Monthly Update - December

Indiana 811 and Kentucky 811’s Damage Prevention Liaison Teams

Author: Mary Patricia Kindt, Indiana 811 and Kentucky 811

Indiana 811 and Kentucky 811 are dedicated to educating communities across their states about best practices in damage prevention. Indiana 811 and Kentucky 811 recently launched liaison teams dedicated to spreading the damage prevention message in each state. Both teams partnered with stakeholders and other liaison teams in bordering states to help reduce damages and increase safety.

The Indiana 811 liaison team is made up of four team members, including Neil Scarborough, Kim Anderson, Kelli Martin and Mason Hubner, who educate communities in the northwest, northeast, southeast and southwest regions of the state. The Kentucky 811 liaison team, consisting of Tim Vaughn and Dusty Sadler, travel across their state sharing important information about damage prevention. All liaisons are available year-round to host both virtual and in-person training seminars.

To learn more about the Indiana 811 Damage Prevention Liaison Team, please contact the Liaison Manager, Kelli Martin, at kmartin@indiana811.org. Contact Tim Vaughn, Director of Governmental Affairs and Education and Outreach for Kentucky 811, at tvaughn@kentucky811.org to inquire about Kentucky 811’s education efforts.

Find out how Indiana 811 and Kentucky 811 are promoting safety and damage prevention by visiting Indiana811.org/education and Kentucky811.org/education.

Miss Utility recognizes locate technicians in 17th Annual Locator Achievement Awards

Author: Dora Parks, Miss Utility of Maryland/District One Call

Miss Utility of Maryland/District One Call recently recognized 60 outstanding locate technicians for their dedication to damage prevention and exemplary performance with zero safety violations in 2019 through the 17th Annual Locator Achievement Awards. Typically, award recipients are recognized during a celebration at a minor league baseball game, but as holding the traditional celebration was not possible in 2020, Miss Utility came up with a new way to recognize the winning locate technicians for their hard work and commitment to safety.

Each winner received a “goodie bag” containing a custom-embroidered jacket, 811 logo T-shirt, awards certificate, Miss Utility baseball cap, pen and a $100 restaurant gift card for them to enjoy a meal with their families in lieu of the canceled banquet. The locate technicians’ managers distributed the bags to their company winners, which were well received and appreciated.

Miss Utility’s annual Locator Achievement Awards program speaks directly to the third key takeaway of CGA’s Locator White Paper, which states that, “retaining an experienced workforce is likely to produce better safety outcomes.” The Locator Achievement Award program aims to increase appreciation for the locating profession and improve perceptions of the profession overall by recognizing locate technicians for their essential role in and commitment to the damage prevention process.

Dig Safely New York gains exposure by partnering with organizations

Author: Devin R. Negrete, Dig Safely New York

Who doesn’t love pictures of dogs? In October, Dig Safely New York partnered with a New York animal shelter to gain exposure on social media and help those pups get adopted. The post reached 22,791 people, had 324 reactions and 36 comments. Dig Safely New York attributes all the social media activity with partnering with an organization that had nearly 24,000 followers and was willing to share their post.

For the holiday season, Dig Safely New York plans on doing something similar. This month, they will be executing eight days of giving through the 11^th of December. In addition, field representatives have partnered with organizations in their regions with a decent following and are willing to share their social media posts. They each have a designated day to safely visit the organization and post lives, videos and a few photos. Not only are they helping the community, but they’re also developing a partnership that will help Dig Safely New York gain exposure to more audiences across the state. Meaning more impressions to remind people to 811 before they dig.

Update on CGA Gulf Coast storm recovery PSAs

Author: Khrysanne Kerr, CGA Vice President of Marketing & Outreach

After Hurricane Laura caused widespread devastation across the Golf Coast in September, CGA launched a 10-week radio campaign about the importance of call-before-you-dig in the affected areas through the Louisiana Association of Broadcasters. The 15- and 30-second PSAs focused on educating the public and visiting utility crews about state laws and the importance of calling 811 before disturbing the ground during clean-up efforts, with the goal of preventing any additional damages to the region. Thanks to the financial support and commitment of educating the public by several CGA members, including the American Gas Association, American Petroleum Institute, Buckeye Partners, L.P., Cheniere Energy, Inc., Cyera Strategies, Louisiana 811, Mississippi 811, Inc., One Call Concepts, Inc., Phillips 66 Pipeline LLC, Shell Pipeline Company LP, TECO Peoples Gas and Texas811, the funds raised resulted in more than $193,000 in advertising equivalency value.

To share the importance of calling 811 before any type of disaster recovery, click here for special template social media messages and toolkit materials.

New Locator White Paper toolkit available on CGA website  

Author: Steve Blaney, DIRT Program Manager

CGA recently published the 2020 Locator White Paper, “Insights into Improving the Delivery of Accurate, On-Time Locates,” which analyzes key research findings, provides insights into some of the biggest challenges facing the locating industry, and explores potential practices that damage prevention advocates can adopt to improve the timeliness and accuracy of locates. To accompany the release, CGA created a downloadable toolkit full of resources to assist members in sharing the White Paper with their organization and network, including a two-page data sheet, member template article and presentation deck. 

If you missed CGA’s Locator White Paper webinar in November, you can now watch a recording online. Click here to view the webinar.

CGA hosts virtual fall committee meetings

Author: Erika Lee, CGA Vice President

CGA welcomed more than 300 members over the course of three days during the Virtual Fall Committee Meetings in November. The meetings were condensed with a focus on facilitated roundtable discussions, key program updates and task team reports. Guest speaker Dr. Matthew Cronin, Associate Professor, George Mason University, joined the lunch session on day one for an interactive presentation on “changing our perspective to solve the right problems” in damage prevention.  Click here to view highlights from the committee meetings.

Thank you to all the committee co-chairs, task team leaders and attendees for participating in such productive and thoughtful meetings. We look forward to meeting virtually March 2-5, 2021 for our spring committee meetings and general session, as well as a special preview of the 2021 CGA Conference & Expo that has been rescheduled for October 12-15, 2021.