BELLINGHAM, Wash. — PIER Systems, an all-in-one, web-based communication solution for crisis communications management, public and media relations, business continuity and mass notification, announces that Steve Carleton has joined the team as PIER's East Coast regional project manager.

Carleton, who currently resides in Elizabeth City, N.C., began work with PIER Systems Feb. 27, 2012. As East Coast regional project manager, Carleton will focus on crisis communication planning, message mapping, training, and drills and exercises.

Carleton brings over 18 years of media, public relations, community relations and social media experience to PIER's Services and Response team. Prior to joining PIER, Carleton served as a senior chief petty officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he most recently was the lead public affairs specialist for Coast Guard Atlantic Area, where he assisted in managing Coast Guard public affairs operations between the Rocky Mountains and the Arabian Gulf. During his tenure, Carleton lead diverse teams during high-profile crisis response situations, including the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the Haitian earthquake. Carleton has been an active PIER user for 10 years and has extensive experience in communication strategies and crisis response.

"We are fortunate to welcome such a seasoned communicator and leader to the PIER family," said Kevin Boxx, vice president for PIER Systems. "Steve brings a wealth of knowledge related to crisis preparedness and response communications. His real-world experience will be invaluable as PIER continues to support our new and existing clients with their crisis communications and response plans, public and media relations, and the implementation of communication strategies during emergency response situations."

Learn more about PIER's new Subscription Manager and register for a complimentary Webinar today!

On June 4th, 2012, PIER Systems will release VERSION 7.1, the latest addition to our advanced PIER platform.

With several new distribution and subscription management features, PIER continues to expand the communication possibilities by giving you even more options for communication management. Your stakeholders can now receive and respond to your messages in a way that meets their information needs.

Subscription Manager

With PIER's New Subscription Manager, you set up the channels and send out messages. Your stakeholders manage how they receive it. A simple solution for a variety of communication needs.

What it Does

• Subscription Manager gives you the power to distribute your message widely or selectively, using preset channels that you create and manage.
• Multiple distribution and subscription management options empowers stakeholders to direct their information flow by subscribing to your preset channels in a way that meets their needs.
• Subscribers can sign up to receive updates automatically as materials are published or choose to be selective in their consumption, signing up for specific information through channels you create and manage.

Benefits

• Automatic updates keep your stakeholders informed quickly and efficiently, reducing steps during time-critical operations.
• The right people receive the right information when they need it and in a way that makes sense for them. This means improved communication, collaboration and participation.
• Subscription Manager takes the guesswork out of making sure your message is routed to the right people when it matters most.

Availability and Information

The new subscription manager will be included for all current PIER customers.

* There will be a maintenance window between 22:00-24:00 PDT on June 4, 2012. Specifics of the maintenance window will be provided prior to release. User guides will be available on or before Friday, June 1.

Learn more about these features and how you can benefit by using the new subscription manager as you communicate, collaborate and participate.

We have several upcoming Webinars to demonstrate the use of these exciting new features. Register below for one of these information sessions.

* Note: Sessions are scheduled in Pacific Time Zone *

PIER Systems is pleased to introduce Steve Carleton and Sue Kerver as the newest members of the PIER Team. Bringing extensive expertise from the field, we are excited for their contributions to our services team and our clients.

PIER offers the highest level of support in crisis communications strategies, preparedness planning and response services including:

• Communications Plans
• Training
• Tabletop Exercises
• Drill Support
• Remote and On-site Response Services

For more information on our services offering, please email   or contact your project manager.

Steve Carleton (Elizabeth City, N.C.)
 

Carleton brings over 18 years of media, public relations, community relations and social media experience to PIER’s Services and Response team. Prior to joining PIER, Carleton served as a senior chief petty officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he most recently was the lead public affairs specialist for Coast Guard Atlantic Area, where he assisted in managing Coast Guard public affairs operations between the Rocky Mountains and the Arabian Gulf. During his tenure, Carleton lead diverse teams during high-profile crisis response situations, including the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the Haitian earthquake. Carleton has been an active PIER user for 10 years and has extensive experience in communication strategies and crisis response.

