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Newsletter
 
March 2009
In This Issue
Language & Culture Bank
Changes in Board Memberhsip
Committee Positions Still Open
O'Keefe Recognized for Service
Spring Special Events Section
General Calendar
Program Updates
MILLENNIUM CENTER
 
GREEN BUILDING RESOURCE CENTER

WOODY'S WEB 
Quick Links
Tulsa Partners Newsletter
 
Tim Lovell, Editor
 
Jessica Hill, Writer 
 
JoAnn Woody, Contributor
 
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Greetings!

Spring is a busy time for people who work with nature and disasters.  Much of this issue will be devoted to upcoming events and conferences hosted by your Tulsa Partners and others we collaborate with on building a disaster-resistant and sustainable community. 
 
We hope to see you soon at one of these events!
 
Language & Culture Bank Becomes Tulsa Partners Program
 
The Tulsa Partners Board of Directors, in conjunction with the Language & Culture Bank Steering Committee, is pleased to announce that the Language & Culture Bank (LCB) has become an official Tulsa Partners program. 
 
Begun as a local initiative under Tulsa Citizen Corps, the LCB program is a vehicle through which people with world language and cross cultural communication skills may make their skills available to assist community agencies with concerns of homeland security, disaster response, emergency preparedness, crisis management, public health and public safety.  It is specifically designed to empower people to be prepared for disasters and to open lines of communication between first responders, essential information holders and vulnerable populations.
 
The LCB program held its first general membership meeting under Tulsa Partners on February 24, 2009.   Its steering committee has begun a strategic planning process facilitated by Tom Campbell. We welcome members of the LCB to the Tulsa Partners family! 
 
Changes in Board Membership
    
 
Due to personal commitments, Tina Peña and Theresa Buchert have asked our Board President John Westmoreland to replace them on the Board of Directors.  John has regretfully accepted their resignations.
 
It is our pleasure to announce that John Westmoreland, in consultation with the Board, has named Bob Roberts and Michelle Royal to fill these board vacancies until the next annual meeting.

 
 Bob Roberts                                             Michelle Royal
 
Bob Roberts is well known to Tulsa Partners.  He has previously served as a Board member and as Board President.  Bob is employed by Flanagan & Associates LLC, as Senior Mitigation Planner. He recently stepped down as program manager of our Millennium Center project, and is still on a number of committees.  He is an officer of the Natural Hazard Mitigation Association and the Tulsa Citizen Corps Council.
 
Michelle L. Royal is a homeland security and strategic planning consultant who has served as a speaker at our Katrina Lessons Learned Symposium and our A Day Without Hospitals workshop. She was most recently employed by Hicks & Associates, where she worked closely with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism on program management and strategic planning issues.
 
Welcome to the board, Bob and Michelle!
 
Photos:  Bob Roberts and Michelle Royal speak at a Tulsa Partners workshop.

 
Committee Positions Still Open
 
 
Your Tulsa Partners wishes to thank those of you who have contacted us and agreed to serve on committees.  The committees will begin to meet in early April.  There is still time to join one of our committees and to make a difference in how your organization serves our community.  Please look at last month's newsletter for descriptions of our committees, or call Tim Lovell at 632-0044 for more information.
 
Update: Disaster Resistant Business Council (DRBC)
  
 
Disaster Resistant Business Council
In addition to our ongoing relationship with the Tulsa Metro Chamber, the DRBC continues to expand its outreach through various chambers of commerce in the area and indeed around the country. DRBC chair Dave Hall spoke to the South Central Chambers of Commerce Center for Chamber Excellence Conference in Dallas on March 2.  On March 25, Tulsa Partners and the DRBC will sponsor a booth at Tulsa Hispanic Chamber luncheon  where Dave will be the keynote speaker . And Dave has been asked to work with the Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce on their Business Continuity Plan, to serve as the Chair of the  Community Preparedness Committee, to present Business Continuity Planning at the May Chamber Forum, and to coordinate the implementation of Open for Business to members of the BA Chamber.
 
Dave Hall is also going to speak at the Climate and Loss Mitigation Conference in Norman in April (see General Calendar below).  Others DRBC members are working with the Tulsa Community Foundation on their emergency/continuity plans, and with the Tulsa Area United Way on how to provide planning assistance to area nonprofits.
 
 
Update: Millennium Center's Green Building Resource Library
 
 
JoAnn Woody An Education subcommittee of the Millennium Center project met in February to discuss educational outreach opportunities. Among the decisions of the group was to change the name of the proposed Green Building Resource Center to the Millennium Center's Green Building Resource Library, which will be both online at our website and at the Tulsa Partners office, located at 2327 East 13th Street.  A key component of the library will be to encourage people to use online materials and supplement the information with general product samples like a hail resistant roof shingle or a solar panel. We expect to have the library up and running in April.
 
We will also begin hosting in April a Fourth Friday Green Bag Lunch series, and take advantage of several exhibit booth opportunities, all described below in the General Calendar of Events. Special thanks to LifeTouch Studios for their donation of furniture, equipment and a computer for the Resource Library, arranged with the assistance of Terri Brannin.
 
