WIU Named Winner of the 2020 Regroup Ready Award
MACOMB/Moline, IL – Western Illinois University has been selected as the winner of the second annual Regroup Ready Award after demonstrating exceptional implementation and usage of mass notifications to serve its campus community.
According to Regroup Mass Notification, which is the provider for Western’s Emergency Alert System (WEAS), the Regroup Ready Award program was created to recognize organizations and institutions that use the power of mass communication in exceptional ways. This
WIU administration & staff representing the WIU Emergency Response Team (not all members pictured). Photo by the WIU Visual Production Center.
includes implementing day-to-day communications to improve operational efficiency and emergency messages that keep people safe during critical situations.
WIU received a plaque and a $500 award for a philanthropic cause of their choice. The WIU Food Pantry and WIU Student Emergency Fund will each receive $250.
“The Regroup system allowed us to alert our community of the incident as it unfolded on Sept. 15, as well as to notify subscribers of other critical details and information well into the next day.
Having Regroup in place allows us to notify our campus community in critical situations, as well as provides an effective and efficient way to communicate non-emergency situations that still warrant immediate communication,” said Joe Roselieb, executive director of auxiliary services and risk management. “The system compliments other protocols we have in place to share messages, including social media, the University’s website, and campus and local media.”
After evaluating dozens of submissions, WIU was named the winner by Regroup. The actions taken by WIU to keep students, parents and staff informed during an emergency situation during the Fall 2020 semester stood out to the team over at Regroup. The Regroup system was utilized by risk management personnel to continuously update the community about the ever-changing situation, and over a 15+-hour period, WEAS’ text, phone, and email capabilities were used to reach more than 180,000 recipients.
“It is with great pride and honor that we serve clients such as Western Illinois University. Their exceptional usage of mass notification to keep their campus community safe and informed continues to amaze us,” said Chris Utah, COO of Regroup. “Knowing that Regroup is being used every day to save lives is what motivates us to continue to provide the best product and services.”
To learn more about WIU’s Emergency Alert System, visit bit.ly/WIUWEAS.
