TheFluMaster
Resident
Duo advocates emergency plan, Business partners wanted for community project
By Charlene Patti Bisson, Independent Newspapers
Published: Jul 24, 2006 - 04:39:42 pm EDT
Sun Citians Deborah Brown and H.B. ?Pete? Peters started a grassroots movement to ready the Northwest Valley for the next 9/11 or pandemic power outage.
They want citizens to be aware and be prepared so they created the ?72 Crew? concept, to represent a communal effort to ready for the first 72 hours ? which can be the difference of survival ? of an emergency, man-made or natural.
72 Crew information boards will be dispersed simultaneously throughout Sun Cities, Surprise and Peoria.
Sun City residents will receive boards by mail while Surprise and Peoria citizens can pick them up at business and chamber locations.
The magnetic boards that can be placed on refrigerators contain useful information provided by Homeland Security and the American Red Cross such as a basic kit checklist, steps to preparedness and tips on how to keep essential documents safe.
?We as citizens are not prepared at all in many cases,? Ms. Brown said. ?What can we do about it? there is a gap of information.
?We are looking to shift the conscience of the people. We know the first responders are ready. We realize they cannot do it all themselves. We want to honor their efforts by being ready also.?
Ms. Brown thought up the idea while she was listening to Mike Fusco, city of Peoria safety and emergency officer, at a Soroptimist meeting earlier this year. She wanted to educate the public to assist those who help in an emergency.
Ms. Brown noted many times emergency plans go into a notebook, drawer, box or people rely on Web site information. But if a major disaster were to occur electricity will likely be out.
?We can change the culture in our neighborhoods so we are not sitting there waiting for it to happen to us,? Ms. Brown said.
Mr. Peters agreed.
?We can be proactive instead of reactive,? he said. ?Each one doing that will take off a little more of the burden. They (responders) are doing a wonderful job; we just need to help them.?
Ms. Brown added there is some smarting up citizens can do.
?We can also help each other. If my household is a 72 Crew household am I encouraging others to be CPR trained?? said Ms. Brown, adding people should tell their neighbors to have an emergency plan.
Mr. Peters explained Sun City Home Owners Association officials were the first public entity to request the boards. He added Surprise and Peoria officials are also reviewing the concept.
Peoria officials keep emergency preparedness top priority. On June 6, Peoria City Council approved $235,000 for an emergency response plan for a catastrophe.
In March, Peoria received a $240,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for additional emergency response vehicles for a chemical disaster.
Maria Casebeer, who is opening a new State Farm Insurance at 84th Avenue and Thunderbird Road in Peoria, was the first business partner to become a 72 Crew member.
?I believe in the potential of the boards,? Ms. Casebeer said. ?It?s a great investment because it?s going to help the community when it comes to emergencies.?
She said boards will afford people what to do if something happens and they panic.
?These boards put what to do right in front of their faces,? Ms. Casebeer said. ?I know this is Arizona, but you never know what kind of disasters might happen.?
Ms. Casebeer purchased at least 300 boards that she will circulate. She will display them in her office for clients to pick up and she will distribute them when she visits people.
?If it does bring in more business, that?s great. But the educational aspect is more important,? Ms. Casebeer said.
Sun Citians Deb and Skip Young of Health by Choice, air and water purification, were the second business partners to jump on the band wagon.
?We do air and water purification using the same technology the space station uses,? Ms. Young said. ?Our company was contacted when 9/11 hit the Pentagon - 200 of our units are running this day in the Pentagon.?
She said their company is about health and awareness and thus they purchased 100 boards for Sun City residents.
?We like to build healthier lives,? Ms. Young said. ?One of the people in our company is also putting out awareness on the bird flu in case it comes our way.?
For this project to be successful, more business partners are needed to help pay for the boards.
?The only way this works is if the business community supports it,? Ms. Brown said.
About 20 businesses have signed up to support emergency preparedness in their communities.
?We are looking for good corporate citizens,? Ms. Brown said. ?There is networking and ?networlding? ? you are going to get a lot more mileage out of something that changes a community.?
Business partners can purchase 300 boards for $450. Those who participate will have their business name, logo and phone number on the boards.
The boards cost $1.72 each up until 2,500; then a price break begins. The preferred order is 300, but people can purchase a minimum of 100 boards.
?It goes beyond advertising into doing good for the community,? Ms. Brown said. Mr. Peters added there are various partnership levels that will fit business partners? budgets.
Homeowners associations and churches interested in providing the boards can also purchase them.
Mr. Peters said the mailing target date for Sun City is late September, which is marked natural disaster preparedness month.
?It would really be cool to say this is a 72-Crew community,? Mr. Peters said. ?That would be the level of awareness we would really hope for. If done well and properly it could be a win-win for everyone.?
Those interested in becoming a community partner, call 328-8820 or e-mail
Peters&Brown Marketing, LLC Petersandbrown@cox.net.
