Click Clayton
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 9, 2024
Media Contact: Jamie Carlington
678-614-9593
(Jonesboro ga) The Office of Emergency Management, along with Clayton County Commissioner DeMont Davis (District 4), is hosting the first metro Atlanta Praise & Preparedness Summit on Thursday, September 12, 2024, from 9 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. The free summit will be held at the Clayton County Performing Arts Center, located at 2530 Mt. Zion Parkway, Jonesboro.
In the FBI Report “Active Shooter Incidents in the United States in 2022” Sunday had the highest increase of shooting incidents. Additionally, according to a 2023 CNN article one of the most dangerous hours in America is now 11 o’clock on Sunday morning. With this disturbingly growing trend in church violence Georgia Emergency Management (GEMA) and Homeland Security Agency (HS) developed its Praise & Preparedness initiative. The Praise and Preparedness Summit’s keynote speaker is James C. Stallings, Director of GEMA/HS. He will address the importance and need for members of the faith-based community and the community at large to prepare for natural and man-made emergencies even more so now than ever before.
The event will also have on-site public safety and emergency preparedness vendors providing information, and summit attendees will have the opportunity to experience a hurricane simulator. A panel of local pastors will be on hand to speak from their perspectives regarding safety in churches, and county Public Safety officials will address emergency preparedness concerns from a broader community perspective. Other presenters for the summit include Brent Alan Gray, Senior Litigation Counsel, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia; Zach Williams, the Protective Security Advisor (PSA) for Georgia’s Central District which includes 45 counties in metro and central Georgia; Christen Kelly, Praise & Preparedness Liaison; and Jason Ritter a Public Safety professional with over 22 years of experience in the Public Safety arena with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency/Homeland Security in the Field Operations Division and responsible for a 25 county area in West Central Georgia.
The event is free and open to the public however you should register to attend. For more information or to register for the summit visit https://www.claytoncountyga.gov/praiseandpreparedness.