Hays County Annual Preparedness Fair Going Virtual

Hays County Courthouse, San Marcos, TX – The Hays County Office of Emergency Services (OES) will host the annual Preparedness Fair this month to help the community prepare for whatever disaster, crisis, or emergency may strike. 

County officials are encouraging the community to be trained, equipped, and empowered to help in an emergency before professional help arrives.

This year, the event will be hosted virtually while offering information and training to help residents learn what to do in the event of an emergency. 

Using Zoom’s virtual meeting platform, the Preparedness Fair takes place on September 26 and will provide the public with free disaster-related and emergency planning techniques, classes, and information on a variety of levels.

Each presentation will be given by certified first responders, trainers, or officials from the OES. Over the next few weeks, the county will also showcase videos created by local law enforcement, first responders, and public service organizations.

The viewing public can find all the information about the fair on HaysInformed.com, the website for emergency-related information during times of disasters, crisis, and emergencies that could impact our residents.

Viewers can also check out the 30 Days, 30 Ways tips on being prepared on the OES Facebook and Twitter pages.

On September 26, tune into the Zoom meeting* beginning at 9 AM for presentations including CERT, Firewise, CRASE, and more.

• VIRTUAL PRESENTATION SCHEDULE OF EVENTS •

  9:00 AM – 9:45 AM    —    TEXAS MEDICAL EXPLORERS / CERT
   Dr. Charles Johnson, PhD
   Texas State Medical Explorer is a unit of the Boy Scouts of America. CERT-Community Emergency
   Response Team for Hays County.

  9:50  AM – 10:35 AM    —    FIREWISE
   Jason Caldwell North Hays Co. Fire Rescue
   How and why fires start. Safety tips on a wide range of topics – everything you need to know to
   stay safe from fire and related hazards.

  10:40 AM – 11:25 AM    —    CRASE
   Deputy W. R. Lowe, Hays County Sherriff
   The Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events (CRASE) course for surviving an active shooter
   event.

  11:30  AM – 12:15 PM    —    BUILD A PREPAREDNESS KIT
   Mike Jones, OES Director
   Office of Emergency Management teaches us how to build a proper Emergency Preparedness
   Kit.

  12:20  PM – 1:05 PM    —   STANDARD RESPONSE PROTOCOL (SRP) FOR GRADES K-12
   Jeri Skrocki; Head of District Safety & Security
   A uniform, planned, and practiced response to any incident within a school environment.

  1:10 PM – 1:55 PM    —    NOAA – NATIONAL WEATHER CHANNEL
   Paul Yura, Meteorologist
   National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

  2:00 PM – 2:45 PM    —    TAKE 10 / STOP THE BLEED
   Staci George San Marcos EMS
   Take 10 CPR to increase cardiac arrest survival as well as the ability to recognize life-threatening
   bleeding and intervene effectively.

• SILENT AUCTION •

A Silent Auction benefiting two local nonprofits (shown below) takes place from Sept. 18-Sept. 26. A full 100 percent of the auction money raised will go directly to the following 501(c)3 organizations:

• THE BLANCO RIVER REGIONAL RECOVERY TEAM   —    www.br3t.org
“To strengthen area-wide disaster coordination, mitigation, and recovery in Blanco, Caldwell, Hays, and Guadalupe counties by sharing information, supporting preparation and education, simplifying resident access to resources, and assisting affected residents with unmet needs.”

• THE HAYS COUNTY FIRE CHIEFS ASSOCIATION   —    www.HCFCA.net
“To promote informed and progressive leadership throughout Hays County that results in the control and reduction of impacts from fire, medical emergencies, and natural or man-made disasters through legislation, prevention, standards, training, and education.”

• THERE ARE ALSO SEVERAL WEATHER RADIO GIVEAWAYS SCHEDULED THROUGHOUT THE EVENT.

• LINKS FOR THE VIRTUAL PREPAREDNESS FAIR •

In addition, local first responders and community organizations created preparedness videos to share with the public.

  LEARN MORE —  www.haysinformed.com/virtual-preparedness-fair
  SILENT AUCTION — www.biddingowl.com/virtualpreparednessfair
  ZOOM REGISTRATION — https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEudemsrTwqGdICrauHtB1 cC0LEDRVu3gCJ
  YOUTUBE — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq4vixjWv9g&list=PLwm1E__qRc9OFY qZC8hliwhdFFSA47q74
  FACEBOOK — https://www.facebook.com/HaysCountyOfficeOfEmergencyManagement
  TWITTER — www.twitter.com/hays_oem