Glad to hear he is doing well.
Proud to see soooooooo many old disaster friends too.
Looking forward to hearing from Acting Administrator Pete Gaynor tomorrow morning as he will surely touch on our strategic mission objectives as well as building out a culture of preparedness.
Follow the hashtag used: #NPS19
Reporting live from the CDP….
Forming the proverbial PIO Voltron for today’s FEMA JIC/JIS course
And now starting the FEMA JIC/JIS Course with our class here at the Defiance County EMA Emergency Operations Center.
And yes, if you’ve been in a JIC/JIS class w/ me before, you know I talk about Voltron. In the FEMA Basic PIO Course, we teach you to be an individual PIO and function with limited options…however, the JIC/JIS course allows you to join forces with other PIOs and work the magic despite being from different backgrounds and different factions for the emergency or disaster. That’s right-we can all get along in the JIC.
Starting out the day with a cold reality check on expectations and capabilities as we assess our options and ready our agencies for disasters. It would be a good idea to have a clear understanding of the situation and build from there.
Additionally, we bring our all-hazards partners into the fold. Here’s Sister Michael Marie talking about the complexities of what appears as a simple emergency that could quite result in bringing soooooooooooooooooooooo many partners to respond to this typical emergency.
Drawing too simple for you?
You need more description?
NO SOUP FOR YOU!
The whole point of the exercise is to get your mind thinking about various options as well as partners to call early as likely, they have a dog in the fight to help any affected community recover from any disaster.
Look, it’s more than Fire, Police, and EMS – it’s the #WholeCommunity to build a culture of preparedness.
Proud of every single one of these participants as everyone walked away with a new understanding and respect for the PIO. While some have been on TV before w/ a few interviews, all of them realize the dangers of an unprepared interviewee.
Looking forward to working with all of you on the next big one. And just think…in the midst of a disaster, you just might see these two smiling faces.
Now, go forth and use your new PIO powers for good!
Social Media Engagement Strategies for the AZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ peeps!
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!
FEMA basic Social Media for Disaster Response and Recovery #Arizona
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!
2019 May is cray!
Justin Timberlake better be busy too because this month because it’s about to get redic.
First week in May, our team was invited to teach ICS-300: Intermediate ICS to leadership staff at the Illinois Air National Guard.
Second week, will be the ICS-400 class and the solid bunch of social media classes (Basic Social Media, Social Media Engagement Strategies, Social Media Tools and Techniques).
Third week, we will be popping the FEMA G0290/0291 Basic PIO and JIC/JIS course with one of my favorite FEMA DSASers…Sister Michael!
Fourth week, I will be presenting at the 2019 National Preparedness Symposium at the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Alabama.
And the last week is the full set of FEMA Basic PIO and JIC/JIS Course at Aurora Police.
If you are calculating that out, that’s 128 hours of straight classroom time.
Fortunately, I enhanced the playlist this past weekend.
Headphones in, affirm the mission and objectives, head down…No time for rest.
Where is @rusnivek? 