“Layers”

Tuesday Sept 13th 2022
From the messy desk of Amanda Eichstaedt…

Layers

On Monday I had the opportunity to interview Elaine Wilkinson who has served as the Marin County Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for the past four months. To say that she is enthusiastic about her work would be an understatement. You can listen to the Epicenter interview HERE. 

I very much enjoyed connecting with Elaine since as you are aware, if you read the Round Up regularly, that emergency preparedness is important, not just to me, but it is a key element at KWMR. The radio station takes our ability to be here to bring the community emergency information very seriously. It’s on our work agenda all the time.

I have been involved with the West Marin Community Response Team since it formed during the pandemic, and the original charge was to disseminate information and supplies regarding health during COVID. It became clear not long into the formation of the team that the benefits of County staff working closely with local non governmental organizations can have real results. I do hope that these teams become institutionalized and can continue to operate (currently they are grant funded for a specific period of time). 

My hat is off to all first responders. Whether they come to your home when there is a personal emergency, or they are sent out to assist in other communities during fires, they are at the ready at our County and Volunteer fire houses throughout Marin. Once their work is done, the local community organizations are here to help folks by providing the services that they need. The Marin VOD is another great organization. VOAD stands for Volunteer Organizations Active during Disasters.

The layers of preparedness start with you and me. Our work to prepare our families and our individual evacuation plans, go bags, and stay boxes, are critical to the success of the whole system. The ReadyMarin website has been redone and still includes all the great info that it had before but it’s more accessible. Sign up for alerts from Alert Marin, you can sign up for 5 different locations, and ReadyMarin helps you enable the alerts to come through, even when your phone is on “do not disturb.” Click HERE to learn how. 

Another thing that Elaine and I talked about was community, and knowing your neighbors. Keeping an eye on those that might need some help in the event of an emergency. If you don’t know your neighbors, meet them! Get involved with your local West Marin Disaster Corps, learn more HERE.

And hop on over to the Dance Palace Community and Cultural Center on Wednesday, September 14 between 3-6 PM for the West West Marin Health Fair, organized by West Marin Community Services. There is one in the San Geronimo Valley on October 20th. 

Waylon says “Be Ready!”  photo: A Eichstaedt

And KWMR Board service isn’t just for kids! Might you be interested in throwing your hat into the ring and performing some radio station governance? The KWMR Board wants to hear from you!  Ask any board member, our meetings do not run long.

Youth Board Rep?
And….if you are a youth, or you know of a youth that might be interested in serving as a KWMR Youth Board Representative, please apply now for the coming school year! We had such a delightful experience with our very first Youth Board Reps – Elena Rodoni and Sophia Buckholtz, and we look forward to new reps in the fall! Application is HERE.

Thank you for reading our newsletter and for your support of KWMR!

Amanda Eichstaedt
KWMR Station Manager and Executive Director