The Final Hoop – Big THANKS to HR Director, HR Analysts, & Other Local Government Reps

While I am on a major roll right now writing this dissertation, I did want to stop to say THANK YOU to every single local government representative I have spoken to. I have been so amazed and thankful for the warm welcome and kindness that I have received from each and every person I’ve spoken with (except that one that I had to call the mayor about – but the others in that city were fantastic!). Not to single any state out, but I’ve had the most contact with HR staff in the State of California, and I don’t know if it was my Southern accent that charmed them or just the fact that they are some of the friendliest, most helpful people I have had the pleasure of working with. I do have to mention that the conversation I most enjoyed was with Ms. Susie in HR from the City of Redondo Beach.

I also was incredibly impressed that all of these individuals were so friendly, especially considering many of them are the first to hear complaints and criticisms from the public because they just happen to be the person answering the phone. I don’t know that I could continue to be so friendly – maybe that’s one more lesson we can learn from these men and women.

My survey is hopefully going out on January 18 to HR directors and managers in cities with populations 50K – 249,999. If you know someone who is in the HR Department in one of these cities, please encourage them to read the letter from the Ph.D. student from Mississippi State and complete the survey. I’m investigating the level of involvement of HR directors/managers or their staff in emergency planning, which means that even if an HR department isn’t involved in planning, it’s still highly valuable information. In addition, HR managers/directors/staff members will have an opportunity to identify the HR KSA’s they believe should be considered in emergency planning. Please help me graduate! And, more importantly, let’s help local governments across the nation better prepare for times of crisis.

As always, I’ll be jumping through the next hoop to reach the final one…

Happy New Year!