The week in Salina KS

We returned this afternoon from spending most of the week in Salina, Kansas. I had been working (for about 6-8 months ) on the team putting together a Disaster Response & Recovery Training Institute held there and had left home early Tuesday morning. Hunky Husband had been held up to provide adult supervision to the lawn service team that was servicing and turning on our lawn irrigation system for the season. He arrived in Salina before I awoke on Wednesday, morning. One of the IT guys was kind enough to guide HH to our room in the military housing. Similar to a low-end, but well-run, motel, the charge was $30/night and meals in the mess hall were a bit over $6/person/meal (noting that the organization with which we volunteer was charged for 150 persons each meal, regardless of how few showed). The facilities that we occupied and used were part of a Kansas Army National Guard Training Center.

I was slaving over a hot computer most of the time (7:30am to, sometimes, 9:00pm) while HH was visiting various classrooms to provide the required annual monitoring of each of the instructors presenting.

We are tired, but glad we went!

Comments

[Joared]

Important work you've done which, hopefully, is occurring at various times all over our country -- deserving of our thanks! Disaster preparation behooves us all on some level. Despite what all we might do I expect there's always a great degree of unpredictability about what we might encounter.

[Ole Phat Stu]

What kind of disaster preparation do you teach for the possibility that
Trump or Cruz become Presnit ? ;-)

[Ingineer66]

That sounds like some long work days. The Mrs was in Salina all week too.

Stu maybe it is for the riots when the party machines thwart the voters and take the nomination away from Sanders or Trump.

[Cop Car]

Joared--The most important preparation that people can do is mental/psychological - understanding that things can happen to one and that one is responsible for reacting well to whatever does happen. Many are not prepared to take responsibility for themselves and have no understanding of the time and effort involved in getting help to people who need it.

Stu & Ingineer--I'll not interfere with your arm wrestling.

[Hattie]

Did you read about how international criminals have been using the Red Cross and World Wildlife Fund as covers for their money laundering? It's in the German press. That's pretty low.

[Ingineer66]

That is low Hattie. Hopefully the folks involved will be punished accordingly.
Cop Car, any political commentary here on my part is completely good natured and intended in a numerous fashion.
Sounds like your work hours were similar to my wife's except she took a little time off to do some walking on the hotel treadmill after dinner and before resuming computer time.

[Cop Car]

Hattie--There are always those who will take advantage in any way in which they think they can do it. We meet people like that throughout our lives. With any luck, we'll not find that we are they!
; )

Ingineer--Usually, for obvious typos, I go in to edit them out; but, your typo was so "numerous" that I left it in. *laughing*

Stu & Ingineer--If you can see your comments, I have taken it that you are not deliberately being malicious. I do try to remember, myself, to steer clear of politics, sex, and religion in this blog - in an effort to keep it G-rated. Of course, I don't always succeed.
; )

[Ingineer66]

I just saw that mistake. That is what I get for typing on my iPhone during a 20 minute lunch break. I wish blogs had an edit feature for comments like Facebook does.

[Harold]

I think these Training Institutes do a lot of good, but they do take a lot of preparation and long hours of work to pull off. We had ours in March partnering with Desert-to-Sea Region, and I'm scheduled to facilitate at the Los Angeles Institute in May.
Lots of opportunity to partner with people we'll be working with when the need arises.

[Cop Car]

Ingineer--I'm flattered that you would use part of your 20-minute lunch break to come take part in the discussion. Nice!

Harold--It would be interesting to exchange notes with you.

For the last institute in which I was involved, employees led the effort (rather than volunteers), the grant was several times as large as for this one, the committee started work 24 months before the event (rather than 8), and we had three times the attendees. In addition, the attendees included emergency management people from local and state governments. The compressed time schedule on this one really applied the pressure. Except for the after action conference call, my part was completed, yesterday. Now to get busy with the data cleanup project!

[bogie]

CC - thanks for leaving that typo, good for a laugh this morning :)