Campaign led by Lake Communicators
In 2013, the Lake County Emergency Management Agency approached Lake Communicators to help promote awareness for emergency and disaster planning for Lake County residents. Ray Somich of the Lake County Emergency Planning Committee and a committee led by Tom Ruffner of Lake Communicators volunteers developed the emergency plan campaign. In 2014, the Lake County Emergency Planning Committee (Emergency Operations Center) kicked off a marketing campaign, “Ready Lake County.”
The campaign slogan is “Ready or Not, Here It Comes… What’s Your Disaster Plan?” Marketing materials were developed for an annual campaign in September. They included flyers, rack cards, posters, a PSA, advertisements, displays, banners, and a web site: ReadyLakeCounty.com. The site is primarily a call to action on how to prepare for disasters. It is to be the one source for easy access to existing agencies and resources available as well as basic information for individuals and families to create an emergency preparedness plan consisting of an emergency supply kit, preparations for pet needs, and to help them identify which resources are best for their unique emergency needs.
The original and complete committee of Lake Communicators members consisted of Tom Ruffner (chair), Laura Lytle, Ray Somich, Jerie Green, Diana Lewis, Julia Schick, Dawn Cole, Dianne McDermott Munson, Kathie Pohl, and Kolman Rosenberg. Others included Carrie Dotson (Lifeline), Cristine Kane (RSVP) and Kristy Milo (Lubrizol Corp.). Much thanks goes to the City of Mentor for hosting the first Emergency Preparedness meeting and producing a 30-second PSA at no cost.
The Ready Lake County campaign partnered with numerous county agencies and resources to reach the audiences most in need of having an emergency plan. We had full support and collaboration with these agencies:
- Lake County Emergency Management Agency (Emergency Operations Center)
- FEMA
- Local Police and Fire Departments
- American Red Cross
- Lake County General Health District
- Lifeline 2-1-1
- Laketran
- City of Mentor
- FirstEnergy
- Dominion East Ohio
- Lubrizol Corporation
- United Way of Lake County
Financial support for the project was made possible by the The Lake County Emergency Management Agency (Emergency Operations Center), The Fraternal Order of Eagles and Lake Communicators.