Good Morning Corvallis
The first meeting of the month is our business meeting and we started this chilly December meeting with our 30-second commercials. It’s the season for end-of-year sales and our group is no exception. Shelley {Alta’s Antiques and Collectibles} is having a BLOW-OUT SALE with items priced at $5 each or 2 for $8. Corey from Heresco Chiropractic is offering $25 off a first visit. Whether it’s pain, numbness, or tightness Corey can straighten you out. With the new year approaching Tara {State Farm Office of Jeff Mills} reminded all of us that life insurance can help secure a families financial future. Amy {Carefree Massage} has gift certificates available for stocking stuffers… don’t forget that PEERS members get a sweet little discount. 😉 Chris {Valley Eye Care} and Mary {Drs. Bugni, Laster, & Jensen} reminded us that most of our health insurance will renew come January. Don’t forget to get the most of your policies before they reset. Ilene at A&S Accounting is getting ready for tax season, if you’re ready better get a head start and bring your files in early. Lori from the Thank You People is excited for the Holidays. All the Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Thank You cards that are getting sent out bring cheer to our whole community. Are home renovations part of your new years resolutions? Contact Elaine with Simply Home Professionals for a consultation. Lora {Initials Inc} has the perfect personalized items for the loved-ones on your shopping list. Check out her catalog here. Julie {Tobias Weiss Design} teased us today with an announcement that the new logo is ready… but we can’t see it until next week. Do you know what your Oxygen saturation and heart rate is? Nadine {GF RN & RN On-Call} has a handy tool to get a quick reading; see her at her Downtown office for a consultation. Bonnie & Stefanie brought a tea sampler basket from Rice’s Gift & Pharmacy. They also have accumulative holiday specials starting Dec 11th. Woo! The 2012 Hondas are on sale and Tami at University Honda is ready to take you on a test drive. Stop by the 9th Street dealership before they’re all gone. Anne {Remax Integrity} has $10 off coupons for the Toland Tree Farm in Albany as a thank you for a great 2012! Joni {Essentially Healed} missed our Holiday Social on Sunday due to the flu, but with help from her essential oils – Flu Bomb – she was right as rain in a day. Awesome! Karen from KidSpirit & GOTR brought partnership packets for the 2013 Girls On The Run season. If you’re interested in supporting this wonderful cause contact Karen at her office. Dian at River Crossing Art Therapy Counseling offers a complimentary 30 minute consultation for individuals.

Today we had a guest speaker, Erik Rau, from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) to talk about hazard preparedness for families and businesses. Our area is susceptible to a few particular natural disasters: flood, winter storm, forest fires, and the looming BIG earthquake. The BCSO is responsible for planning and aiding in the event of a natural disaster; instead of having a different plan for every kind of event they have laid-out a base plan for the issues in common with all natural disaster events. Communication is the most important and often the most difficult hurtle during an event. How many of us have LAN lines? More importantly a LAN line that isn’t attached to your cable or internet… a good, ol’ fashioned, plugged into the wall, corded LAN line. Most of us rely solely on our cell phones, email, or facebook for communication and this presents a major problem when there’s a massive power outage lasting even a few hours, let alone days or weeks. Finding and having access to hard LAN lines will not only ease the burden on cell networks, but are also more stable and robust than cell networks. One of the simplest things you can do to help yourself during an event is to have phone numbers and contact information – especially at least one that is outside the area – physically written down in a safe, accessible place.
A lot of people think they’ll make a plan or kit when they have more time or better supplies. The BCSO encourages everyone to make a plan and basic kit right away since we never know when or where a disaster might strike. Buying ready-to-eat meals might seem like the easy and practical solution for food, however that can actually cause more issues and drive down moral. Purchasing more of what you regularly eat for your pantry is often easier, healthier, and better for your positive outlook. Foods like oatmeal, peanut butter, and cheese are easy to prepare and go a long way.
Some more information on communication… A hand crank radio that has the NOAA frequency can be your best friend. Newer ones also have an outlet that you can charge your cell phone with. During Hurricane Sandy 30-40% of the cell towers were out leaving 60-70% to handle the enormous load of panicked callers. Texting is often a better solution than calling since texting uses less bandwidth and doesn’t require that you hear the person (if you’re in a noisy area). Calling someone outside of the disaster area is also helpful for the cell networks and you’re more likely to get through. There is a developing emergency alert system for cell phones that will text everyone in a specific geographical area. Check with your service provider if you’d like more information about this system.
A quick bit on natural disasters with respect to businesses: If a business location experiences a fire and has to close for any length of time 40% of them will not re-open. Ouch! Disaster recovery is one of the most difficult things a business can undertake. Making sure that you know your insurance policies and that you’re adequately covered is critical to your business’s recovery. If you’d like more information on hazard preparedness check out these sites: www.earthquakecountry.info and the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety at www.disastersafety.org.

Upcoming events:

GF Emergency Preparedness | Sat Dec 15th 10:00am-11:00am | Darkside $25
Nadine will present how to put a 72-hour emergency kit together and what to do if you are separated from those supplies.

Buy Local First Holiday Contest | Thru Sat Dec 15th | Participating Businesses