Sue Kerver (Houston, Texas)
 

Kerver brings over 15 years of experience as an educator, manager, trainer, presenter and public relations practitioner to PIER’s Services and Response team. Before joining PIER, Kerver served as the Public Affairs Officer for U.S. Coast Guard’s Eighth District, where she managed Coast Guard public affairs and media relations for 26 states. She was responsible for internal and external messaging to executive leadership, media and other stakeholders on trending issues, served as the public information officer for all major District Eight incidents and exercises and was a trusted advisor and press aide to executive leadership during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – January 3, 2012 – PIER Systems, an all-in-one, web-based communication solution for crisis communications management, public and media relations, business continuity and mass notification, announces the arrival of PIER 7.0 – the most advanced online crisis response, public relations, and employee safety management communications platform.

PIER 7.0 features advanced social media capabilities including two-way native communication with Facebook and Twitter.  PIER’s industry leading technology includes a simple process to ensure that Facebook posts and Tweets are approved and verified before going public as well as logged for historic or auditing purposes. Inbound Tweets and posts are managed by leveraging PIER’s built in Inquiry Management platform.

“Social media has become an integral part of communication”, said Kevin Boxx, Vice President of Technology and Services. “By incorporating this capability into 7.0, PIER clients are able to quickly communicate a consistent message across traditional channels and social networks. Two-way communication through social media allows our clients to be engaged and responsive with their audiences.”

In addition to social media, PIER 7.0 also released PIER GeoTag that reliably enables clients to contact potentially thousands of people in a specific geographical region defined by address or zip code, radius from a specific point, or latitude/longitude coordinates quickly and efficiently via all forms of communication, including landline phones, mobile phones, email, text messaging, Twitter, and more. PIER GeoTag provides clients an interactive map to establish contact groups or identify client-generated content by location.

by: Michael Walter, Emergency Management

The 2 million residents of Houston are no stranger to emergencies. From seasonal hazards — such as severe tropical weather, inland flooding, wildfires and the ever-present threat of terrorism and hazardous materials — the nation's fourth largest city has extensive experience preparing for, responding to and recovering from disasters.

With that in mind, Houston's Office of Emergency Management developed a version of its website that is optimized for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Residents now have information on emergency preparedness, links to helpful mobile websites, ways to get help, as well as how they can become involved in their community's disaster response structure in a format that's easily displayed on, and takes advantage of the technological features of, their smartphones and tablets. Houston residents can visit m.houstonoem.net to access the new site.

During an incident, the mobile site can also serve as a key resource for important protective actions and disaster information. As recent incidents (including the East Coast’s brush with Hurricane Irene) have shown, even when power is out, many residents still have access to the Web capacity of their mobile phones, which are easily charged in vehicles or with extra battery packs. This can serve as a key information dissemination channel during large events such as the hurricanes, heavy rain and winter ice events that Houston has experienced in the past few years.

"The information needs of our community have changed, and as emergency managers, we have an obligation and responsibility to meet those needs," said Sharon Nalls, the city's emergency management coordinator. "Developing a way to get preparedness and response information into the palm of their hand was just part of what we can do to better engage Houston residents."

The mobile site also augments the Office of Emergency Management's Web and social media presence. The city uses a Web-based content management system, PIER Systems, to produce and publish information from official sources when incidents occur, and can disseminate it to traditional websites, Twitter and Facebook accounts, and various partner websites within the greater Houston region.

As society adapts to new technology, emergency managers must also continue to develop strategies to incorporate these changing mediums and information needs into their planning and responses. Houston continues to be on the leading edge of harnessing the power of new and emerging technology to engage and promote a safer and more resilient community.

Michael Walter is the community outreach coordinator for the Mayor's Office of Emergency Management for Houston.

Source

Emergency Management