 
Message from Corey Williams, Millennium Center Development Director
 
 
Dear TPI Community,
 
The Millennium Center project is filled with great promise and opportunity.  I am excited about the direction Tulsa Partners Board of Directors and The Millennium Center Steering Committee has taken the project.  Tim Lovell will continue to drive the Millennium Center over the next set of challenges with dedication and integrity.
    
I regret that I must step down as staff for the Millennium Center, due to a decrease in my available time for the project and a need to focus on Sustainable Tulsa and my family.  However, I will stay involved with the Millennium Center Education Committee representing Sustainable Tulsa.  The Millennium Center is a timely project that offers our community the chance to get hands on opportunities to learn and prepare for a sustainable future.
 
I would like to thank Mary Ann Summerfield ,  Chair, and Graham Brannin, Vice Chair for your fantastic leadership and commitment to this project,  helping to create a place that is safe and green for all.
 
Respectfully yours,
Corey Williams
 
 
O'Keefe Recognized for Service 
 
 
Officer Tim O'KeefeThe Rotary Club of Tulsa recently selected Tulsa Partners and Tulsa Police Department Officer Timothy O'Keefe for its annual Above and Beyond Service Award.  O'Keefe was recognized for his involvement with the Kendall Whittier Task Force, which has worked extensively with Tulsa Partners on neighborhood emergency planning in the past two years.
 
 
 
 
Woody's Web
 
 
JoAnn Woody
Can you believe it's March already???  Remember that old saying "In like a Lamb...out like a Lion"?  Well, I bet our friends back East would definitely say that March stormed in like a lion! One part of Virginia received a reported 11+ inches of snow...Crazy!  news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090302/ts_alt_afp/usweatherstorm_10

Closer to home, people in Lone Grove and other areas affected by the tornadoes last month are still struggling towards recovery.  The National Weather Service has developed a website dedicated to the February 10th tornadoes. You'll want to be sure to check out the link to a listing of Violent Tornadoes (F4/F5) in Oklahoma from 1950 - 2008.  While the majority of tornadoes do indeed occur in April/May, there is one listed in January 1957 that killed 10 people - just a reminder that tornadoes can, and do, occur any time of the year. www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/wxevents/20090210/. 
 
In Tulsa, the last time a tornado hit the city in February was on February 25, 2000.  Since 1950, there have been 44 February tornadoes in Oklahoma.

 
For those wishing to check out headline news in other parts of the country - www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/flash/.  This brings up a US map, when your mouse is placed over a city marked on the map, the front page of that city's leading newspaper will come up.  To read it, just click!  Pretty cool!  (Most also have links to their websites)

 
If you're looking for an easy way to organize your family's preparedness activities, visit www.do1thing.us.  Great tool for organizations, families and individuals - and it will even provide you with a monthly schedule of what activity to complete!  Lots of good info on the Fact Sheets, the Calendar looks very easy to follow, and...you can start any time.

 
For our Partners working in the Higher Education field, the US Department of Education has recently released the "Action Guide for Emergency Management at Institutions of Higher Education".  www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/emergencyplan/remsactionguide.pdf

 
The report "Katrina and the Women of New Orleans" was recently completed and released providing a look the effects of the 2005 hurricanes on the lives of women and girls of that area.  While rather lengthy - it brings a new perspective to the affects of that catastrophic event. 

 
And one final tidbit for the month...how many of you have an ipod or other MP3 player that you listen to?  Or perhaps you just like your "tunes" playing rather aggressively while you're working at the house?  Check out this story - and maybe turn it down a notch next time!  www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2009-02-27-fire-call_N.htm?csp=34&POE=click-refer
 
Be Informed ~ Be Aware ~ Be Safe
 
Later!
 
jjw
 
Spring Special Events Section
 
 
HIGHLIGHTED EVENTS
 
Electronics Recycling Event Raises Funds for Tulsa Partners
Tulsa Partners, as a part of its  support of sustainable living through the Millennium Center project, will host an electronics recycling event April 23-26, drop off location and hours to be announced in an upcoming email blast and flyer. 
 
Done in coordination with Tulsa-based company Earthecycle, for every 100,000 pounds of electronics, Tulsa Partners will receive $10,000. Companies with a number of items can arrange for individual pick up and have the items count toward this event. To find out more about Earthecycle, go to www.earthecycle.us/index.html.
 
Meanwhile, gather up your electronics!  Not sure if your equipment qualifies? Check out this website: www.earthecycle.us/gpage1.html.
 
Resilient and Ready Children's Workshops Need Volunteers and Sites for April
As announced in last month's newsletter, we will be offering the Resilient and Ready Children's Workshops developed by Save The Children to area schoolchildren during McReady Month in April.  Included in children's preparedness backpack are printed materials provided by the McReady program.  We need volunteers to facilitate the workshops with the children, and we need school sites that wish us to offer the training.  Please contact our office at 632-0044 if you are interested in this project.

