Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter hears about emergency communication planning
Tammy Hise (left) and Randee Paraskevopolous presented "When the Press Comes Calling."
Representatives of a suburban Dallas church explained to members of RCC's Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter March 25 how and why their congregation developed an emergency communication plan.
"Most of us have a love-hate relationship with the media," said Tammy Hise, communications director of Trietsch Memorial United Methodist Church in Flower Mound, Texas. "We love them when they cover stories we ask them to cover. But then 'news' happens, and the press comes calling. We found out we weren't quite ready."
The church developed its crisis communication plan after a 2007 youth ski trip to Colorado got side-tracked and made national news. A winter storm forced the young people to seek sanctuary at Springfield (Colo.) United Methodist Church.
Members of the youth group found ways to give back to the community by shoveling snow for elderly members of the church and volunteering at the town's Women, Infant and Children program. While at the church, many of the youths used their ski-trip spending money to help restock the food panty.
Hise and Randee Paraskevopolous, communications coordinator for the church, covered how to involve staff colleagues in writing a disaster communication plan, what should be included in the document, and how to train staffers and volunteers to carry out emergency communication procedures.
Fourteen communicators heard the "When the Press Comes Calling" presentation and saw copies of the Trietsch emergency communication plan.
