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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 13, 2008

CONTACT
Heather Atherton
SAFELY OUT™ Media Relations
916/316-4568
hatherton@citizenvoice.org

SACRAMENTO BUSINESS OWNERS PARTNER FOR NATIONWIDE INTRODUCTION
OF GROUNDBREAKING SAFELY OUT PROJECT™TO THEIR INDUSTRY

Major RIA Conference Keynote will Offer National Exposure for SAFELY OUT™ Project

(November 13, 2008 – Sacramento, CA) – California has seen its fair share of disasters this year and on a greater scale, so has the rest of the U.S. From the devastating summer firestorms in California to the mass destruction by Hurricanes Ike and Gustav on the Gulf Coast, the restoration industry has had a very busy year of helping people restore their homes, businesses and lives following disaster.

Two Sacramento area business owners are taking a leadership role in not only serving their clients after a disaster but helping communities prepare before disaster strikes by becoming key sponsors of Citizen Voice’s SAFELY OUT™ Project. Both Leo Grover of Pinnacle Emergency Management and Charles Cassani of Steamatic of Sacramento have given generously to Citizen Voice monetarily and with professional support.

Thanks to the connections and persistence of Cassani at Steamatic, Citizen Voice’s SAFELY OUT™ Project president and co-founder, Gary Dietrich, will be a keynote speaker at the Restoration Industry Association (RIA) Conference next week in Baltimore, MD. Charles Cassani is well connected in RIA and has campaigned for SAFELY OUT to be featured within RIA’s membership since the Project launched in 2006 on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. In June of this year, RIA’s Cleaning and Restoration magazine featured a four-page, four-color spread about SAFELY OUT, to help introduce the project to its nationwide membership of restoration companies. Soon after, Gary Dietrich was invited to speak at the Baltimore
conference to share the inspirational story of how Citizen Voice’s SAFELY OUT™ Project is helping the prepare all of our citizens, and especially the most vulnerable, for disaster.

“Citizen Voice’s SAFELY OUT™ Project has been very well received by leaders in the Sacramento region throughout our pilot project,” explained Dietrich. “We are now poised to begin rolling out the project nationally through a highly influential industry organization that helps people restore their lives following disaster every day.”

Getting involved in a nonprofit, community oriented project like Citizen Voice’s SAFELY OUT™ Project has given both businesses a chance to invest in their communities and help keep their customers safe, even if their home or business is lost to a disaster. “Although we provide emergency response to individual fire and water damages, our ability to respond in an areawide disaster is almost nil. The best way to aid fellow citizens is to help them prepare ahead of time,” added Cassani. “It feels good to give back to the community through a worthy organization that fits so well with our business goals.”

Pinnacle Emergency Response has responded to national emergencies and travels to support recovery efforts throughout the U.S. and here at home in the Sacramento region. “Our focus at Pinnacle Emergency Management is the Analysis, Planning and Response to emergency situations, large or small. As a business leader in this area, supporting the objectives of the SAFELY OUT™ Project was a natural and logical decision,” explained Grover, owner of Pinnacle Emergency Management. “If Pinnacle can help ensure that the most vulnerable citizens of our community are evacuated in an emergency, we will continue our enthusiastic support with this project.”

Update on SAFELY OUT™ Project Progress
The SAFELY OUT™ Project is designed as a “neighbor helping neighbor” evacuation effort, assisting vulnerable populations in reaching safety and relieving the burden first responders and caregivers often shoulder alone. Citizen Voice’s SAFELY OUT Project is believed to be the first strategic approach in the U.S. targeting our most vulnerable during disasters, enabling neighbors to help as “first responders” to check on their fellow neighbors during an evacuation.

More than 10,000 SAFELY OUT Kits have already been distributed in the greater Sacramento region and 25,000 more are in the process of distribution or production. Ultimately, $1 million will be needed to complete the initial phase of the Sacramento region pilot project with the successful distribution of 100,000 kits. This is only the beginning of what is rapidly becoming a major “neighbor helping neighbor” effort that is capturing national attention. Further evidence of this are the SAFELY OUT™ Kits that have been ordered from as far away as Chicago and Hawaii.

SAFELY OUT Kits are available online at www.CitizenVoice.org, or by mail. A $10 suggested minimum contribution per kit is requested (plus $2.50 shipping/handing per kit for mail orders.) Those individuals, groups and businesses interested in ordering kits, making a contribution to get kits to others in need, or becoming a SAFELY OUT™ Project sponsor can inquire at www.CitizenVoice.org or call (916) 503-3194. Kit orders and contributions can be made online or by mail (there is no counter service available at this address) to Citizen Voice, 1215 K Street, 17th Floor, Sacramento, CA, 95814.

About Citizen Voice™
Citizen Voice is a 501C3 nonprofit, nonpartisan movement with a mission to inspire, inform and involve citizens in the public arena on behalf of all, especially the vulnerable. Citizen Voice fulfills its mission by fostering active participation in the public arena as well as involving citizens in both practical immediate intervention and work towards long-term changes that protect the vulnerable. For more information on Citizen Voice, visit www.CitizenVoice.org.

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