Fall 2011 Issue of Chasing4Life Responder Magazine

2. Years ago, Chasing4Life produced a monthly magazine called The Responder. The magazine was available in
print and online and usually was a 32-40 page magazine printed in full color. Over the years, The Responder
fell by the wayside as demands on our time and resources increased. Because of the potential that 2012 has
already displayed and the increased momentum experienced by our organization, we have decided that it is
time to bring back The Responder. Beginning in January, we hope to release a new edition every other month
(6 Editions) and we hope to see it filled with articles, advertisements and news about Chasing4Life like the old
publication.
SCOUTING PROGRAMS CONTINUE DISASTER RESPONSE TEAM CHANGES
The new pro- The management of volunteers spread across the
gram for Boy country got to be overwhelming this year in the wake
and Girl Scouts of record disasters and it is for this reason that
was revamped Chasing4Life chose to completely overhaul the
over the sum- Chasing4Life Disaster Response Team (C4LDRT) Pro-
mer months fol- gram.
lowing some The new program will release in January of 2012
bad experi- and will entail new teams managed and operated
ences with solely by volunteer agencies and individuals under
larger scout the direction of an elite team of twelve Chasing4Life
councils earlier trainers and instructors. This team will begin train-
in the year. The program series was re-born as the ing programs for the teams after the first of the year.
“Cahokias Kids” series now featured on our website. Updates and training schedules will be posted on
The series, a co-ed disaster preparedness program the C4LDRT FaceBook Page. If you, someone you
for scouts is now a 12 event series that takes place know or an organization you are affiliated with would
over the course of one year culminating in an awards like to know how they can become apart of the
banquet. C4LDRT Network, please contact us at
The concept for the new program came from a trip DRT@Chasing4Life.org.
C4L CEO Eddy Weiss took to research the Cahokia
Mounds in the DOROTHY DISPLAY TO BE COMPLETED
St. Louis, Mis- A few years ago, C4L donated
souri area. “Dorothy”, Eddy Weiss’
While on the original and well-
trip, Eddy was known storm
impressed by chase vehicle
the reality of to the Sci-Tech
the original St. Children’s Mu-
Louis area seum in Aurora,
population van- Illinois. Be-
ishing around cause of finan-
the year 1400 cial woes at the
AD. Was it a disaster or series of disasters that drove museum, the
this community into extinction? display was
The series is now underway in St. Louis where we never fully com-
held a kick-off in November and we hope to see the pleted. In January of 2012, the Bensenville,
program booked around the country soon. Illinois Lions Club will assist Chasing4Life in com-
C4L’s Michael Kahlenberg is still presenting the older pleting the display. This completion will include the
series in the Dallas Metro area through the end of installation of a video kiosk that will allow museum-
the school year. goers and Dorothy fans to watch a video of Eddy
For more information on the new program series, to Weiss with Dorothy. The video, being filmed after
watch the promo video or to book the series, visit Christmas, will explain Dorothy’s history, research
www.CahokiasKids.com. projects and equipment.

3. CHASING4LIFE SPONSOR OF THE YEAR
Like the line in the Highlander movie...”There can only be one!”.
While we love all of our Chasing4Life Sponsors, each year, we select that
one sponsor that went above and beyond the call of duty, made our life that
much easier, and allowed us to reach that one extra goal. This year’s recipi-
ent of the 2011 Chasing4Life Sponsor of the Year Award was HiViz, Inc.
Mark and Matt Yeager took hold of our new partnership from day one and
surpassed all expectations as they completely outfitted our responders dur-
ing the Joplin deployments and other disaster response events this year.
HiViz made it possible for us to completely refresh our team uniforms by
introducing us to new and better apparel products while including us in
their field testing of new equipment.
The Yeagers really came through this year when they assisted Chasing4Life in acquiring “The Bull”, our new
Mobile Command Unit, a fully outfitted mobile unit designed to create a temporary operations center in the
worst of disaster zones.