 
Nania Awards
 
Date and Speakers for Nania Awards Announced

Our sixth annual Nania Awards Banquet will be on Tuesday, May 26th, the day after Memorial Day.  This year will mark the 25th Anniversary of the 1984 Memorial Day Flood, a benchmark event for our community's efforts in sustainable stormwater management. Our keynote speakers will be George and Kim Haddow, who co-authored a recently published book with Jane Bullock called "Global Warming, Natural Hazards and Emergency Management." This book included a case study on our work in Tulsa written for them by our own Ann Patton.

George Haddow was the Deputy Chief of Staff at FEMA in the Clinton Administration under Director James Lee Witt, and was involved in the national implementation of the Project Impact program.  Kim Haddow has been the national Communications Director for the Sierra Club.  George and Kim are moving to New Orleans so Kim can work for Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation, which is building sustainable housing in New Orleans. 

 
Photo:  The 2008 Nania Awards at the Bernsen Center.

 
JoAnn Woody
Plans to Offer "A Day Without Hospitals" Workshop in OKC Move Forward
Tulsa Partners, working with EMSA, the Metropolitan Medical Response System, and Oklahoma City area hospitals, are moving forward with plans to offer the same training given in Tulsa that focused on the business aspects of hospital continuity after a disaster. This workshop is tentatively scheduled for early June. Expect more information on this exciting project in upcoming newsletters.  
 
General Calendar
 
 
March 2009
 
March 12-15: Home and Garden Show
Come see the Tulsa Partners/Millennium Center Booth at the Greater Tulsa Home and Garden Show, which will focus on green building and disaster resistant construction.  For more information go to www.tulsapartners.org/News/Items/2009-web-02.asp
 
March 24-25: Dare To Prepare Williams Expo
An exciting downtown event at the BOk Williams Tower where Tulsa Partners will have a booth focused on disaster preparedness and mitigation.  More details will be sent in a future electronic flyer.
 
March 31: First Annual Disaster Medicine Symposium
To be held jointly at Tulsa OU Schusterman campus and OU-HSC College of Nursing in Oklahoma City.  According to a brochure, the overall objective of this symposium is to facilitate ground-level planning for the possibility of a tornado striking a health care facility in Oklahoma.  For more information, go to 
www.unisdr.org/americas/events/v.php?id=8121
 
April 2009
 
April is McReady Month in Oklahoma
Be sure to visit your Oklahoma McDonald's store.  Also help us to provide our Resilient and Ready Children's Workshops to area school children (see Highlighted Events above).  For more information on McReady, go to www.mcready.org.

April 1: 25th Annual Resource Management Conference
Green Building, Low Impact Development: What's in it for you?
Tulsa Partners/Millennium Center will have a booth at this one day conference which features Ron Jones of Green Builder Magazine and will be held at the Home Builders Association of Greater Tulsa.  For more information go to
www.tulsacountyconservationdistrict.org/rmcbrochure2009.pdf
 
April 2: Communicating Science Conference: A Conference on Communicating Science Risk, Norman OK
Hosted by the OU Center for Risk and Crisis Management, Tulsa Partners will have a booth at the conference.  For more information, go to
crcm.ou.edu/Communicating_Science_Conference.html 
 
April 9: Oklahoma Climate Loss Mitigation Conference, Norman OK
Hosted by Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland, this fourth annual conference is scheduled to include a returning breakout session on business continuity by Dave Hall, chair of our Disaster Resistant Business Council. For more information, go to
www.ok.gov/oid/Climate_Conference.html.
 
April 18: Earthfest 2009, Tulsa Zoo
Come to the Tulsa Partners/Millennium Center booth at Earthfest, where there will be exhibitors and activities related to Earth Day, 9 am to 5 pm.
 
EARTH DAY, Wednesday April 22
 
April 23-26: Electronics Recycling Fundraising Event (see above)
 
April 24: Fourth Friday Green Bag Lunch Series
This initial event will be held at the American Lung Association offices located in the Tulsa Fire Alarm Building, 1010 East 8th Street.  Bring your lunch and hear a presentation from ALA staff on ways to deal with outdoor and indoor air quality.  11:30 am to 1:00 pm.
 
May 2009
 
MEMORIAL DAY, Monday May 25th
 
May 26: Nania Awards Banquet, location to be announced
See Highlighted Events above.
 
May 29: Fourth Friday Green Bag Lunch Series
This month the Green Bag Lunch will be held at the Tulsa Partners offices at 2327 East 13th Street. The topic will be a review of the resources available through the Millennium Center Green Building Resource Library.  Bring your own lunch. 11:30 am to 1:00 pm.
 
 
June 2009
 
Early June: A Day Without Hospitals-OKC
See Highlighted Events above.
 
June 26: Fourth Friday Green Bag Lunch Series
Location and topic to be announced.
Your support is always welcome!
 
If you like what your Tulsa Partners is doing, please consider giving a charitable donation at
www.tulsapartners.org/Donate.

Tulsa Partners, Inc | PO Box 2192 | Tulsa | OK | 74101