Hashtags help in emergency communications: #Wawildfire and #WAWildfires

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President Obama declared a state of emergency for 11 counties and several Indian reservations in Washington. As wildfires continue to rage in central and eastern Washington, residents evacuate and fire fighters and emergency responders arrive from Washington and around the country. Many of us know friends or family who live here or who came to help.

Social media is helping keep people informed about where the wildfires are, the status of evacuations, and requests for volunteers and other help. The hashtag #Wawildfire lets people search for information quickly.

When the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) requested citizen volunteers to help fight the wildfires for the first time ever, a huge number of people showed up, overwhelming the volunteer centers. Thank you for your support! More information about how you can volunteer to fight wildfires is available on DNR’s website.

Information is also available in Spanish:

Our hearts hurt for the residents surrounded by fires and for the three fire fighters who lost their lives. Now that the area is declared a state of emergency, we hope that the wildfires will be contained and put out soon. We’ll continue to follow #Wawildfire and #WAWildfires for more information. Thank you again to the brave professional and volunteer firefighters from WA and around the country. We are proud and grateful.

Today’s Seattle Times article lists ways you can help.

Puget Sound counties rank high in digital communications

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Three Puget Sound counties were named top 10 digital counties in the U.S, according to the 2015 digital counties survey: King (5th), Snohomish (7th) and Pierce (8th). Skagit County ranked 5th among small counties. Congratulations to all!

What do the top digital counties have in common? Many embrace new technology to improve service and engage with citizens. They strive for open government and collaboration. Many top digital counties use computer programs and store information on the cloud. Employees have mobile technology. Customer-focused, they make decisions based on data.

Check out this infographic from govtech.com that shows the most widely used technologies, priorities, “winning formula” and strategies for moving forward. It’s good information to improve efficiency and increase engagement.

We’re exploring the universe with technology and social media

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Photo of Pluto

First close-up of Pluto. Original photo from NASA on July 14, 2015.

After travelling nine years and three billion miles, the spacecraft New Horizons gave us a “close-up” of the farthest planet, Pluto. Pluto looks very different than what we imagined. It has mountains, plains and five different moons. The first image NASA shared showed a planet with a “heart.”

The Pluto “flyby” happened early in the morning on July 14. NASA promoted the flyby for days in advance of the event, including asking people to follow the action on the live computer simulation called “Eyes on the Solar System.” NASA also asked volunteers to capture the moment when the countdown reaches zero. We downloaded that program and watched the closest approach at approximately 4:49 a.m. on the West Coast. Here’s our screen grab at 0.2 seconds to closest approach!

Photo of NASA's live computer simulation
Using NASA’s live computer simulation, we “saw” the spacecraft get the closest ever to Pluto.

At that early hour, we had lots of company! Twitter lit up with the hashtag #PlutoFlyby. NASA quickly conducted an online briefing and took questions through social media. Social media continues to be an effective way to share Pluto’s never-seen-before photos.

About a week later, we saw Earth from about a million miles away. A NASA camera and telescope called EPIC took this picture — what a wonderful world!

How exciting to imagine what scientists, technology and space exploration will find next. If Pluto’s flyby is any indication, scientists will continue to share their discoveries and encourage public engagement through social media.

More about the EPIC photo of Earth from NASA’s press release.

More information about the spacecraft New Horizons.

Great plays and sportsmanship will inspire new generation of soccer players

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Photo of trophy lift

The U.S. team lifts the World Cup trophy in celebration. Photo from FOX TV.

We’re proud of Team USA! The U.S. women’s soccer team scored more goals than any other in a World Cup final, and the defense held strong throughout the tournament. Carli Lloyd’s three goals in the first half were amazing, especially the third goal from mid-field that lobbed over the goalkeeper into an open net – a player’s dream.

Photo of Jill Ellis and Carli Lloyd

Coach Jill Ellis and Carli Lloyd celebrate the U.S. team’s World Cup victory. Photo: FOX TV.

Many players had terrific individual performances – Carli was player of the tournament, and Hope Solo was best goalkeeper. They won as a team, demonstrating sportsmanship and appreciation of the beautiful game and the world’s best players. In one notable moment, Carli gave the team captain’s armband to Abby Wamback when Abby checked in at the 79th minute.

https://twitter.com/landondonovan/status/617855309642465280

“I wanted to make sure that she put the armband on because she deserves it. She’s been legendary to this team….I’m just so proud that her last World Cup, she could go out strong.” — Carli Lloyd  (Quote as reported in Don Ruiz’s article).

As we cheered, they inspired the next generation of soccer players (just as Mia Hamm and the 1999 US team inspired many of them). As an amateur soccer player and enthusiastic fan, I saw how meaningful this game was to my young daughter. We love their big win and winning spirit! Go USA and soccer players everywhere!

Photo of Abby Wamback with flag

Abby Wambach with the American flag after US wins World Cup. Photo: Fox News.

US Open highlights Puget Sound region

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The U.S. Open at Chambers Bay showcased so many positives in the Puget Sound region: natural beauty, friendly and involved people, competitive businesses, delicious food, thriving arts, a championship golf course, and more.

Photo of Chambers Bay

Chambers Bay – an awesome championship golf course with fantastic views!

Pierce County owns the 8-year old Chambers Bay links-style golf course, which previously was a sand and gravel mine. In the 115th year of the US Open, a public golf course has hosted the national championship only three times.

The U.S. Open at Chambers Bay experienced many firsts:

  • The June 2015 event marked the first time the Open was played in the Pacific Northwest.
  • The US Open is the largest event ever held in the South Sound. Approximately 235,000 attended in person with millions more watching on tv and online.
  • Over 5,000 people signed up to volunteer for the US Open in record time: just 36 hours. Typically, volunteer sign-ups take several months to fill up.
  • Photo of golf ball

    Golf ball “bouncy ball” — a popular item in the Merchandise Pavillion

    The Merchandise Pavillion at 41,000 square feet in Spectator Square was the largest merchandise facility. Merchandise sales broke records with over 130,000 transactions. Pre-event sales were the largest with many vendors re-ordering supplies in time for the week’s event.

  • USGA allowed mobile devices on the course for the first time, including the US Open mobile app.
  • Four golfers topped the leader board on the Open’s final day, a rare occurrence.
  • At 21, Jordan Spieth became the youngest player to win the US Open.

    Photo of Jordan Spieth with trophy

    Jordan Spieth with trophy and US Open supporters. Photo: Pierce County

  • After the championship, all leftover food (70,000 lbs) was donated to a local food bank, Emergency Food Network. This food donation makes a big difference in our community! Thank you to Ridgewells Catering, who also featured local Puget Sound food on the US Open menu. What a great example!
Photo of Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods smiles on the driving range at Chambers Bay.

And the championship featured much golf drama! Tiger Woods attracted huge crowds but failed to make the cut. The world’s #1 golfer, Rory McIllroy, stormed back on the final day to pull even for the tournament. Jason Day fainted on the 9th hole, and then came back to tie for the lead heading into championship day. The players competed to the very last stroke of the day, as Dustin Johnson hit the 18th green on his second shot, but could not put for the win or tie. In the previous group, Jordan Spieth birdied for the lead and the eventual win!

Photo of volunteer and tree

Proud volunteer

I’m proud to have volunteered at the South Sound’s largest event and hope the Open returns to Chambers Bay!