WE “LIKE” SOCIAL MEDIA NEW FACES WITH NEW FOCUS
Social media played a big role in 2011 with the cre-
ation of new pages and the introduction of new cam- New faces will bring new programming in 2012.
paigns through the use of FaceBook, Twitter and other Courtney Feuquay, once a leader with the Greater
mediums. As the team embraced some new tech- Chicago Girl Scouts came aboard with an expertise
nologies, we enjoyed more momentum than we have in psychological first aid and PTSD treatment. In
ever experienced be- August Chasing4Life produced two
fore, and we saw many videos on the subjects which are now
bookings along with available through FedHealth and
new partnerships be- Chasing4Life. This summer also
cause of these new brought Theresa
ventures. As 2012 Gratton, an infec-
lurks just around the corner, plans are being made tious disease control
to utilize social media like never before as we launch specialist. Theresa
the new 2012 “8 Seconds” Campaign and we take has already pro-
social media to conferences with new programming duced programs for response agen-
on Social Media in Emergency Management. cies and communities alike and is
Over the course of the last several years, working on programming for cor-
Chasing4Life has used social media to assist in re- porate entities and health care
sponse and preparedness alike. We have spoken on agencies as the year comes to an
the subject at many conferences and have held end. Theresa joined Chasing4Life bringing with her
trainings for agencies around the country on the a lot of momentum and passion and the results were
subject, but 2012 will hold much more as we begin amazing as she has already been a guest on an in-
to offer classes and programs on integrating social ternational radio network, has
media in emergency management like never before. been consulting on articles, and
We were pleased that this year’s experiments with has been asked to be on several
“QR codes” was successful, and as the codes were large radio shows.
added by large graphics to the Chasing4Life graph- Scott Allison joined the team
ics, a bigger fan base was built throughout 2011. bringing a specialty in elemen-
Fans, followers, sponsors and partners can expect tary education and multi-hazard
to see a lot more of the QR Codes in the coming planning for schools. The addi-
year as we use them to drive attention to campaigns, tion of Scott to the team came
preparedness resources and the Chasing4Life late in 2011 so we are planning
websites. on releasing the availability of
In early December we were blessed to have Kim new programs focusing on these
Stephens of iDisaster 2.0 on the Chasing4Life Radio subjects in Spring of 2012.
Show. This guest was a true inspiration to the team We could not be more excited than we are right now
as she spoke on the importance of integrating SM to announce that Nick Walker from The Weather
into what we do. New C4L Instructor Theresa Gratton Channel will be listed in the C4L roster as of Janu-
joined Director Eddy Weiss in late fall as the team ary, 2012. Nick needs no introduction as he is well-
began research on the capabilities of SM in the sur- known as the daytime host on weekdays on TWC,
veillance of infectious diseases in post disaster en- and has toured the country as a speaker and
vironments. children’s severe weather educator.

4. CHASING4LIFE SAYS IT IS TIME TO “COWBOY UP” WITH NEW CAMPAIGN
Chasing4Life has become a leader in disaster preparedness
education across the United States over the years and nobody
will contend that we owe much of this growth and popularity to
Dorothy. For several years, Chasing4Life’s founder, Eddy Weiss,
toured the country in Dorothy, a fully outfitted storm chase
vehicle visiting hundreds of libraries, schools, churches and
organizations with a message about disaster preparedness.
Three years ago Dorothy, was donated to the SciTech Children’s
Museum where she still continues to thrill and to teach. The
popularity of Dorothy and the connection that she made was
incredible. Dorothy became an icon that was recognized by
families across the country and the Chasing4Life office still receives letters for her every month.
2011 has been a year of disasters like none we have ever seen
in the United States and many have referred to this year as “the
ride of their life”. It has been statements like this that have
inspired a new preparedness campaign to follow that of
Dorothy’s.
Chasing4Life announced in September that in January of 2012,
we will fully launch Chasing4Life’s “8 Seconds”. This new
preparedness and training campaign will feature new programs
with a new theme. You will see new instructors, a broadened
scope of programming, and a tremendous increase in trainings for fire departments, emergency
management agencies, law enforcement agencies and disaster response organizations. Like the original
Chasing4Life “Dorothy” campaign, this campaign will have its motorized spokesperson as well; our new
Mobile Command Unit “The Bull”. The campaign is inspired
by how quickly lives were changed in 2011 and by the
drama and popularity of rodeo; particularly bull riding.
