"Get Ready, Florida!" Nominated For Emmy Award

October 16, 2007

TALLAHASSEE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, October 16, 2007 CONTACT: Lisa Garcia, 850-222-1996

The most comprehensive hurricane safety public education project in the state's history - produced by the combined team of Ron Sachs Communications and CoreMessage, Inc. - has been nominated as a finalist for a coveted public service Emmy Award for the 2007 production of "Get Ready, Florida! The Florida Hurricane Survival Test." This 30-minute television program has been seen by millions of residents during the current season. The Suncoast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences will announce winners on December 1 at its regional awards dinner in Kissimmee.

The "Get Ready, Florida!" program, which has aired on network affiliate and cable television stations in every market in Florida, is part of the National Hurricane Survival Initiative, an ambitious educational campaign that educates Americans in 14 hurricane-vulnerable states, including Florida. The program, which is completely produced anew each year, won an Emmy in the same major regional competition in 2005.

"We're very proud that this important program so effectively helps prepare millions of our neighbors for hurricane season - and we are grateful for this recognition," said Ron Sachs, CEO of Ron Sachs Communications. "The project is a success because it provides 'news you can use' to protect families, homes, businesses and communities."

To date this year, the National Hurricane Survival Initiative has generated more than 370 million media impressions overall, with media coverage in newspapers, radio and television nationwide, including CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, the Baltimore Sun, Miami Herald, New York Times, Orlando Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, among others.

In addition to Sachs, the program's key producers include RSC's senior producer, Art Carlson, who has won seven Emmy Awards, program partner Cory Tilley, president of CoreMessage, with technical assistance from award-winning Tallahassee-based production company, Evolution Media.

"This is a program with the potential to really make a difference for millions of people," Carlson said. "We're always happy to work on projects that save lives."

"Hurricanes are like no other storms on earth. The damage they leave behind is devastating, changing lives and altering a community's history," said Cory Tilley, President of CoreMessage, Inc. "The best way to survive these terrifying storms is to prepare well ahead of time - long before a storm develops." The National Hurricane Survival Initiative was produced in partnership with the National Hurricane Center, Plylox, The Salvation Army, AT & T, Travelers, the State of North Carolina and the National Emergency Management Association, with technical assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The initiative includes an annual poll of citizens' knowledge of hurricane preparedness that documents dangerous gaps in what residents know, a heavily-visited Website - www.hurricanesafety.org -- the TV special in English and Spanish and a related set of public service announcements.

The Suncoast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is a nonprofit organization dedicated to excellence in television. The Suncoast Regional Emmy Awards present annual Emmy Awards to programs aired in television markets in the entire State of Florida, most of the State of Louisiana, Mobile, Alabama, Thomasville, Georgia and Puerto Rico. The 2007 Suncoast Regional Emmy Awards will be celebrated in Kissimmee, Florida at the Gaylord Palms Resort on Dec. 1, 2007.