The first half of the year is over already?! I can't believe it! We have had some amazing classes on getting prepared and even a successful neighborhood emergency drill back in April. Thanks to everyone who has been able to attend any of the classes. I'm sure you learned a lot. We have the next few months off from classes but don't stop taking the opportunity to work on getting prepared. Look at the references listed to help answer questions or get ideas on things you need. Keep moving forward and happy preparing!

Happy Twenty-Thirteen!

January is known for New Year's Resolutions. I saw the following in my new 2013 calendar and wanted to share it with you. "If you are setting a New Year's resolution this year, help increase your chance of success by following a few tips: Create a measurable goal, break your goal into small realistic steps, make a plan to reach your goal and track your progress". I hope getting your family prepared is one of your New Year's resolutions. You could be anywhere from zero percent prepared to 100 percent and still benefit from reviewing what your family needs. Either by getting started with the basics or updating what you already have. It is an on-going process that is very important for you, your neighbors and your community. Included in this blog are classes and resources to help you at whatever level you are at. Let's Be Prepared!

Happy Fall Season!

What a beautiful time of year! Thanksgiving is always a nice way to start the holidays with the new year just around the corner. It's also a good time to review our emergency supply items. With the busy summer behind us, that leaves some indoor time to inventory what we have. There will be all kinds of sales before and after the holidays to help us stock up on food storage items, first aid supplies and check our 72 hour kits. Emergency prep items always make nice Christmas gifts. Who couldn't use a nice solar flashlight/ radio or a food storage item with a recipe or a first aid kit for their home/ car? Etc., etc. With the new year coming soon, I have updated the calendar to the right with new classes that will offered and product that will be available to order/purchase. Don't forget to add these to your own calendar. Most classes are held on the fourth Thursday of the month which makes it nice to plan around them instead of trying to fit them in. So take note and join us for some informative and fun classes to help us get better prepared, one step at a time. Happy Preparing!

Thanks and Happy Spring!

I wanted to thank all those that made our Neighborhood Emergency Drill on April 14th a success. It was more involved this year and was handled well. I wanted to focus on the importance of these drills and remind everyone that this is the way we would do things in a real emergency. Therefore, when we have these drills to help us prepare, we need everyone to participate to help things run as smoothly as possible. If everyone will do their part, it makes things better for the next person who has to handle the next step. I enjoyed seeing 12 of our 14 block captains or assistants or in some cases, both at the E.O.C. We even had a couple of scouts, with the guidance of their mother (that needed to stay with the other children) help out by covering for their Dad who was not home. Even going to the doors of those that didn't show up. Also, another young boy who helped his Mom do the same. And remember to have your 72 hr. kits close to the exit of your home to speed up an evacuation if necessary. Thanks again to those who helped and those that went above and beyond to make this drill successful! Now, that is spring and our thoughts are turning to outside and the warm summer months... let's not forget to keep getting prepared a little at a time in any way we can. Happy preparing and take care :)

Information from Questar

I was reading the GasLight News that comes with our gas bill and wanted to share a part of the newsletter with you. For the whole article go to www.questargas.com.
Emergency preparedness and natural gas:
There are many things you can do increase your personal preparedness for an earthquake or other disaster. Have an emergency plan and acquaint your family with it. Stock emergency supplies; secure breakables. Beyond that here are a couple of tips for emergency preparedness and your natural gas service.
-Secure you water heater
-Know when and how to turn your gas meter off
Turn off your natural gas meter only if:
-You smell natural gas
-You hear natural gas leaking(a hissing, blowing or roaring sound)
-You see structural damage to your home
-There's fire in close proximity to your home, or
-Questar makes the request
-Then, turn the meter off only if you can do so safely!

Happy preparing and best wishes!

Happy Spring... I'm still wondering

It's a beautiful day with the snow all over topped with sunny skies!

Hope your Emergency Prep. is moving forward. We have had some great classes that have helped us add to our storage and I feel that it has helped us get that much closer to becoming prepared, even though it is a on-going process.

It is exciting to me, as the Emerg. Prep. Coordinator, to hear stories of what people have done to get a little bit closer to being prepared. Going to the dry pack cannery and having fun as well as bringing home food for her shelves. People going to the classes and coming away with items they know they like because they were able to sample them. Exciting things that I hope we will never need for an emergency but will have for peace of mind.

Remember to keep trying (as small as it may seem) to get prepared. There is a class this Thursday, the 22nd. See the schedule to the right for more info. It should be great... they always are!!

Emergency Prep. Opportunities

As we begin a new year, we think of goals we can set to better ourselves and our families. I hope one of yours is to work on emergency preparedness.

In our area, we don't have an excuse when it comes to resources to help us get prepared. We all can look up resources on the internet or even references to the right of this entry is a list. But within our Stake we have a few more resources that I think we can take better advantage of.

We have Dry Pack Canning Assignments that have been set aside just for us to can food products that can help our storage. See the Provident Living reference link to find the items they have to offer. The dates are listed to the right under Upcoming Events and it's the Sandy location just off of 8400 S. and 615 E. Now that's close!

The other resource I wanted to mention are the classes that are offered by the Stake. A committee of Emergency Prep. Coordinators have gotten together to brainstorm ideas of areas that might help all of us get better prepared. Lots of time and effort goes into these classes and an order form is available for you to order items (optional) that might suite the needs of your family The classes are listed to the right under Upcoming Events and the order forms are located under the reference, Lampton Farms. There is a deadline for these items so check it out! Why not?

Hope to see you at the February class and keep moving forward on getting prepared :)