“Our family has always loved the rodeo,” explained Weiss
recently. “As the year progressed and we watched these
disasters unfold, interviewed the victims and aided in
recovery, we were overwhelmed at how fast lives were
changed by disaster. It can all be gone in less time than it
takes a rodeo star to win a buckle...less than 8 seconds!”
The new campaign will be themed around the “8 second
ride” in bull riding.
“A bull rider is judged on many things, but it all comes down to their actions during that 8 second
ride...and of course, they have to stay on the whole 8 seconds!” said Weiss.
“Disasters are often like that bull charging out of the chute,” he explains. “It is raw power, and it is just
you against him at that point. It all comes down to how hard you have trained and how determined you
are.”
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

5. CHASING4LIFE SAYS IT IS TIME TO “COWBOY UP” CONTINUED
The new campaign will feature the release of a special edition
of the “Red Book”, a disaster preparedness guide that
Chasing4Life has sold for the last two years. New DVD’s will
be available as well as Chasing4Life will focus more on
training programs for
agencies and response
teams as well.
At the center of it all?
The new Mobile Command
Unit will begin to go
through modifications over the winter months to make it a vehicle that
rivals Dorothy according to Chasing4Life staff. This vehicle will be used
by the Chasing4Life Disaster Response Team (C4LDRT) in disaster
response deployments, but will also make special appearances at events, festivals, fairs, shows and
conferences in the tradition of Dorothy’s travels.
The command unit will feature a rodeo theme and is a
converted ambulance that will be used to set up and monitor
disaster response operations, severe weather situations and
mobile communications.
“We’ve got our boots on and we’re ready to ride,” stated
Brandi Hodgen, the Chasing4Life coordinator that will operate
the unit in the field. “We cannot wait to roll this out and start
this new campaign. The message is great, the theme is great
and we think the people will love it”.
One goal of the campaign is to take preparedness events to new venues and new demographics, and “8
Second” events have already been scheduled for the new year. Chasing4Life has already partnered with
old and new sponsors alike for the new campaign.
ANDY GRATTON THROWS A WRENCH INTO CHASING4LIFE PLANS
Since Dan Bocklund left the Chasing4Life team, there has been a tremendous need for someone to
take over the mechanical challenges at Chasing4Life. That solution came with more than we
expected as Andy Gratton joined the team in late autumn. Andy has a history in not only
auto mechanics, but is a specialist in power plant operations, generator power,
electrical issues and much more. Andy has joined the team not only as the
solution to our motor pool challenges, but will begin to assist in disas-
ter zone deployments and consultations with public works and
health facility entities.
The new Mobile Command Unit modifications will be overseen by
Andy as the unit is outfitted with security cameras, power capa-
bilities, phone lines, patch bays, cabling and lighting. Andy ex-
pects to have much of the MCU’s modifications completed be-
fore mid-February of 2012 so the vehicle can deploy this spring.
Plans are already underway to acquire a staff transport vehicle
which will also become the responsibility of our new mechanic and we are looking
forward to seeing our new trailer modified to assist in disaster zones as well.

6. PROFESSOR READY IS READY FOR NEW YEAR
Expect to see a lot more out of Chasing4Life’s Michael Kahlenberg this year as
Michael has come into his own as a Chasing4Life Instructor and consultant. Michael
is being sought after across the United
States and in Canada now as a valu-
able specialist with insight into ethnic
communities, American Muslims and
disaster preparedness education at the
government level. Michael’s creation
“Professor Ready” is also starting to
see some momentum as the new year
approaches and we will be making the
Professor Ready programs available
throughout the Midwest States as well
as the Gulf States this year.
DVD TRAINING SERIES RELEASED
A new offering from Chasing4Life this year is training DVD’s being distributed by FedHealth, our Red Book
partners.
The training DVD’s range from government agency trainings to family videos. These DVD’s are an investment
and can be used over and over to train new members, new volunteers,
new staff members or to just update yourself every once in a while.
Often times it is not possible or efficient to bring in a Chasing4Life
Instructor for a training or program, so these DVD’s are being produced
in-house and feature all of our Chasing4Life Instructors.
Training DVD’s include subjects such as:
-The church in disaster
-Infectious disease control for responders
-Lessons Learned: Joplin
-Disaster Planning for the hospitality industry
-Psychological First Aid for responders
-Challenges to law enforcement in disaster
-Severe weather monitoring for response agencies
AND MORE!
