On 10 Year Anniversary of Fort Worth Tornado, KnoWhat2Do Shares Preparedness Information at Public Festival

Released on: March 26, 2010, 9:21 am
Author: State Farm Insurance
Industry: Consumer Services

FORT WORTH, TEXAS (March 26, 2010) — On the 10 year anniversary of the deadly twisters that hop scotched through Tarrant county, hundreds of people will gather in the sunny outskirts of downtown Fort Worth for KnoWhat2Do PrepareFair. Sponsored by State Farm Insurance, KnoWhat2Do PrepareFair is a public festival featuring live music, food, children’s games and activities and most importantly, the life-saving preparedness information promoted by KnoWhat2Do and State Farm Insurance.

KnoWhat2Do, a program created specifically for all residents of North Central Texas, welcomes the public to this timely festival, a mixture of family fun and personal safety enhancement. KnoWhat2Do was created by the Regional Public Education Committee to identify threats specific to North Central Texas, such as that deadly tornado a decade ago and the hundreds of sever weather incidents to strike the region since that time. The program outlines the steps people can take to prepare and protect themselves. The committee consists of public safety and emergency management officials from the 16 North Central Texas counties, which includes Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton County.

PrepareFair will have prize give aways from Mix 102.9 FM and State Farm Insurance, free flu and H1N1 vaccines from Tarrant County public health, bounce houses, face painting and games for children, fire safety demonstrations by C.E.R.T. volunteers, free hot dogs, live music from Canta Rhythm and Brass and ready access to the preparedness tools and information people can take home and incorporate into their families and share with neighbors and friends.

“Ten years ago, when those deadly storms tore through downtown Fort Worth, then south Arlington neighborhoods on their way across the metroplex, a uniform set of preparedness messages crafted specifically for the North Central Texas Region didn’t exist,” says Kwa heri Heard, Emergency Management Specialist with the City of Dallas Office of Emergency Management and KnoWhat2Do Regional Public Education Subcommittee Chair. “We created KnoWhat2Do to let the public know what threats are most prevalent here in North Central Texas, and what specific steps they can take to best be prepared.”

State Farm Insurance, the KnoWhat2Do PrepareFair sponsor, will give away smoke detectors and disaster kits at the event, some including $100 gift cards. “At State Farm we strive to support programs like KnoWhat2Do PrepareFair that provide valuable information to people right here where we live and work, and help build safer, stronger, and better educated communities,” says David Ballew, State Farm Agent.

What: KnoWhat2Do PrepareFair
When: Sunday, March 28th, 1-5pm
Where: 2300 West 7th Street, Fort Worth- Trinity Park Pavilion and Memorial area,
Who: Emergency management officials and first responders from around the region, State Farm Insurance agents, Tarrant County health officials, American Red Cross, CERT (Citizens Emergency Response Team), United Way, Mix 102.9 FM, Canta Rhythm and Brass
Visuals: Childrens learning games regarding preparedness, flu/H1N1 shots, live band, large crowds, CERT fire extinguishing demonstrations

About KnoWhat2Do
The resources found in the KnoWhat2Do campaign provide valuable tools to all citizens of North Central Texas in planning and preparing before disaster strikes. The materials are distributed on the website www.knowhat2do.com, through an educational DVD and preparedness guide and a series of public events, presentations and public service announcements. Individuals, schools, or businesses can find information on severe weather preparation, health threats and much more to empower themselves, their families, co-workers and neighbors to KnoWhat2Do in an emergency. Under the motto, “Think. Prepare. Act.” the campaign demonstrates real practices people can put into action in their own lives. KnoWhat2Do is on the web at www.knowhat2do.com.

About State Farm Insurance
State Farm insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the U.S., is the leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in Canada. State Farm's 17,000 agents and 68,000 employees serve more than 78 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and more than 1.9 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 32 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®.

Media Contact:
Erin Steed
erin@steedcreative.com
817.301.4982