Key Messages

In the event of a widespread power loss the Commons of KSU’s first priority is the care

of our students. The first order of business is to ensure the safety of the students that depend on

the commons for food. Initially the students will be alerted, secondly all perishable items will be

disposed of, and everything salvageable will be rationed equally among students until the threat

is discontinued. Our obligation is to maintain the recommended healthy caloric intake amongst

all students, while simultaneously eliminating food poisoning and food borne illness risks

amongst students. Lastly our obligation is to assure parents/family members that risks are

minimal, and students are taken care of.

We will restate constantly that we are concerned about the power outage, and the effects

it will have upon our students. We will emphasize the measures that we are taking to ensure that

food will remain available, compromised food will be thrown out, and that the commons is still

the most reliable source of food for KSU’s 36,000 students.

The following messages should be stressed to students and faculty on campus in the order

indicated:

1. Our biggest priority and concern is for on campus students that depend on the commons

2. All of the guidelines for food items will be strictly followed to ensure the safety of the

students

3. All students will still have healthy balanced meals available to them during and after the

power is restored.

4. Food will be equally rationed until the threat is resolved.

5. If the quality of food items appears compromised immediately discard.

The following messages should be stressed to commuting students in the order indicated:

1. As classes are cancelled due to the lack of power our main concern is to maintain the

commons for all students.

2. If students do not have to be on campus, we encourage staying at home or eating before

coming to campus.

3. There will still be limited non-perishable food items available for purchase

4. If the quality of food items appears compromised immediately discard.

The following messages should be stressed to parents in the order indicated:

1. Our priority is to ensure the safety of all the students.

2. Although traditional menu items may be halted, there will be alternatives.

3. Staff will continue to be available at the commons.

4. Back-up generators will be used to restore power.

5. In the event of generator failures other cooking methods will be used.

6. All compromised food products will be disposed of.

 Media Contact List

Local Newspaper Personnel

Newspaper Name Address Phone/fax When/frequency

KSU Sentinel 395 Cobb Ave NW (470)-578-6470 Monthly

Kennesaw, GA
30144
Cobb Online http://www.cobbonline.co N/A A.M. Daily
m
Marietta Daily 580 Fairground St. SE (770)-428-9411 A.M. Daily
Journal Marietta, GA 30060
Atlanta Journal 223 Perimeter Center (855)-5548289 A.M. Daily
Constitution Pkwy Atlanta, GA 30346

Local Radio News Personnel

Station/channel Address News Director Phone

KSU Radio 395 Cobb Ave NW Joel McRae (470)-276-9600

Kennesaw, GA
30144
94.9 FM 1819 Peachtree Rd N/A (404)-875-8080
Suite 700 Atlanta, GA
30309
WRFG 88.5 FM 271 Student Center Josh Smith (404)-413-1630
West Atlanta, GA
30302
95.5 FM 1601 Peachtree St NE Pete Spriggs (404)-989-7500
Atlanta, GA 30309
WRFG 89.3 FM 1083 Austin Avenue, N/A 404)-523-3471
NE Atlanta, GA
30307-1940
 Local Television News Personnel

Station/channel Address News Director Phone

Cobb edTV/23 100 Cherokee St Suite Ross Cavitt (770)-528-1000

130, Marietta, GA
30090
FOX5/5 1151 Briarcliff Rd NE Robert Murdoch (404)-898-0100
Atlanta, GA 30306
ACTION/2 1601 West Peachtree Richard Thomas (404)-897-7000
St. NE Atlanta, GA
30309
WXIA-TV/11Alive One Monroe Place Andy Pierrotii (404)-892-1611
NE Atlanta, GA
30324
CBS/46 425 14th Mark Pimentel (404)-327-3200
Street NW Atlanta.
GA 30318
 Sample Website Update

Memo

To: Webmaster

RE: Power Outage

At this time there has been a power outage at the Commons dining area located at the

Kennesaw State University Campus. As we investigate the cause of this incident and work

towards getting the power up and running, the Commons can no longer serve perishable items

until further notice. That being said, it will still be able to provide students that live on campus

with food that is non-perishable. That includes protein/fruit bars, dried fruit, canned fruits and

vegetables, soup, chips and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. If you have any food allergy or

particular diet you need to abide by, consult with the staff and we will do our best to

accommodate your needs. We apologize for the inconvenience and assure you we are doing

everything we can to resolve the power outage. New food has been ordered and will be served as

soon as power is returned. We will continue to post on this website with updates on the situation,

as well as through email and text messages. We appreciate your patience.

