EMGrind: Discussing New Leaps, Hot Topics, and Innovation in Emergency Management
As I mentioned last week, I have been wanting to formally write again over the past few months. I started a WordPress blog right after I started my first emergency management position in 2017, but I only made two or three posts before I got caught up in the grind that is emergency management.
Grind. We’ve all heard the word used before in reference to work. A simple definition of grind is to work hard in an attempt to reach a goal. As emergency managers, I think we all understand what grinding is. Emergency management requires a large amount of skill sets and work tasks to do it correctly and effectively. Take that — and place it with the fact that some agencies only have a handful of staff members — and we can all definitely attest to the “EMGrind” that is going on each and every week at the office. We choose to grind because we love what we do and we have a passion to help others in a field that is quickly evolving and changing.
EMGrind is a place that I hope to cover some of the newest ideas, topics, and actions being discussed and implemented in emergency management. It is inspired by many of the enthusiastic conversations that are shared on #EMGTwitter. As an up and coming emergency management professional, I have been able to learn so much from the discussions and interactions that have occurred there. I love how willing our community is to share and help each other as professionals. It is one thing that makes us strong in our mission to save lives and protect property. Instead of solely relying on tweet threads to discuss ideas and topics, I will be covering at least one topic each week in this format to share new ideas found in EM research or after action discussions.
The ultimate goal is to share creative methods and solutions in a concise manner. One of my personal goals in EM is to assist in linking science, research, and community into practitioner emergency management applications in ways that are manageable and effective for all levels and sizes of agencies. I am also hoping that my writing will make some of these findings and ideas more accessible to practitioners of all different backgrounds.
With that, I hope you will join me in some valuable discussion after each EMGrind is posted and shared. I love learning from others who may have different backgrounds, perspectives, and ideas about our field. With that, keep a look out for a weekly EMGrind post. My goal is to summarize and discuss some of the new concepts and ideas I find so you can get back to the grind of emergency management! Hear from you soon!
In preparedness,
Ashley Morris (@MissAshes92)
