You have to take the opportunity for a good laugh when you can get it; and, if that means I am the one being laughed at – so be it. Sometimes you just have to go for it and hope folks go with you on the journey.

I appreciate the value of levity. My classes deal with serious topical material that is important to keeping folks, property and the environment safe and the responsibility on emergency management professionals can be daunting.

So, in my classes I try and infuse humor where I can. Sometimes that humor comes about accidentally and sometimes purposefully. I have a discussion-based class format which allows for much interaction and invariably funny things come up. And so we laugh a bit and then we go back to the serious work of considering how better to protect the people and things we are tasked with protecting.

This next week our student emergency management association on campus is hosting the 2nd Annual Emergency Preparedness Expo (this is our second year running the Expo, but it is modeled after a one-time community event hosted a few years ago). This event is an opportunity for campus and community organizations and agencies to provide information on their role in preparedness (see more at http://www.ndsu.edu/news/mediareleases/emergencypreparedness/ ).

This year, in addition to all the great booths, there will be free floats for the flood, a handful of speakers and a book signing (Will Over Water). It is open to both the public and the campus community. Both of my classes participate in this event. My mitigation class is creating displays that I expect will be dazzling and that promote healthy behaviors that are preventative in nature for the H1N1 virus.

But the best part of this event for me has always been the PSAs created by my preparedness class students. Their assignment is to create a PSA that promotes preparedness using rubber ducks. The rubber duck PSA assignment started three years ago in relation to the first community event and since has become more or less infamous. The students are tasked with the creating a PSA that promotes preparedness and sticks with the viewing audience. As anyone in marketing can tell you, this is not an easy task. Albeit, the PSAs are always interesting (and quite often funny) and the students learn a bit about the challenges in creating messaging that sticks. At the Expo they will also pass out rubber ducks and other rubber duck emblazoned items to reinforce their message.

It is all good fun and it allows us to try and reinforce an important message with humor. We hope that it helps our message’s ability to “stick” (you’ll have to read The Tipping Point to appreciate the “stickiness factor”). The first year we did this project I surprised the students with my outfit below (I surprised Tod Dahle of Fargo PD as well).  I have since moved away from the curlers and big enamel hoop earrings (I seem to recall a fashion intervention on this front), but the robe and slippers make an annual appearance.

Last year, I shared my robe and slippers with Patrick Paschall one of our NDSU football players who was part of my class. It will be interesting to see who shares my robe and slippers this year.

All-in-all it promises to be another great year at the Expo. I invite you all to come and join us. We’ll laugh and learn, and did I mention there will be a silent auction and donuts? Hope to see you there. 🙂

Day seventy-five of the new forty – obla di obla da

CC