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New resiliency specialist outlines outreach to businesses, hospitals and senior living to build county response resources
Summary
Peter Dawson, newly introduced as McHenry County’s resiliency specialist, described person‑to‑person outreach to chambers, businesses, schools, Farm Bureau and hospitals to create a resource roster (transportation, fuel, generators, refrigeration) for disaster response and continuity of operations.
Peter Dawson, introduced to the Law & Government Committee as the county’s resiliency specialist, described a rapid outreach program to private‑sector and community organizations intended to create redundancy in supplies and services during disasters.
Dawson said he visited chambers of commerce, business alliance contacts, hospital officials, school district leaders, the Farm Bureau and senior‑living operators to identify regional suppliers for fueling, refrigeration, portable bridges, buses, and other surge resources. "I wanted that person who we could make that one phone call to that could start making things happen," Dawson told the committee.
He said the county has compiled contacts and is assembling a manual of resources that could be used in large events — for example, private bus companies that could mobilize large numbers of vehicles for evacuations or staging — and plans facilitated meetings with the groups to identify gaps and exercises. Dawson said about 17 different entities had been contacted and that senior‑living representatives were scheduled to meet with the EMA office the following day.
Committee members emphasized the importance of routine training, clear assignment of incident leadership, and public communication plans; members also asked that community development and public‑health staff be included in coordination. The committee agreed to continue developing county exercises and outreach to municipal partners.
