Thousands attend annual emergency expo

Thousands of Valley residents attended the 17th annual Mat-Su Emergency Preparedness Expo at the Menard Sports Center this weekend.

The event featured seminars and educational content from local businesses and organizations to better prepare the community for future emergencies should they arise.

This year featured the largest amount of exhibitors in the expo’s history, with 88 showing up on Saturday.

“It went really remarkably well,” event organizer and member of Alaska Safe Riders Debra McGhan said. “It’s amazing how this event grows every year.”

McGhan has been part of the expo since its inception in 2008. What started with less than 20 exhibitors at Mat-Su College has now grown to what it is now and visitors reached over 3000 this year.

Attendees learned how to perform CPR, participated in a 9.0 magnitude earthquake simulator and earthquake escape room and listened in on a backcountry awareness and safety workshop. Boating and wildfire safety and how to prepare for pet emergencies were also topics of interest.

Many families attended the event, some new and some returning for another year. A poster contest was held for people to depict how they prepare for an emergency and participants received coupons for a free ice cream from McDonald’s and Big Dipper Ice Cream. A grand prize for the scavenger hunt was donated by the Alaska Railroad.

Sponsors included the Mat-Su Health Foundation, Alaska Department of Public Safety, Mat-Su Borough Emergency Services, Alaska Safe Riders, AARP Alaska, American Red Cross, Links Resource Center and more. With the support from local businesses and organizations, the event is completely free for vendors and attendees.

“What’s really fun is when you're at the event you walk around and ask people, why are they there,” McGhan said. “So many people were telling me yesterday that they were brand new that just moved up here from another state, or they've been here but they never thought to come to this event. Lots of really great feedback from the public that they just are so appreciative that we do this.”

The expo occurs every year, usually during the last Saturday of September. McGhan suggests that those who missed it this year should plan to attend next fall. From wildfires, to floods, to earthquakes and more, members of the Valley can all come together for a day of emergency preparedness education.

“We’re just really excited to be part of it and to be able to make it happen,” McGhan said.

More information on how to be prepared in an emergency can be found at ready.matsugov.us