Zach Nash, creative manager for the City of Oklahoma City, received the 2010 Ben Frizzell Memorial Award from The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management on Aug. 31 for his innovative emergency communication strategies.
Since he was named to the post three years ago, Nash has communicated disaster information to the public in groundbreaking ways. In the December 2007 ice storm, he implemented a social-media strategy that included Twitter, despite the program’s infancy at the time.
His effective use of Twitter and Facebook during the storm and during subsequent weather-related disasters resulted in more than 15,000 people following the City of Oklahoma City.
When the police department and emergency management officials wanted to implement social media, Nash provided training and technical assistance. Oklahoma City Police public information officers now tweet daily.
“Zach continues to demonstrate how social media can be successfully used to benefit public safety and emergency management,” said Frank Barnes, Oklahoma City emergency management director.
This article appears in Sep 1-7, 2010.