Happy Thanksgiving from the West Central and Central Regional Healthcare Preparedness Coalitions

“Oh my gosh, Ole,” Lena exclaimed. “I flipped the calendar and there it is!  Thanksgiving is this month.  Don’t ya know, it’s our year to host! How are we going to do it?”

“Like everything else. You be the boss,” said Ole.

Lena took the role of the Incident Commander. She thought carefully about who would be best for what role, now that she completed her ICS 700 course online as a MN Responds volunteer. She figured the basics were needed: Operations, Logistics, Finance and Planning.

She would need to add the Safety Officer for sure on the day of the event, in case they do a deep fried turkey.

Lena got on the horn with her daughter, Inga, who would be the planning chief and keep it all straight on that new fancy-pants phone. She’d set the menu with family favorite, decide the timeline for events, and share a list of supplies needed.

Ole got an earful of what was going to happen. He volunteered to be the Finance Section Chief and pay for it all if he was allowed to watch the Vikings in peace.  Lena agreed.

Lena’s friend and neighbor Holda is the best cook at the church supper. She’ll serve as the Operations Section Chief and handle all the tactical work:  dish out cooking assignments, appoint someone to entertain the kids, and make sure the men stay in the garage.  And she’ll make sure both fresh cranberry relish and canned cranberry sauce are available to avoid arguments.

Greta, Lena’s other daughter, was the Logistics Section Chief, meaning she’s in charge of all the stuff and stuffing necessary for the day. Since she lives in the big city, she can find everything and have it there by Wednesday.

All progress reports and items were approved by Lena.

On Thanksgiving Day, Holda’s husband Sven found himself a very comfortable chair next to Ole to watch all the goings-on. He’s monitoring the both the game and the team as the Safety Officer.

The table was easily expanded with those who didn’t RSVP like they were supposed to but there’s always extra pie. Everyone knew what was going on, who was in charge of what, and the jobs to be done.

Lena smiled as she hung up her apron. And her thoughts turned to Christmas Lutefisk.

Received from Ann Gibbs, Otter Tail County Public Health