Think Snow

What kind of sick person would on such a perfect day at the end of the summer dare to direct your attention to the Millennium Shore Stormwatch program which for most only kicks in during the worst of winter?
The answer is the kind of person who was asked to do so because now is the time to gear up for Stormwatch….not on a morning when snow
and ice is falling.

As I have said in the past there is nothing like a snow day here at the radio station when our nerves and patience are tested…sometimes to the limit.
However we recognize the importance of providing important information to our listeners and over the years we have made many changes in an attempt to get accurate information to you in the quickest possible manner while also realizing that we can’t spend 50 minutes of every hour telling you what’s closed or delayed.

In the last few days we have begun emailing letters to all those enrolled in Stormwatch last year explaining how they can verify key information and make necessary changes. If you were in our website-based program last year and have not received anything from us in the last week or so I will tell you at the end what you can do. The same goes for those not part of our program in the past.

The key factor here is it’s a website-based program in which a contact person or persons from each school, government agency, civic organization, club, etc. can go on the Stormwatch website and enter the weather-related information and they can do this any time without waiting to call the radio station. This insures accuracy and also allows you to post the announcement ASAP as listeners can go on line and view the information without having to wait for it to be read on the air. We’ve also taken steps this year to improve the speed of our site which was a problem at times last year.

As the technology has improved I have told you the past couple of years it’s vital that ALL organizations have someone who can use a computer to handle this task because we are moving further and further away from taking announcements over the phone. The responsibility must be yours and you can’t use the excuse that nobody has a computer any longer. We are happy to be the vehicle that gets information to the public but you have to help us drive that vehicle.

Not only have we upgraded our service this year but there is NO CHARGE to participate and that includes businesses and for-profit daycares that meet certain criteria. If you want or need more information on our Stormwatch program then please email Dan Alexander at dan.alexander@mrgnj.com. You can also call our business office at (732) 269-0927 and we’ll try and assist you.

While snow season may be months away we’re still very much in Hurricane season so don’t wait until the last minute.