Stan Turbeville
Director of Marketing &
Public Information
Guilford Technical
Community College
Being on the Frontlines – Why Me?
Introduction and the Job
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I never thought in a million
years I would be doing this
type of work.
I came from a corporate
background…we had other
people to do corporate
communications!
Just want to do marketing!
Not the GQ news anchor
type – Not Ron Burgundy.
Less than 5% of my job but
becomes 100% of my job
when an event occurs.
Three Worst Words in
Community College
Administration
Interim
 Volunteer
 Committee
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The Typical Community
College Campus
Generally open with no gates; no check-in
 Commuter-only campuses
 Not just students, but family and friends
who are not associated with the college
 Few public safety staff
 No metal detectors
 Most faculty, staff and students do not
carry identification visibly
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We are a real security risk!
What is Crisis
Communications?
What is Crisis Communications?
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP9bM
vQKwRs
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Should You Be Scared –
You Bet!
Lone Star Community College Shooting
Lone Star Community College Stabbing
Go to google.com and
enter “shootings on
community college
campuses.” You will be
surprised at the number
of entries.
Real Incidents at GTCC
• Gang violence
• Bomb threat with complete evacuation of all four campuses
• Alleged rapes
• Possible shooter on campus
• Bomb threat on bathroom wall
• Gas leak
• Students hit crossing the street
• Student killed by mother
• Multiple power outages
Table-top Exercise
(Carried out by an Emergency Management Consultant Company)
The scenario: Overturned 18-wheeler carrying hazardous materials; students and
instructors killed with a gas cloud moving towards the Greensboro campus.
Has your college ever held a table-top exercise?
Where Can You Find Training?
http://www.training.fema.gov/IS/NIMS.aspx
 All of these training sessions are free and
offered by the Federal Emergency
Management Association (FEMA).
 These courses help you to learn their
language.
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Become Educated Through
National Incident Management
System Courses (NIMS)
ICS 100: Introduction to the Incident
Command Center (online)
 ICS 200: ICS for Single Resource and Initial
Action Incidents (online)
 ICS – 300: Intermediate ICS for Expanding
Incidents
 ICS – 400: Advanced ICS – Command and
General Staff: Complex Incidents
 G290 – Basic Public Information Officer
Training
 E388 – Advanced Public Information Officer
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The Go-Box
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Develop a file box with all of the
information you would need in an
emergency
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Campus Map
College Phone List
Crisis Communications Manual
Media Contact List
Building Floor Plans
How to Manage
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First, have a back-up for Crisis Communications, even
on individual campuses as needed.
Make sure you have relationships with your county
Emergency Management Team and systems and other
first-responders.
Do you have walkie-talkies or cell phones to
communicate with college personnel?
Be prepared with the go-box.
Does your college have a crisis communications
team?
Do you have building captains?
Learn to manage yourself and to manage others.
Stay calm (while you’re a nervous wreck within).
Information Dissemination
The most important things one must do in any “crisis”
situation are:
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Disseminate accurate information as quickly as possible.
Respond to incorrect information that may be
circulating.
Activate appropriate mechanisms to keep the public,
media and stakeholders informed on an ongoing basis.
It’s vital that initial information be kept simple, so the
message for both the public and media is as clear as
possible. Once the initial crisis phase has passed,
providing more detailed background information for the
media is also often important.
Ten Tips for Handling a
Crisis Situation
Here are ten tips for effectively handling a crisis situation:
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Don’t wait until crisis hits to put a crisis management plan together.
Respond in a timely manner – The more you wait, the more damage can be done.
Be quick, but be factual.
Select a primary spokesperson to represent the organization throughout the crisis
process.
All communications (press releases/statements) should go through one channel – you
don’t want the media going to other sources for information.
Assign a designated back-up spokesperson to step in should the primary spokesperson be
unavailable.
Never say “No comment” (it implies guilt) or speak “off the record” (there is no such
thing).
Discuss whether the crisis calls for a video response by the primary spokesperson to give
it a more human touch.
Express empathy and concern when victims are involved – you don’t want to deflect
blame and come off as insensitive and uncaring.
Don’t bury bad news – It will get out eventually.
Make sure you debrief with the administration after the event is over!
The News Conference
• Dedicate a specific place for the
news agencies to gather, park their
vehicles, set-up, etc.
• Address all of them at the same
time.
• Give regular updates.
• Tell them you don’t know but you
will get back to them.
• Be honest and frank.
• Have someone attend to their
needs (coffee, internet connection,
etc.).
• Disseminate written press packets,
if needed.
• Prepare for the backlash (acted too
slowly, acted too soon, students get
out of their cars to walk away, etc.).
Comments & Questions
If you just need to talk or you would like a
copy of these presentation, please feel free
to contact me.
Stan Turbeville
336-3348-4822, extension 50543
spturbeville@gtcc.edu