PREPAREDNESS top-of-mind amid h1n1 threat, hurricane season
GEMA’s Ready Georgia encourages residents to take action during National Preparedness Month

(ATLANTA)  As the H1N1 pandemic flu and Atlantic hurricane season’s peak continue to threaten residents across the state, Governor Sonny Perdue is proclaiming Georgia’s support of National Preparedness Month in September. Ready GeorgiaGeorgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA), is asking all residents to create a Ready kit, develop a household communications plan and stay informed about potential local emergencies. , the state’s emergency preparedness campaign from the

“An overwhelming majority – almost 80 percent – of our state’s residents admit they are not prepared to face a large-scale disaster,” said Charley English, director of GEMA and the Office of Homeland Security. “By acting on Ready Georgia’s simple message of ‘prepare, plan and stay informed,’ individuals, families, businesses and communities have the power to become their own first responders during emergency situations.”

National Preparedness Month, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Ready America campaign, is a nationwide effort to increase awareness and encourage action for emergency preparedness.  Nearly 2,000 private, public and nonprofit organizations across the country participate as National Preparedness Month Coalition Members and are creating a culture of emergency preparedness by hosting events and initiatives during September.

“Here in Georgia, Community Emergency Response Teams, local emergency management agencies and other organizations are participating in National Preparedness Month alongside GEMA and Ready Georgia,” continued English.  “Individuals and families can turn to our Ready Georgia site to create an interactive, customizable communications plan and supply list.”

Visitors to www.ready.ga.gov simply enter their information and receive a tailored plan for the entire family that includes the specific amount of supplies to put in their household Ready kits. The site also offers local emergency contact information, preparedness testimonials from prominent Georgians and an online toolkit to help individuals and organizations localize Ready Georgia’s message.

To empower Georgia’s youth, Ready Georgia is partnering with The Home Depot stores across the state for the second consecutive year to bring the message of preparedness to thousands of families during The Home Depot’s monthly Kids Workshop on Sept. 5.  Georgia’s fifth-graders also have the chance to take part in National Preparedness Month by entering Ready Georgia’s “Get Ready Georgia” art and essay contest, encouraging students to draw upon their personal experiences of how their families have already prepared for an emergency or how they plan to prepare.

For more information on Ready Georgia and ways to take part in National Preparedness Month, visit www.ready.ga.gov, and for information on preparing for H1N1 Influenza in Georgia, visit www.health.state.ga.us/h1n1flu.

About Ready Georgia

Ready Georgia is a statewide campaign designed to educate and empower Georgians to prepare for and respond to natural disasters, pandemic outbreaks, potential terrorist attacks and other large-scale emergencies.  The campaign is a project of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) and provides a local dimension to Ready America, a broader national campaign.  Ready Georgia aims to prepare citizens for maintaining self-sufficiency for at least 72 hours following an emergency, and uses an interactive Web site, online community toolkit, television and radio advertising and public awareness media messaging to reach its audiences.  For more information visit www.ready.ga.gov.

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CAlling ALL Georgia Fifth-Graders! Show us how you and your family ‘get Ready’
GEMA’s Ready Georgia launches art and essay contest to empower kids to prepare for the unexpected

(ATLANTA) – Ready Georgia, the emergency preparedness campaign from the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA), is asking fifth-grade students across the state to recognize National Preparedness Month in September with a creative art and essay contest about preparing for the unexpected.

The contest theme is “Get Ready Georgia,” and students are encouraged to draw upon their personal experiences of how their families have already prepared for an emergency or how they plan to prepare. Students can produce original artwork that portrays one or more of the steps of emergency preparedness, or write an essay of 500 words or less that describes the steps for emergency preparedness and why it is important.

“Every Georgian, even children, should know how to prepare for emergencies and how to respond if the unexpected happens,” said Charley English, director of GEMA and the Office of Homeland Security. “During National Preparedness Month this contest is a good way for families to talk about disasters, which can sometimes be an unsettling subject to address. By learning how to be ready, children can be confident about safety and help their families be their own first responders.”

Children and their parents are encouraged to visit www.ready.ga.gov together to learn more about the three simple steps it takes to be ready – create a Ready kit, develop a family communications plan and stay informed about potential local threats– and use what they learn to create their entry.  Art contest submissions could include drawing a picture of the family’s emergency meeting location or painting a picture of the items in a Ready kit. Essays can describe what a student’s family has done to prepare, or the ways kids can help teach people in their community how to get ready.

Three judges from across the state of Georgia will review the entries and select winners in October 2009.

First, second and third prizes will be awarded in each category and all six winners will be featured on the Ready Georgia Web site and Facebook page. Prizes include:

• First Place: A Ready kit donated by Ready Georgia sponsor The Home Depot, a Disney DVD and CD prize pack donated by Radio Disney and a glow-in-the-dark star kit donated by Imagine it! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta
• Second Place: A Ready kit donated by The Home Depot, a Disney DVD and CD prize pack donated by Radio Disney and a beading kit or spiro giro pen donated by Imagine it! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta
• Third Place: A Ready kit donated by The Home Depot and a Disney DVD and CD prize pack donated by Radio Disney

To enter, students and their parents should download and complete the entry form available at www.ready.ga.gov. Entries and the entry form should be mailed to:

Ready Georgia Contest

c/o Cookerly Public Relations

3500 Lenox Rd., Suite 510

Atlanta, GA 30326

Essay entries may also be submitted via e-mail, contest@ready.ga.gov. All entries must be submitted, or postmarked if sent by mail, by September 30, the last day of National Preparedness Month. For more information about the contest or to play fun preparedness games and learn what Rex, the Ready Kids mascot, has to say about being ready, visit www.ready.ga.gov/Get-Involved/ReadyKids.

About Ready Georgia

Ready Georgia is a statewide campaign designed to educate and empower Georgians to prepare for and respond to natural disasters, pandemic outbreaks, potential terrorist attacks and other large-scale emergencies.  The campaign is a project of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) and provides a local dimension to Ready America, a broader national campaign.  Ready Georgia aims to prepare citizens for maintaining self-sufficiency for the 72 hours following an emergency, and uses an interactive Web site, online community toolkit, television and radio advertising and public awareness media messaging to reach its audiences.  For more information visit www.ready.ga.gov.