Do you ever have one of those moments that you are so humbled, overjoyed and proud that words seem to escape you? Well, last week I had one as I listened to our CEO, Gail McGovern announce the national launch of the Red Cross Ready Rating Program.

 

As with everyone in the St. Louis region, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we’ve been hit with disaster after disaster, and how our resiliency to bounce back has been shown time and time again. Among the New Year’s Eve tornadoes, Good Friday tornadoes and recent flooding, we’ve seen first-hand how disasters can happen anytime, anyplace. We’ve also seen how early warning signs and preparation have helped save people’s lives.

 

This was one of the driving forces for the creation of the Red Cross Ready Rating Program. While the Red Cross had several programs for individual preparedness, the St. Louis Area Chapter realized there was the potential to help guide businesses, organizations and schools along the path to being prepared for emergencies. After a year of research, and with financial support from Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. as the national founding sponsor, the Ready Rating Program launched in St. Louis. Within four months, 50 local businesses, organizations and schools had joined the Program. Now, just three years later, there are more than 250 Members locally!

 

Based on the success in St. Louis and eight other pilot cities, the American Red Cross is taking this Program across the nation! Last Thursday, I had the honor of seeing Vanessa Foster from Anheuser-Busch share how the this preparedness tool will be a ”game changer” for our country. Mark Bagby, of Washington University in St. Louis and Vivian Luce, of Cejka Search, also local Ready Rating Members, testified that the Ready Rating Program works and encouraged businesses, organizations and schools across the country to join. As several of the Members testified, the beauty of the Program is its simplicity. Members use the Assessment tool to measure how ready they are to deal with emergencies and immediately receive customized feedback on how they can improve their efforts.

 

All along the way, the Ready Rating Program has received high praise from the US Chamber of Commerce and other leading agencies such as the Pentagon Force Protection Agency. Brian Kamoie from the National Security Staff at The White House also mentioned “the Ready Rating program will enhance your own preparedness and our nation’s resilience”. To see more, check out this video on YouTube.    

 

We hope that you’ll take a minute to visit readyrating.org to learn more about how the free, web-based Ready Rating Program can help your business, organization or school.

 

I am so proud of the work the St. Louis team, all our Members, and the greater community have done to prepare these past few years. Now, I’m excited to see how we continue to build on the solid foundation over the next few years.

 

Have a great week.

 

Cindy