City Manager Teresa Wilson unveiled Resiliency Knowledge Center at statewide conference
July 22, 2019
City Manager Teresa Wilson and the City’s Emergency Management Team conducted a presentation for approximately 120 city and county management officials from across the state of South Carolina. The presentation was conducted for the 2019 South Carolina City and County Management Association (SCCCMA) Summer Conference. On behalf of the City of Columbia, City Manager Teresa Wilson and Harry Tinsley, Emergency Management Director presented a PowerPoint and video presentation to showcase how the City of Columbia handled emergency operations during the 2015 historic flood.
During the presentation, Wilson highlighted how the support from the community played a vital role in building resilience. She also focused on the various leadership roles of City of Columbia staff and dedication of employees working the front lines during the disaster. Through a collaborative effort, the City of Columbia and multiple community partners worked together to address critical needs during one of the most devastating natural disasters ever experienced in the City.
During Tinsley’s portion of the presentation, he highlighted the emergency management team’s six (6) R’s that are used before, during and after a crisis: Ready, Responsive, Resilient, Restore, Rebuild and Revitalize. He also discussed how the City communicated a consistent message before, during and after the crisis and provided physical examples of the City’s Incident Response Brief reports.
City Manager Wilson introduced Keely Thibodeaux, founder and principal of Landmark Consulting to close the presentation with the nine (9) critical keys to compliance.
During the highlight of the presentation, Wilson and Tinsley announced the development of the City’s new web portal entitled “Resiliency Knowledge Center”. The web portal will be a resource for local government officials for coordination, communication and relationship building aimed at amplifying a culture of preparedness. The web portal will serve as a resource for information related to emergency preparedness and crisis management. The idea for the new web portal was developed when Wilson was identifying a project to fulfill requirements for her Liberty Fellowship. Liberty Fellowship is an incubator for exemplary leadership in South Carolina. Liberty Fellows make a lifelong commitment to use their creativity, network, and energy to move South Carolina forward.
City Manager Wilson stated, “We are excited to launch the new web portal and we hope that the online Resiliency Knowledge Center will serve as a useful resource and educational tool for government officials not only in South Carolina, but for other states in the southeast and perhaps even across the country. Even today, we are still recovering however the strength and fortitude shown by our citizens and City employees following the 2015 crisis has definitely shown we are Columbia strong.”
The Resiliency Knowledge Center web portal is set to go live August 2019.
For additional information, please visit www.columbiasc.gov or email [email protected]. The City’s Emergency Management team can be reached at 803-545-4296.
