While I recognize that most emergency management offices have limited budgets and are understaffed, while juggling a myriad of tasks and responsibilities including planning, training, disaster exercise facilitation and response, outreach is not an option — it should be at the forefront of what you do.
And outreach is not just limited to the public, but also includes elected officials, other department heads, public safety agencies, businesses and schools to name a few. All are stakeholders in what we do, and all have an essential role to play prior to and during the response and recovery to a disaster situation. The more informed they are, the less likely they will panic. If they have a plan in place and understand their role, they can help rather than hinder that response.
So how do you develop an outreach campaign on a shoestring budget?
Fortunately it has become easier over the years. Desktop publishing is available to most anyone with a PC, as are video and audio production. In addition, FEMA has been putting out some great materials that can be utilized at the local level. Outreach, however, is much more than just handing out brochures or developing public service announcements — it involves building relationships.
1. All emergency managers need to be active in their community.
Over the years, I have served on a number of boards and commissions. I have tried to be smart about what I get involved with. I look at who the other board members are and I ask myself two questions: What can I give to this organization in the way of time and talents? What can I get out of serving this group, not from a selfish position, but strategically thinking, are there connections I can make that could be used in years to come?
For example, I served on a working board that put on a cultural event as a fundraiser. Board members included the marketing director from a local newspaper and executives from banks, corporations and utilities. When I planned a large Project Impact event, I was able to secure sponsorships through some of the contacts I had made.
Other groups to get involved with are Kiwanis, Rotary and Optimist clubs. They’re always seeking new members, and these groups are community minded, often assisting with local projects. Emerging groups, like community-based leadership programs and young professional organizations, are excellent ways of meeting new people and learning more about your community.
In fact, I once had a conversation with a leading candidate for the FEMA administrator position who told me that every time he moves to a new community, he participates in the local leadership program. This is not because he needs to learn leadership skills — he could probably teach the sessions — but because of the networking that takes place.
If people see that you are visible in the community and you are working alongside them in the trenches (sometimes literally depending on what you are doing), they are more likely to say yes when you need their help.
2. Develop relationships with those in the media.
How many times have we heard, “Visit the newsroom; get to know the reporters?” And how many times have we heard our colleagues say that they have no use for the media, especially during emergencies? We need to get away from the us-and-them mindset and instead develop relationships with the local media.
If the media is doing a story on preparedness, I want to be the first person that’s called, not the last. That cannot happen if you are not the voice of emergency preparedness in your community. Depending on the size of your community, it may be fairly easy or you may have to work a little harder.
I live in a county of about 200,000 people and the county seat is in Racine, Wis., population 80,000. We have one daily newspaper, several rural weekly newspapers, two “sister” radio stations, a Racine-based television station and several shoppers. In my case, it’s fairly easy to build relationships with these media outlets. The news director for the radio stations has served on our Local Emergency Planning Committee for almost 25 years, and I serve on boards and committees with some newspaper reporters and executives.
In addition, I have given local reporters story ideas, both related to and unrelated to emergency management. Knowing what topics they cover helps. For example, one reporter was a history buff. Instead of giving him the standard tornado awareness message, I suggested that he dig into the newspaper archives and build a story around a tornado that hit Racine in 1883. This served two points — it was interesting and it dispelled the myth that tornadoes don’t strike in Racine because of Lake Michigan.
I was also able to work with a reporter assigned to the health and medical beat on a story regarding pandemic flu and a business reporter on business recovery planning. For each story idea, I thought outside the box and found a Racine angle that I thought might bring an interesting twist to the story.
3. Tap into community resources.
Are there groups, schools or businesses that you can tap into for assistance?
Service clubs often raise money for community projects, and if you are creative, you may be able to tap into them for some limited funding. They are also in need of a weekly speaker and who better than you? Not only do you get a free meal, but you have the opportunity to share the emergency management message to a group of people interested in learning more about what you do.
Schools, colleges and universities are often looking for tangible projects for their students. Think outside the box. Is there a journalism student that can assist with press releases, can the computer programmer update your website or develop a mobile app, or is there a multimedia program that can assist with public service announcements, YouTube videos and other projects?
And what local businesses are in your area? Sometimes they will take on small projects. For example, I had a small, one-person marketing firm that worked with two community groups, our local volunteer center and my office. For three years, she laid out our monthly public awareness campaign. Currently our local newspaper develops monthly safety posters for our Traffic Safety Commission.
Good outreach comes to down to two things: networking and being creative. You need to be visible. You need to be active in your community. And you need to be spreading the message of personal preparedness.
David L. Maack is the Racine County emergency management coordinator. Maack was a recipient of one of FEMA’s 2011 Individual and Community Preparedness Awards.
