LUTZ, Fla. (Sept. 1, 2026) — Nine participants representing The Salvation Army operations in Bradenton, Ft. Myers, Sarasota, Vero Beach, Tampa and Orlando recently completed “The PIO Experience,” a multi-day, hands-on workshop designed to strengthen disaster communications throughout the Florida Division.
Led by DHQ Communications in partnership with the Florida Division Emergency Disaster Services team, the program gave participants a practical look at the Public Information Officer role before placing them directly into simulated response scenarios.
According to the Florida Division EDS Director, Steven Hartsook, “The purpose of this event was to remove the ‘trial by fire’ circumstances for PIOs by giving them a day-in-the-life experience. Many participants executed PIO responsibilities for the first time, so now that it’s over, they will have a foundation to draw from if deployed.”
The workshop began with an overview of EDS operations, the Incident Command System, the Incident Management Team structure, and an outline of PIO expectations. The afternoon also included a presentation from former Salvation Army EDS staff member, Jerry Stickney, who shared the overall community disaster response perspective. The day ended with a tour of the warehouse and base camp resources used during disaster response.
The next day, participants put their training into practice through realistic disaster exercises, including a tornado scenario impacting mobile home communities and a multi-county flooding scenario escalating to a 10-day response. They worked through core PIO deliverables such as capturing strong field photos, preparing social media posts, writing articles, using photo release forms and identifying the elements of clear, accurate and timely public communication.
A major focus of the training was spokesperson preparation and news media interviewing. Participants practiced briefing EDS staff serving as spokespeople, then shifted roles to experience the pressure of a mock news media interview. The stand-in reporters and video crews asked scripted questions while participants worked to stay focused, respond clearly and represent The Salvation Army’s mission and service in a fast-moving response environment. Although they may not participate in an interview themselves, this experience provided prospective and insight to strengthen their coaching abilities.
Throughout the program, the trainers provided immediate feedback using review tools for articles, photos, spokesperson prep and interviews. The group also received technical guidance on field photography, using media consent forms, uploading content through Ministry Toolkit, uploading articles to the EDS website, using field equipment and accessing EDS profiles, training modules, credentialing information and volunteer training resources.
“The PIO Experience” concluded with a renewed emphasis on preparedness, partnership and practice. By combining classroom instruction with realistic field activities, the workshop helped local communicators build confidence for future disaster responses and reinforced the importance of coordinated, mission-centered communication across the Florida Division.
