Boone County, MO Government

Boone County News Release

Press Archives Press Room

For Immediate Release

Media Contact:
Hannah Wichern, Mitigation and Recovery Specialist
Office of Emergency Management
Phone: (573) 554-7900
Email: HWichern@boonecountymo.org

Boone County Hosts Third Annual Boone County Ready Festival

September 8, 2023 – To promote September as Preparedness Month, on September 14, 2023, the Boone County Office of Emergency Management (BCOEM) will host the third annual Boone County Ready Festival from 4:00 pm until 8:00 pm at Stephens Lake Park in Columbia, Mo. This is a free, community-wide event that brings together a wide variety of partners to foster a culture of preparedness and to build resilience in our community.

The event promotes Boone County Ready, BCOEM’s community preparedness campaign that encourages and empowers citizens to prepare for disasters and emergencies by completing the following four steps of preparedness:

  1. Be Informed
  2. Make a Plan
  3. Build a Kit
  4. Get Involved

The BCOEM plans to present the annual Tom S. Hurley Public Safety Service Award at the festival; the presentation of the award is scheduled for 4:30 pm. This year, many incredible organizations and individuals were nominated, including:

    1. Rebecca Estes, Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services
    2. Kyle McCoy, MU Health Care Ambulance Service
    3. Lindsey Martin, Boone County Joint Communications
    4. Stephen Dunkin, MU Healthcare Ambulance Service
    5. Mark & Katie Burton, Valhalla’s Gate
    6. Geoff Jones, Columbia Police Department (Retired)
    7. COMO Mobile Aid Collective
    8. Bruce Grotewiel, Boone Health EMS
    9. Boone County Amateur Radio Emergency Services (BCARES)

The first 150 households at the event will receive a free, fully stocked emergency kit. In addition, the Ready4Fun Kidz Zone will house yard games, a face painter, a caricature artist, a balloon twister, and a magician. To top it off, Missouri’s Most Wanted Outlaw band will be performing live! The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri will also be collecting canned goods at the event again this year. Other highlights of the festival include vendor booths, food trucks, snow cones, and raffle prizes. Attendees can earn raffle tickets with each stop they make at a vendor booth. The more booths you stop at, the more chances you have to win! Text FESTIVAL to 67283 to opt-in for event messaging.

BCOEM would like to thank the sponsors who have made this event possible, including Central Bank of Boone County, Schneider Electric, and Columbia Insurance Group.

Visit https://www.showmeboone.com/oem/festival/ to learn more about the event.



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