In the August 2, 2023 Local 20/20 Column in the Port Townsend Leader (thank you, PT Leader!), Keppie Keplinger of Jefferson County Dept of Emergency Management and Local 20/20’s NPREP action group discuss how the August 20th All County Picnic is an opportunity to learn more about how we as individuals and as a community can prepare for emergencies.
KNOWLEDGE BEFORE NEED – All County Picnic Connects Neighbors with Preparedness Resources
As a rural community, our ability to respond to emergencies and recover from disaster is dependent on knowing where and how to connect to information and resources before a crisis.
Build that knowledge and celebrate community resilience at the 11th annual All County Picnic being held at HJ Carroll Park, 9884 Hwy. 19 in Chimacum, on Sunday August 20 from 11AM to 4PM.
This event is a collaborative effort of the Jefferson County Department of Emergency Management, Local 20/20’s Neighborhood Preparedness (NPREP) Action Group and The Production Alliance (TPA) and is intended for Jefferson County residents to strengthen neighborhood networks to be more resilient and better prepared for emergencies.
One of the highlights of the picnic will be for residents to learn about the Neighborhood Preparedness process, which is an excellent way to strengthen households and neighborhoods to become more self-sufficient after an incident such as a windstorm, snowstorm, prolonged power outage, wildfire, earthquake, or tsunami. We need to be ready to take care of ourselves and our families for at least two weeks post-incident.
The NPREP Team will be on hand to provide materials to share with members of your neighborhood as you begin to organize your neighborhood preparedness group. Since the NPREP group was originally formed in 2006, over 100 neighborhood groups have been formed in various parts of the county.
Another cornerstone of the All County Picnic is the opportunity for attendees to engage civic and community leaders from Jefferson County’s network of public health and safety professionals on a variety of preparedness topics. Representatives from these agencies and groups will be there hosting informational booths, providing hands-on training and delivering engaging presentations.
You can’t beat the value of meeting your first responders and their leadership teams in relaxed and fun environment.
Learn more at allcountypicnic.org. We hope to see you there—and YES, as is our tradition– there will be FREE Corn on the Cob!
Bio: This column was developed by Keppie Keplinger of DEM with contributions from Local 20/20’s NPREP action group. Keplinger is the Deputy Director and Public Information Officer for Jefferson County Department of Emergency Management. She has twenty-six years of experience in emergency management, seventeen of those years in Jefferson County.
