EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT Mary Werderitch, IFSA Executive Director
From the May 2009 newsletter...
We’re counting our blessings here at the IFSA office. We have a genuine team effort going on here. Jill and I have always had a very cohesive working relationship and to add Laura as the third staff member and have the same wonderful experience is a wonder to be sure. Jill continues to be our financial guru and my right arm in everything we do. Laura continues to grow with us and has proven to be a very talented asset to the Juvenile Fire Setter Program and all our other programs as needed.
I’d like to spend a moment on IFSA Board of Directors. It is such a great pleasure to work along side these wonderful volunteers who have full-time jobs and still find time in their lives to dedicate to the mission of the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance. Those Board members that have retired are kept busy full-time fulfilling the mission of the IFSA. What an amazing group of fine people we work with.
Dottie Ahbe and I just returned from the Illinois Fire Inspector’s Public Education Conference. We applaud their Conference Committee for coordinating such a very informative few days for us all. The conference gave us all an opportunity to learn, network, share ideas, and brainstorm with one another.
ATTENTION ALL PUBLIC EDUCATORS
We are very pleased that many of you have had an opportunity to have one of our two kiosks at your Open House or special event. The IFSA will continue to fund the cost for set-up as long as we have the funds. There may come a time when we’ll need to ask for a donation for Health World’s expense to provide the Exhibits to you.
LET YOUR SCHOOLS KNOW!
Let your schools know that these exhibits are available to them through Health Worlds Traveling Exhibits Outreach Program. See Health World’s Website at: www.healthworldoutreach.org or call (847) 842-9100.
Test Your Fire Safety Knowledge Kiosk: an interactive traveling exhibit, part of Health World’s Outreach Initiative, designed for multiple players to correctly answer questions before time runs out! Players are ranked half way through the game and final scores are celebrated as everyone learns about fire safety while they are having fun.
In a Flash Your Life Can Change! Playing with matches and/or gasoline can change anyone’s life in a flash. In an ongoing attempt to prevent injuries caused by fire-play and fire setting, the IFSA partnered with Health World to develop this outreach program available upon request. This portable interactive kiosk consists of four videos. Three of the videos are stories told by burn survivors about their fire-play and the end result being a burn victim and now survivor. The fourth video is of a parent who tells her story of what the entire family experienced as a result of her child’s fire-play. The viewer can opt which video they would like to view or has the ability to view all of them. This traveling exhibit focuses on the prevention of fire related incidents, suitable for use by fire departments, schools and community organizations.
