by Marc Burdiss, director of Emergency Management
As summer transitions into fall, let’s take a few minutes and review what it means to be ‘Ready’ on the NAU campus. September is National Preparedness Month across the nation, with many activities promoting preparedness themes. To ensur
e a safe campus, we must work together as a community to be prepared for any emergency, should one occur.
There are 43,200 minutes this month; please take 10 of those minutes to better prepare yourself to handle the unexpected. What are the top three things you can do in 10 minutes?
- Sign up for NAU Alert. NAU uses this texting system as the primary means of alerting you of a life safety issue, an early closure or a delayed opening. Yes, this is the system that will let you sleep in on those snow days, but ONLY if you are registered. Sign up or confirm your registration at nau.edu/naualert.
- Visit nau.edu/ready to get the information you need to Be Informed, Build a Kit and Make a Plan. Click the many links, download the checklists and documents, and even schedule a preparedness training for your department, club or friends. This site also briefly highlights some of the preparedness activities occurring at NAU to ensure the campus is ‘Ready’ for all hazards. If you did not get an NAU Emergency Response Handbook, you can download a copy here or get one when you attend a preparedness procedures presentation.
- Host or attend a preparedness presentation. I admit that a presentation is typically closer to 60 minutes, but that still leaves 43,140 minutes this month for your other pursuits. There are many topics available from the NAU Police Department and the NAU Office of Emergency Management, all of which can be tailored to your audience, timeframes and needs. There is a link on the NAU Ready website, or you can email ready@nau.edu.