Tennessee's Private Sector Plays A Critical Role In Disaster Recovery
Wednesday, June 16, 2010 | 11:20am
NASHVILLE - When storms and record-setting flooding struck this spring, residents readily reached out to help one another, emphasizing once again why Tennessee is known as the “Volunteer State.” Along with thousands of volunteers from across the state, members of the private sector community jumped in to lend a helping hand.
With the assistance of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a major outreach initiative to the private sector was organized. Hundreds of businesses, chambers of commerce and nonprofit organizations offered their communications resources to educate and encourage Tennesseans affected by the disaster to register for assistance.
Within weeks, some of Tennessee’s largest associations and businesses, including Cracker Barrel, Gaylord Entertainment, Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corp., and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, found creative ways to communicate critical information to community members and thousands of their employees, families and friends. Initiatives included:
- Tennessee Titans players starred in three public service announcements highlighting how to register with FEMA and prepare for a disaster;
- Lamar Advertising featured the 800-621-FEMA helpline on eight electronic billboards along major freeways free of charge, reaching 371,000 people each day;
- NASCAR broadcast announcements encouraging viewers to register and posted disaster assistance information on the speedway’s giant electronic billboard;
- Graffiti Indoor Advertising posted registration information in eight locations; and
- Advertising Vehicles posted internal disaster registration banners inside 50 Nashville MTA buses.
"We have an incredible amount of support from the private sector community here," said Federal Coordinating Officer Gracia Szczech. "The collaboration we have in Tennessee between the public and private sector can be used as a model in other places in future disasters."
By reaching out to businesses throughout the state of Tennessee, FEMA provided businesses the unique opportunity to work together to help the state get back on its feet.
Regal Cinemas is running registration messages on its Lobby Entertainment Network of plasma screens in lobbies of three locations.
"Regal is glad to place FEMA’s public service announcements in our Nashville theaters," said Richard Grover of Regal Cinemas.
To date, FEMA has worked with more than 300 businesses and other private organizations to communicate important disaster messages to nearly 360,000 employees, customers, members and students.
"The federal government has done an incredible job working with the private sector during this disaster recovery," said Governor Phil Bredesen during an address to the Donelson Hermitage Chamber of Commerce. "FEMA has done everything we’ve asked them to do."
Follow the recovery in Tennessee online at twitter.com/tema, www.twitter.com/femainfocus, www.facebook.com/TNDisasterInfo, www.youtube.com/fema and www.flickr.com/photos/t_e_m_a.
###