The 6th Annual Hays County Emergency Preparedness Fair is all about celebrating community heroes by preparing residents, through knowledge, education and learning new skills, for any emergency they may experience. The fair will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9 at the Hays CISD Performing Arts Center in Kyle.
“[The fair] is growing every year. It’s getting really big this year, which is really great. The focus and theme is for everybody to be resilient, you’re your own hero … We're trying to reach out to a multitude of different age groups and help them be better prepared in any walk of life,” said Hays County Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Michelle Villegas.
New this year, local first responders will have the opportunity to compete in the TOP DAWG Chili Cook-Off, where they will go head-to-head to see who has the best chili through a judge’s award and a People’s Choice Award. The cook-off will take place from noon to 3 p.m. at Heroes Memorial Park in Kyle.
“Fire, police, EMS and any other law enforcement in the county can come and have a chili cook-off so they compete against each other. Then, the public supports it by buying a ticket and they get to taste all the chili,” said Hays County Communications Manager Kim Hilsenbeck.
“There’s bragging rights and a trophy. All the money raised goes to benefit the Hays County Fire Chiefs Association.”
Vendors, first responders and other emergency experts will be on-site for demonstrations, as well as children's activities, food trucks, live music, watching helicopters take off and land, a silent auction that benefits the Hays County Fire Chiefs Association and more.
There will be a variety of vendors and guests in attendance, including:
- Smokey Bear (TAMU Forest Service )
- Austin Community College (ACC)
- AgriLife
- Amazon
- American Red Cross
- ARES (HAM Radio)
- Ascension Seton
- Austin Disaster Relief
- Baylor Scott & White
- BR3T
- Buda Fire & Police Departments
- Broadway Bank
- Boy Scout Troop 967 (Buda, Texas)
- Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG)
- Capital Area of Texas Regional Advisory Council (CATRAC)
- Cavender's
- Cenikor Prevention and Youth Recovery
- City of Kyle/Emergency Management
- City of San Marcos/Community Organizations in Disasters (COAD)
- City of San Marcos Neighborhood Enhancement
- CommuniCare
- Cotton Logistics
- Firehouse Animal Center
- Forever 15 Project
- Girl Scout Troop 1098 (San Marcos, Texas)
- Hays County Child Protective Services
- Hays County Constable Precinct 5 (utilizing the Child ID program)
- Hays County Crime Stoppers (utilizing the EZ Child ID system)
- Hays County Parks Department
- Hays County Sheriff's Office
- Unmanned Aerial Systems
- Animal Control
- Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP)
- Hays Latinos United
- H-E-B
- HERO Truck
- Hill Country MHDD
- K9's On Call
- Kyle Fire Department
- Kyle Police Department
- Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
- Medical Explorers
- My Emergency Room 24/7
- National Weather Service/NOAA
- North Hays Fire Department
- Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)
- Pedernales Electric Cooperative
- Pelican
- Pioneer Water Tanks
- Plum Creek Conservation District
- Radiant Roofing
- Salvation Army
- San Marcos Fire Department
- Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP)
- Office of Emergency Management
- Pam Health
- San Marcos Hays County EMS
- State of Texas Emergency Assistance Registry (STEAR)/Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM)
- Southside Community
- Texas Search and Rescue (TEXSAR)
- Texas Disposal Systems
- Texas Farm Bureau
- TX Department of State Health Services
- Texas Parks & Wildlife
- Texas Master Naturalist
- Texas State University Office of Emergency Management
- U.S. Army
- United States Coast Guard
- We Are Blood
- Wimberley EMS
“It's growing day by day. It's probably the largest one. I think that the floods that may potentially come in October and, of course, the wildfires, storms and freezes that we've had for the past two years, it really kind of awakened some people to really start thinking about being better prepared in whatever scenario or walk of life that they are encountering,” Villegas said.
One of the demonstrations that has been frequent at the fair is learning how to pack an emergency kit (also known as a Go Bag). Villegas listed some of the items that should be in the kit: five to six gallons of water per person, healthy nonperishable food, baby formula, a three to seven day supply of medications and important documentation (medical records, banking, etc.).
“It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. Any incident can be considered a disaster, depending on your perspective, so everyone really does need to be better prepared,” she said.
Families with children are invited to come to the fair, as there will be activities for people of all ages.
Hilsenbeck said education about emergency preparedness can start with the younger generations.
“If we start with these kiddos when they're young, we can instill in them a lifetime of common sense and thinking about some of this stuff,” she said. “As a kid, I never thought anything bad could happen ever and as an adult, [I see] it happens every day.”
The county’s ultimate goal for the fairs that are put on every year is to continue to prepare residents — those that live in Hays County and those who live in surrounding areas — to be resilient for any type of incident or emergency that can occur. “We really do want our Hays County citizens and surrounding county citizens to be better prepared. [The fair] is open to anyone. We realize that a lot of people are moving in from out of state and they have probably never experienced the floods, extreme heats that we are experiencing now, freezes and storms because wherever they were, they had their plan for wherever they previously lived,” Villegas said. “They were accustomed to that. It’s a constant educating; you can't rest on your laurels.
We have to constantly stay focused and ready to prepare and plan our citizens for whatever.”
For more information, visit www.haysinformed.com/hayscountypreparednessfair.
