In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

One of the most impressive public-private citizen emergency preparedness partnerships in the U.S. is Oklahoma’s McReady campaign now in its sixth year statewide. As part of McReady, Oklahomans can enter a contest to win a safe room and emergency radios.

The campaign includes displays in McDonald’s restaurants throughout the state with information focusing on floods, tornadoes, lightning, emergency preparedness and NOAA weather radios. There are also severe-weather themed tray liners and drive-thru bag stuffers. In addition, many emergency managers hold events locally throughout April.

What I like (or to borrow McDonald’s current ad slogan, what I’m lovin’) most about this campaign is that the business sector, in this case a high-profile consumer retailer like McDonald’s, is centrally involved and identified with the effort in communities around the state. On this blog, I have frequently called on the private sector to get into preparedness in the same way it has done with disaster response, such as after Hurricane Katrina. I also like that the campaign is holding a contest for the safe room and the radios, which is a creative way to gain attention for the issue and provides a good incentive for people to register for readiness information. 

To be eligible to win the safe room — a concrete and steel reinforced room that can provide greater protection for residents in the path of severe storms and tornadoes — you must be the owner of the single family home in Oklahoma where it will be installed. The radios are being given away every week in April.

Ronald McDonald along with local emergency preparedness officials kickoff the McReady campaign in Midwest City, Oklahoma.