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When Grant Bastedo and Takt Communications got to work in the aftermath of the Humboldt tragedy they had to improvise. With a deluge of media inquiries from all over the world and public pressure for updates, they made the best of an impossible situation. The lesson learned? Prepare for the unthinkable.
Bastedo is in Kelowna to deliver a talk, about his unique perspective on the Humboldt tragedy. One issue that came up early, was that much of the information they needed was unavailable because they couldn't get past passwords that they would never get access to. "Basically, you're trying to rebuild all of your communications capabilities in a moments notice with the media knocking at your door while you're doing it."
The first burden Bastedo and his team took on was to try to lessen the burden on the families and the organization. "When you get all of those inquiries coming in and you're in the middle of grieving something as horrible as this," said Bastedo, "you really don't want to deal with that stuff."
No-one wants to imagine what the aftermath of a major crisis might be like, but Bastedo said every municipality and company should have these kinds of plans in place.
"Everyone thinks there's no way to prepare for crises, but there is," he said. "You can have some plans in place that really lessen the burden of that."
Bastedo's talk, entitled: "Staying Strong", will give an inside perspective behind the crisis at Humboldt. And demonstrate how the right planning can reduce stress and chaos and allow the people impacted to focus on what matters most: each other. It's at the Okanagan College Theatre, tomorrow, Friday at 10 a.m.
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