UGA students develop new website for Grady E.M.A.

Over the past several months, Richard Phillips, Grady County Emergency Management director and fire chief, has worked closely with University of Georgia students to develop a website that serves as a one-stop shop for all Grady County emergency resources.

The website, www.gradycountyema.org, was created through the community’s long-standing partnership with the University of Georgia Archway Partnership, a program that connects locally identified challenges with resources such as student experiential learning projects and faculty research.

Starting in August, a team of five New Media Institute students within the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at U.G.A. began developing the website as their senior capstone project. With the guidance and feedback from Phillips, Grady County Archway Professional Whitney Brannen, and Archway Partnership Operations Coordinator Sharon Liggett, the students aimed to create a user experience that would be helpful and accessible to residents of Grady County. The project was already under discussion before COVID-19, but the pandemic exacerbated the need for a concise source of information.

In November, Nick Hayward, a student who was part of the team working on the project, visited Grady County and conducted interviews with E.M.A. Director Phillips, Grady General Hospital C.E.O. Crystal Wells and Grady County Help Agency volunteer Cindy Johnson all of whom are featured on the website. The team also conducted a survey through the E.M.A.’s social media channels and incorporated community input into the project.

“I was really pleased with the work of the New Media Institute students and think they did a great job on the project. This is something we have needed for some time but lacked resources to be able to pull together. Thanks to Archway and the team for coming up with something that I hope can really be beneficial for Grady County residents going forward,” said Chief Phillips.

The Grady County E.M.A. already works hard to coordinate preparedness, response and recovery efforts to local disasters and this website gives citizens easy access to everything the E.M.A. and their partners have to offer. Grady County E.M.A. also encourages education and training for emergency preparedness. The website aids in these efforts by providing up-to-date information and plans, as well as creating a showcase of volunteer opportunities to keep citizens involved.

To learn about all the emergency resources available in Grady County visit www.gradycountyema.org.