CHASING4LIFE FOUNDER SIGNS WITH BOOKING AGENT
Perhaps one of the biggest claims to fame that Chasing4Life has ever had is the unbelievable amount of
events that we present at each year. The demand has increased by 50% in the last 24 months, and it is for
this reason that Chasing4Life founder Eddy Weiss has signed to The Grable Group of Nashville, Tennessee.
The Grable Group will be handling all of Eddy’s bookings after the new year begins leaving the C4L office staff
to handle the increasing demand for our other instructors. While you may
still make the initial contact at our office, all of Eddy’s events booked after
January 1 will be routed through to Nashville.
“Already the New Year has produced more and more conferences for me,”
explains Eddy. “After a health scare this year and the enormous amount of
events I have been doing, it was time to maybe step back a bit, move up
a bit and give more space to our instructors!”
The C4L office admits this is raising honorariums for Eddy’s appearances
significantly, but explained that Eddy’s honorariums have not been raised
enough in the last several years to cover many of his travel expenses.
“We have been kind of warning everyone that booking would be handled
differently this year,” Eddy said. “Events already booked will be honored,
of course, but it is going to be different after the first of the year. I hope that our clientele begins to utilize our
other instructors more because of this change. I have loved doing the events, but I have to follow where the
requests are from and need more time to run the disaster response team as well!”

7. NEW YEAR NEW LOOK ON THE RADIO
Folks will notice a new look after Our new online radio show “Stronger Community”
the first of the year when they see has proven to be a wise investment and we are so
the Chasing4Life team out and pleased with the response we have had from all of
about. The team has adopted a you. If you have not yet heard the show, make sure
new uniform that will be used by you check out the archived episodes which are all
the new disaster response team available at the address below.
and instructors alike. The new look WWW.BLOGTALKRADIO.COM/CHASING4LIFE
came about partly because of the The show airs at 10PM CST each week and we have
increase in partnerships with gov- also had two special midweek episodes, one follow-
ernment agencies causing the team ing the Oklahoma earthquakes and one after the 6
to want a new and more continu- month anniversary of the Joplin tornado where we
ous appearance as they travelled. featured the photography of C4L partner Robert Pears
The new uniforms resemble that of of Robert Pears Photography.
a SWAT team and include new outerwear as well as Other guests have included patriotic recording art-
footwear, patches and rank insignias. ist Eric Horner, Col. Danny McKnight, SMEM’s Kim
Stephens, Agri-Life educator Bill Holcomb, animal
SAFE CALL NOW rescue expert Connie Brooks, ServiceMaster Corpo-
ration, Nick Walker from The Weather Channel and
We work with a lot of responders, and our own orga- many more.
nization is made up completely of responders. The 2012 guest line-up already includes pro ball play-
It takes a lot to protect the lives and property of ers, authors, emergency management experts, di-
others and you cannot do that job if you cannot take saster responders, animal rescue experts, inventors
care of yourself. This is why Chasing4Life has and many more all with a “disaster-related” theme.
partnered with SafeCallNow. Our goal is to take the show to 60 minutes (it is
SafeCallNow was established specifically for public presently a 30 minute show) before Summer of 2012.
safety employees and offers a level of confidential
counseling that can be difficult to find. Throughout
the 2012 year, Chasing4Life will be partnering with
SafeCallNow to put more training and counseling into
the hands of those that protect our country each
and every day.
C4L founder Eddy
Weiss will be present-
ing with SafeCallNow
throughout the year
addressing PTSD is-
sues in responders and
the need for more sup-
port to organizations
like SafeCallNow.
After the experiences
of C4L in Joplin, PTSD
and Pysch First Aid has
become a real priority
to the team so you will
see much more on this
subject in our blogs,
our social media and
on the Chasing4Life
radio show.
