Emergency Preparedness Fair celebrates community heroes
This year’s Hays County Emergency Preparedness Fair is all about celebrating community heroes by helping Hays County residents prepare for any emergency through knowledge, education and learning new skills.
Just in the last several years, Hays County experienced devastating flooding, two winter freezes and multiple wildfires.
Office of Emergency Services (OES) Director Mike Jones said preparation is the key.
“It’s all about being more resilient and ready for whatever comes our way,” he said. “When disaster strikes, we want our community residents to be their own heroes by being prepared.”
He added that his department felt strongly enough about the event’s goal that it used the phrase as the tagline: “When disaster strikes, be your own hero.”
“It’s a willingness to take care of yourself, your family and your neighbors when there is an emergency or natural disaster that hits Hays County,” Jones explained. “With the right training and preparation, anyone can be their own hero.”
Michelle Villegas, the county’s emergency preparedness coordinator, expanded more on the idea of being prepared.
“It means having supplies on hand, knowing what to do, and providing help to those in need,” she said. “During certain emergencies, first responders may not be able to get to you or your neighborhood right away. But if you have the knowledge and supplies, you can begin the process of helping people.”
She said emergencies may come in the form of severe weather as well as disasters including chemical or hazardous materials spills.
“Whether you need to shelter in place, evacuate or anything in between, knowing how to react, how to remain calm and how best to help can mean the difference between life and death,” she said.
Villegas, a former Air Force nurse, said the family-friendly event, which takes place at the Performing Arts Center in Kyle, offers useful, relevant information along with vendors, food trucks, and live performances by local school bands. As a special treat this year, Villegas said the U.S. Air Force Band will be at the fair and play a variety of patriotic and other tunes.
The event includes a raffle and silent auction; proceeds benefit BR3T and the Hays County Fire Chiefs Association, respectively. This year’s event also features the “Top Dawg” Chili Cookoff for fire, law enforcement and EMS teams that will take place at the city of Kyle’s Heroes Memorial Park next to the PAC.
“Our local first responders will compete in a chili cooking contest and a panel of judges will determine the winning chili,” Villegas said. “Event attendees can purchase tickets and then have a taste of each contestant’s entry. We will also have a ‘People’s Choice’ award.”
Villegas said she is looking forward to the cook-off and hopes the community will come out to support it.
As in years past, fair attendees can see emergency preparedness demonstrations, learn how to make a preparedness kit (a.k.a. a “Go Bag”) and hear from experts about how to be ready to face most any emergency, such as floods, freezes, tornados, hurricanes and fires.
This year’s fair features a variety of first responders and their apparatus from around Hays County and the chance to see helicopters take off and land. Attendees can also learn about the county’s emergency alert system (warncentraltexas.org), talk to first responders, and find out more about the Community Emergency Response Team.
Children’s activities and games will be available onsite. The Hays High and Lehman High Color Guards will be part of the opening ceremonies and Dep. Constable Ali Flores, Pct. 5, will sing The Star-Spangled Banner. Vendors and demonstrators will offer the following: What documents to take in case of an evacuation How to best care for your pets during an emergency Insurance coverage and financial issues after a crisis How to identify edible plants and flowers Building a “go bag” if you need to evacuate your home For more information about the Hays County Emergency Preparedness Fair, visit haysinformed. com. The event takes place on Saturday, Sept. 9 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Hays CISD Performing Arts Center in Kyle. The Chili Cook-off takes place from noon to 3 p.m. at Heroes Memorial Park nearby.
Community support through sponsorships are welcome. Those interested in hosting a booth or donating a silent auction item should contact Michelle Villegas at michelle. [email protected]. tx.us.