News Editor Julie Anne Conolly contributed to this story.
http://www.newszap.com/articles/2006/07/24/az/west_valley/pi02.txt
By Charlene Patti Bisson, Independent Newspapers
Published: Jul 24, 2006 - 04:39:42 pm EDT
Sun Citians Deborah Brown and H.B. ?Pete? Peters started a grassroots movement to ready the Northwest Valley for the next 9/11 or pandemic power outage.
They want citizens to be aware and be prepared so they created the ?72 Crew? concept, to represent a communal effort to ready for the first 72 hours ? which can be the difference of survival ? of an emergency, man-made or natural.
72 Crew information boards will be dispersed simultaneously throughout Sun Cities, Surprise and Peoria.
Sun City residents will receive boards by mail while Surprise and Peoria citizens can pick them up at business and chamber locations.
The magnetic boards that can be placed on refrigerators contain useful information provided by Homeland Security and the American Red Cross such as a basic kit checklist, steps to preparedness and tips on how to keep essential documents safe.
?We as citizens are not prepared at all in many cases,? Ms. Brown said. ?What can we do about it? there is a gap of information.
?We are looking to shift the conscience of the people. We know the first responders are ready. We realize they cannot do it all themselves. We want to honor their efforts by being ready also.?
Ms. Brown thought up the idea while she was listening to Mike Fusco, city of Peoria safety and emergency officer, at a Soroptimist meeting earlier this year. She wanted to educate the public to assist those who help in an emergency.
Ms. Brown noted many times emergency plans go into a notebook, drawer, box or people rely on Web site information. But if a major disaster were to occur electricity will likely be out.
?We can change the culture in our neighborhoods so we are not sitting there waiting for it to happen to us,? Ms. Brown said.
Mr. Peters agreed.
?We can be proactive instead of reactive,? he said. ?Each one doing that will take off a little more of the burden. They (responders) are doing a wonderful job; we just need to help them.?
Ms. Brown added there is some smarting up citizens can do.
?We can also help each other. If my household is a 72 Crew household am I encouraging others to be CPR trained?? said Ms. Brown, adding people should tell their neighbors to have an emergency plan.
Mr. Peters explained Sun City Home Owners Association officials were the first public entity to request the boards. He added Surprise and Peoria officials are also reviewing the concept.
Peoria officials keep emergency preparedness top priority. On June 6, Peoria City Council approved $235,000 for an emergency response plan for a catastrophe.
In March, Peoria received a $240,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for additional emergency response vehicles for a chemical disaster.
Maria Casebeer, who is opening a new State Farm Insurance at 84th Avenue and Thunderbird Road in Peoria, was the first business partner to become a 72 Crew member.
?I believe in the potential of the boards,? Ms. Casebeer said. ?It?s a great investment because it?s going to help the community when it comes to emergencies.?
She said boards will afford people what to do if something happens and they panic.
?These boards put what to do right in front of their faces,? Ms. Casebeer said. ?I know this is Arizona, but you never know what kind of disasters might happen.?
Ms. Casebeer purchased at least 300 boards that she will circulate. She will display them in her office for clients to pick up and she will distribute them when she visits people.
?If it does bring in more business, that?s great. But the educational aspect is more important,? Ms. Casebeer said.
Sun Citians Deb and Skip Young of Health by Choice, air and water purification, were the second business partners to jump on the band wagon.
?We do air and water purification using the same technology the space station uses,? Ms. Young said. ?Our company was contacted when 9/11 hit the Pentagon - 200 of our units are running this day in the Pentagon.?
She said their company is about health and awareness and thus they purchased 100 boards for Sun City residents.
?We like to build healthier lives,? Ms. Young said. ?One of the people in our company is also putting out awareness on the bird flu in case it comes our way.?
For this project to be successful, more business partners are needed to help pay for the boards.
?The only way this works is if the business community supports it,? Ms. Brown said.
About 20 businesses have signed up to support emergency preparedness in their communities.
?We are looking for good corporate citizens,? Ms. Brown said. ?There is networking and ?networlding? ? you are going to get a lot more mileage out of something that changes a community.?
Business partners can purchase 300 boards for $450. Those who participate will have their business name, logo and phone number on the boards.
The boards cost $1.72 each up until 2,500; then a price break begins. The preferred order is 300, but people can purchase a minimum of 100 boards.
?It goes beyond advertising into doing good for the community,? Ms. Brown said. Mr. Peters added there are various partnership levels that will fit business partners? budgets.
Homeowners associations and churches interested in providing the boards can also purchase them.
Mr. Peters said the mailing target date for Sun City is late September, which is marked natural disaster preparedness month.
?It would really be cool to say this is a 72-Crew community,? Mr. Peters said. ?That would be the level of awareness we would really hope for. If done well and properly it could be a win-win for everyone.?
Those interested in becoming a community partner, call 328-8820 or e-mail
Peters&Brown Marketing, LLC Petersandbrown@cox.net.
News Editor Julie Anne Conolly contributed to this story.
http://www.newszap.com/articles/2006/07/24/az/west_valley/pi02.txt