BEMIDJI, Minn. — Steven Dwine will discuss various facets of emergency preparedness when he presents “Making Sure You Have an Organizational Floatation Device” at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19, at the Bemidji State University Center for Research and Innovation, located at 3801 Bemidji Avenue North.
The presentation is part of a Northern Minnesota Safety Council series on safety issues. Advance registration is required at least two days prior to the event. Registration for the 90-minute session is $25, which includes materials and lunch.
Dwine, Office of Emergency Preparedness planning coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Health’s 13-county district office in Bemidji, will provide a brief overview of the role of planning in emergency management and disaster preparedness. He will also explain different models used in disaster planning and detail one approach to having an adequate plan.
“More important than having a plan is making the plan,” Dwine said. “This is especially true for emergencies. We can’t plan for disasters – if we could, we wouldn’t have any. Working through the planning process and sharing expectations are essential in today’s world, where many of us are linked to and dependent on others for even the most basic goods and services.”
The program is designed to help small and medium-sized organizations identify the essential elements of a successful process for planning. It will especially benefit individuals who have responsibility within an organization for emergency management and also be of interest to those responsible for safety within their facilities, safety committee members, investigators of incidents, employees and employers.
“Any review of current events reinforces the reality that disasters have the power to change our lives in dramatic ways,” Dwine explained. “Working through the planning process before an emergency can have a huge impact on how we respond to and recover from these events.”
Before joining the Department of Health earlier this year, Dwine was a mortician with Olson-Schwartz Funeral Home in Bemidji and served 21 years in the U.S. Navy where he was a plans and operations officer at the Pentagon; the U.S. Central Command in Miami, Fla.; and the Naval Special Warfare Command in San Diego, Calif. He received an undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota and a master’s from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond.
Sponsored by the CRI and the Northern Minnesota Safety Council, the session is part of a series that features experts on topics relating to safety from around the state. Programs are scheduled on the third Wednesday of each month. Groups on the Bemidji Area Safety Council helping support and organize the presentations include Bi-County CAP, Beltrami County, North Central Door Company, Potlatch, and Tri-Valley.
Individuals who wish to be added to the Northern Minnesota Safety Council mailing list or have questions about this program should contact the Bemidji State University Center for Research and Innovation at (218) 755-4900; toll free, (888) 738-3224; email, cri@bemidjistate.edu; or at http://www.cri-bsu.org.
FOR YOUR CALENDAR
Nov. 17 – 3 p.m. – Bemidji State University Center for Research and Innovation hosts Bemidji Area Natural Resources Continuing Education Consortium presentation on bovine tuberculosis. Presenter: Dr. Sherry Shaw, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Location: CRI; 3801 Bemidji Ave. N.; Bemidji, Minn. Cost: free. For information: (218) 755-4900; (888) 738-3224; http://www.cri-bsu.org.