Residence life staff members share video to raise awareness for emergency preparedness campaign
Like many local, state, and federal government agencies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sold on the economy of preparedness compared to un-preparedness.
The savings is not only in dollars, but more importantly, in lives. September was National Preparedness Month, and this year the CDC sponsored an "Are You Prepared?" video contest so that the public could contribute to awareness of the agency’s universal advice to “Get a Kit, Make a Plan, Be Informed.”
Ron Angert, Division of Student Affairs emergency preparedness planner, challenged division staff to make a video and submit it to the CDC. Rules were very specific, limiting the length to 60 seconds and requiring inclusion of the Get a Kit, Make a Plan, Be Informed points of the agency’s campaign as well as display of the CDC website so viewers can get more details online. Two Housing and Residence Life staff members accepted the challenge and produced an entertaining and informative video, available on YouTube.
Residential Learning Coordinators Joseph Wilder and Alex Brucker wrote, filmed, and edited the light-hearted take on preparedness and emergency response on our campus. "We were inspired by the use of social networking related to the recent earthquake," said Wilder, who stars in the video. Brucker appeared in a supporting role and served as editor. Their training as members of Campus Community Emergency Response Team helped them demonstrate use of personal protective measures, the Go Kit, and Incident Command fundamentals in less than 60 seconds. They were careful to save a few moments for well-placed pop-culture references as well.
Early reviews from campus figures include "Definitely — thumbs up!" (said John Beach, director for strategic initiatives), "Fantastic video, well done!" (said Jared Hoernig, emergency coordinator for the Office of Emergency Management), and "Hilarious!" (said Geof Allen, senior officer for community outreach with the Virginia Tech Police).
The Campus Community Emergency Response Team, the Office of Emergency Management, Virginia Tech Police, and the Division of Student Affairs encourage community members to be “Hokie Ready” by taking the steps in the video: Get a Kit, Make a Plan, Be Informed. To find out more about Campus Community Emergency Response Team visit the website.
