As a family person, owner of a private business, community volunteer, and American citizen, the pain of 9/11 is felt through many different prisms. As I learned early on, the challenge in life is to power through the pain, and to gain some learning that improves our quality of life. To grow better, not bitter.

To this end, I am a passionate supporter of National Preparedness Month. If this sounds like a PSA for the rest of the country and not you, think again. If a hurricane or any unexpected disaster struck close to home, who would you be most concerned about? Your own family, right? Our lessons of the past taught us, it is YOUR responsibility to prepare and ensure the survival of your family in the first 72 hours following a catastrophic event. In a full scale emergency, first responders will not be able to get to your family in the early hours…simply put, you need to be your family’s own first responder.

This is a new concept for a lot of people, but incorporating disaster preparedness into your family culture is a necessity.  The good news, it’s easy to do, and this can be a great project for the whole family to share!   Here are a few simple steps and resources to get your started:

1.  Create your family’s Emergency Plan:  http://www.ready.gov/america/makeaplan/index.html

(Note: There’s a “fill-in-the-blank” pdf template to help you develop your family emergency plan, complete with cut-out cards that each family member can keep in their wallets with out-of-town emergency contacts, etc.)

2.   Create your family’s Disaster Supply Kit:  http://www.ready.gov/america/getakit/index.html

3.   Practice what you preach:  http://www.whatsyourrq.org/form.php

This link features a thought provoking quiz which can “test” your family’s emergency plan…in other words, what’s your Readiness Quotient, or “RQ”?

Most importantly, remember, preparedness is something YOU need to integrate into the fabric of your family life.  Our children learn from what they see us put into practice…just like a hunger for knowledge, love of sports or music, we can pass down something great to our children…a sense of responsibility and the security that our family is ready for any challenge that may come our way.

                      - “The Dean”, Dean A. Ragone