Following photos that should be updated to the website:

-No pictures need to be updated at this time. There does not need to be pictures of spoiling foods

or lack of options.

Following links that should be updated to the website:

-Press Release

-Glossary of Terms
 Three Sample Blog Posts

Before:

KENNESAW STATE WITHOUT POWER- ALL PERISHABLE GOODS RUINED

KENNESAW, Ga. - Kennesaw State University lost power on (date) all across campus which

has had a major impact on the students. All perishable goods have been lost within The

Commons, the campus cafeteria, but they are working with partnering vendors and local

donation centers to collect food to feed approximately (amount of students) students who rely on

The Commons for meals every day. At this point the power is expected to return within (amount

of time), but it could take up to (amount of time) for vendors to fully replenish the food

supply. Updates on the situation can be found on Kennesaw State University’s website as well

on their various social media platforms.

#KennesawStateUniversity #PowerOutage #FoodDonations

During:

UPDATE: KENNESAW STATE GOING (amount of time) HOURS WITHOUT POWER

KENNESAW, Ga.- It has been three days since The Commons lost power on (date), but they are

not letting this stop them from feeding students. The Commons has requested emergency food

shipments from vendors and also received many donations from local food banks, specifically

Must Ministries, who The Commons supports regularly. While the Georgia Power Company

works to bring power back The Commons hours have been altered and students are able to pick

up meals from (adjusted hours open). Updates on the situation can be found on Kennesaw State

University’s website as well on their various social media platforms.

#KennesawStateUniversity #Update #PowerOutage

After:

KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY GAINS POWER AND PRAISE

KENNESAW, Ga.- Kennesaw State University regained power after (amount of time), which

ruined all perishable goods in The Commons. Luckily, local donation centers gave (money

amount donated) worth of food and The Commons’ vendors rushed shipments of non-perishables

to feed the students. The Commons executive director Gary Coltek wants to personally thank all

contributors from the community and is implementing plans to ensure The Commons is better

prepared in the future for events like this. Students’ parents expressed their gratefulness for the

school stepping forward and doing what they could to feed their children. The event had a major

impact on campus, but the university proved to be overall prepared.

#KennesawStateUniversity #Update #PowerOutage

 Evaluation

After a crisis has been addressed, it is crucial for organizations to evaluate how they did

in order to measure their success and failures. Evaluations provide organizations the opportunity

for learning and revising. Organizations should always ask themselves whether or not their goals

and objectives were met. These are the driving forces behind every response plan, and without

objectives in mind there cannot be any progress made. The second question an organization

should ask themselves is what went well and what went wrong- this is the learning component of

an evaluation. By understanding what works during a crisis, you can eliminate uncertainty by

reapplying the same tactics and strategies that showed positive outcomes. Respectively, by

accepting what went wrong, organizations realize what not to do next time or go onto the next

step of an evaluation and revise their current response plan. Revising allows for organizations to

change any mistakes or to strengthen their efforts by preparing them for whatever crisis they may

face. Evaluations should be done during and after a crisis response plan has been put into effect.

During a crisis the organization should be taking notes of what has occurred and what’s being

done to solve the issue, so it is easier to recall the events after time has passed. They should also

keep a checklist to make sure each appropriate strategy and tactic is applied in order to meet their

objectives and goals. The second half of an evaluation takes place immediately after the crisis is

resolved and the response plan has been completed. Depending on the severity, organizations

may have to complete a third evaluation if there are negative, long-term effects that rose from the

crisis.

 Communicate power outage to students, faculty, and staff within one hour and update

often.
Kennesaw State University will use its directory and automated emergency alert system to send

text messages, phone calls, and emails to contact the university’s population. Whoever is in

charge of sending the alerts will keep a draft of each message and will record the date and time

of each alert sent. In addition to the original alerts, a second one will be sent 30 minutes later to

ensure everyone has received at least one or both messages. Alerts should be sent every time

there is an update regarding the power outage and is sensitive to the student body as well as

faculty and staff members.

 Contact the contracted power company within one hour.

The head of maintenance should be responsible for contacting the power company and will be

responsible for recording the date and time of each phone call made, the names of each

representative they speak to, and any sensitive information they’ve been given about the power

outage. Doing this will not only ensure that this objective has been completed, but also provides

evidence if there are any questions regarding the university’s efforts to alleviate the crisis.