SafeCallNow can be
found online or can be a phone call away for re-
sponders.
www.SafeCallNow.org / 206.459.3020

8. Thank you for a great year...
We are blessed to have professional musicians help To all of you that hosted events, sent gifts, sup-
us out here at Chasing4Life and we want to make ported us financially, shared campaign information
sure that you know who or preparedness messages on FaceBook... to all of
they are so you can you that were there for us during Eddy’s illness,
support them like they during the Joplin deployments, during the hard
have supported us. times...to all of you that attended the events, sent
Several years ago, re- photos and cards, opened doors for us...
cording artist Eric To all of you that were there for
Horner recorded the us this year...
Chasing4Life anthem
“They Are Americans”. HAPPY NEW YEAR AND THANK YOU FROM
The song is for sale on THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS!
our website, and you
can find links to Eric’s
website so you can
download other music
from his vast collection
of patriotic and inspira-
tional songs.
We do not want to forget to mention Ted Fillhart.
Ted is one of our dearest friends and has been with
Chasing4Life since
day one. Ted often
goes “unsung”
(pardon the pun) as
he is the voice be-
hind the introduc-
tion and ending of
our Chasing4Life
online radio show.
Ted’s music can be
found on his
website which is
also linked on our website.
Last but certainly not least is KOLE. Kole Kruger is
the musical performer behind our popular new 8 Sec-
onds video.
Kole has also writ-
ten a new song
specifically for
Chasing4Life en-
titled “Beautiful
Chaos”. The song
is a reminder of
how we are as a
people when a
threat comes our
way. The song fea-
tures Nick Walker from The Weather Channel and
MacKenzie Pears. In the song, you hear the “story”
of a family that at-
tempts to stop a family
member from going
outside into a tornado.
Look for this new song
to be released on the
Chasing4Life FaceBook
page.

9. EMS OPTIONS, ANIMAL RESCUE TECHS AND C4L TEAM UP FOR NEW APP
The message about emergency preparedness from Ready.gov to have a plan, make a kit and stay informed
is hitting home with many people who's lives have been recently disrupted by a natural disaster or an
unforeseen medical event. Unfortunately, the more critical details of the plan, like taking the 1stStep2Prep
and documenting medical information are often overlooked.
EMS Options, Chasing4Life Disaster Response Team and Sumter Disaster Animal Response Team are trying to
make it easier for people to be prepared by providing a new application called Emergency Data (People &
Pets) that stores all of the critical information needed in the time of a crisis.
Emergency Data (People & Pets) is a simple and intuitive app that allows a person to store all of the necessary
personal and medical information on an iPhone, iPad and iPod.
If a person is caught off guard by a natural disaster or terrorist type event, it is very important to have the
medical information and the information of loved ones readily available.
It could be critical for someone because:
They may not be able to speak.
Emergency personnel may need information immediately about a persons medical history.
They may have to quickly evacuate their home due to a fire or natural disaster and may not have time
to gather medications or medical records.
They may not be able to contact their doctor or pharmacy for the information, because they have
evacuated the area also.
Their pets may not be able to stay in the same shelter with them and they may have not identified
potential shelters and/or pet friendly hotels.
In those difficult times, it would be next to impossible to accurately list everything important about every
member of a family and a pet’s information too.
Emergency Data (People & Pets) was designed to take the worry away during the confusing times of an
unforseen event.
Features Include:
Alert EMS button- dials emergency services and sets phone into Alert Mode. This piercing alarm can also
be used to help locate the owner in a collapse situation.
A my location button that quickly finds the current location.
Audio recorded message that plays a custom message on opening.
E-mail capability. This feature eliminates the need to fill out those long forms for doctors.
Password protected Insurance Information with full app edit protection.
Quickview capability provides one button access to all of the stored data for EMS providers.
Customizable views, auto back-up/restore, plus immunization reminders for pets.
Drop down lists for hundreds of the most common
medications and medical problems…. that means less
typing, more accuracy and easy edits for changes.
A built in Wallpaper feature for locked phones.
Links to valuable information, several provided by
emergency organizations for pets.
EMS Options, LLC (http://www.ems-options.com) was
founded by a Fire/EMS Director, with over 30 years of
experience dealing with emergency medical situations,
who teamed with telecommunication software special-
ists with over 25 years of development experience.
Expert advice from disaster professionals Chasing4Life
Disaster Response Team and the Sumter Disaster Ani-
mal Response Team, Incorporated helped to provide
the necessary information to make this a life saving
tool for people and pets.