 Alert vendors and request an emergency food order within the first four hours.

Whoever is in charge of alerting the vendors, will be responsible for recording the date and time

of each phone call made, the names of each representative they spoke to, and the estimated time

of delivery for the truck order. They must also request a copy of the invoice to be emailed to

them immediately for the university’s archives. Doing so will not only ensure that this objective

has been completed, but also provide evidence if there are any questions regarding the

university’s efforts to alleviate the crisis.

 Address the crisis on all KSU social media pages and the university’s website within two

hours.
Kennesaw State University will measure its social media use and reach during the crisis by using

the built in analytics for each platform and Hootsuite. The number of likes, shares, retweets,

views, tags, and how often a hashtag linked to the event was used, will all be recorded for each

post regarding the crisis. Furthermore, they will use Google analytics to measure the traffic to the

university’s website from when the alert was first posted to when it was removed, and compare it

to previous reports of website traffic. A spike in traffic could mean the audience is searching for

information regarding the crisis on the website, which will ensure the university’s efforts worked

correctly.
 The Commons Crisis Fact Sheet

History of the Commons:

 The commons opened in 2009 at Kennesaw State University

 The commons is a central source for students at Kennesaw State University to replenish
their nutrients that allowing the students to have a healthy lifestyle
 The commons is known for their farmers market, providing fresh produce for the
university
 The commons offers meal plans that fit many students and faculty’s budgets
 The commons is well known in the United States for being top ranked dining halls in the
country

Power Outage:

 A power outage is when there’s a short or long-term loss of electric power in an area
 There are many different reasons to power failures such as, electricity failure, human
error, or during cooking
 When power outage occurs in a place like the Commons it is important that the
organization communicates early and often with stakeholders
 It is important to be aware of the problem and how it occurred

Importance during Power Outage:

 Keep track on time from when the outage first began

 Do not use gas or solid fuel cooking or heating equipment’s up before room is fully
cleared
 Throw away food if the power has been out for over two hours if food was not fully
cooked during the outage
 Do not open fridges and freezers to keep the food cool

After Power is Restored:

 Check all equipment for any failures

 Check temperatures of all hot and cold food that can be potentially damaged during the
outage
 Electricity and gas services has to be checked before reopening

Stakeholders:

 Directors  Students
 Employees  Faculty and Staff
 Investors
 Press Release

1000 Chastain Road

Kennesaw, Ga. 30144
470-578-6203

(Month) (Day), (Year) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LIGHTS OUT AT KSU LEADS TO UN-COMMON CRISIS FOR DINING

KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State University enlists the help of locals to donate food supplies
for their student body as the Commons continue to stay closed since the power outage on (day of
the week).

Students, faculty, and staff were notified through the university’s alert system that a
power outage had occurred on the main campus since (time of day). Their biggest concern
though is feeding the thousands of students and employees who have purchased meal plans and
rely on the Commons for food. The dining hall is temporarily closed after having to throw out all
perishable foods that were not safe for consumption, leaving today’s menu blank.

KSU has contacted (power company) on getting the issue fixed immediately, but may
take a few more days before there is a break through. KSU continues to update their social media
feeds and website as more information is given to them. The university is relying on the goodwill
of its neighbors to help prepare meals for everyone in need until power is restored again.

Vendors agreed to have an emergency food truck scheduled for delivery on (day of the
week). The university says the order covers the basics, but the supply is only good for (day of the
week) since there is no appropriate storage to keep the food from perishing. If all else fails, KSU
said they would have students living on campus shuttled to Marietta making sure everyone is fed.
 All students who have purchased meal plans will be refunded money for the days the
Commons were closed. Any students who have questions or concerns are encouraged to contact
the student help desk at 470-578-3555. Parents may also reach a representative at 470-578-6203.

Glossary

Information and live updates will be made available across all official social networks including

commons projected recovery date, news/food updates, student and employee stats, cancelations,

closures and any other related information.

Power Outage- equipment failure resulting when the supply of power fails.

Perishable Goods- food that must be used within a short period of time. Ex: fruit, dairy products,

items that must remain a specific temperature.

Non-perishable Goods- items not subject to rapid spoilage.

Crisis- an unexpected event that happens quickly and causes a threat to a place, people or an

organization.