More
than a decade ago, Pride
of Kentucky chorus faced
a crisis situation as
18 members fled for
their lives when a fire
raged through their
rehearsal facility where
a chorus board meeting
was underway. As television
and newspaper reporters
arrived, the group chose
its president and the
chorus performance coordinator
to be the spokespersons.
The other 16 women remained
in the background. When
reporters wanted personal
reactions to the fire,
the chorus spokeswomen
called on some of the
other board members.
As the story was being
reported, each member
of the chorus received
a call to assure them
that the board members
were all right and ask
them not to come to
the building at that
point. The members remained
calm and rational. No
one tried to re-enter
the building to save
bolts of costume fabric
and other chorus property.
How your chorus responds
within the first two
hours of a crisis will
affect the public's
perception of your chorus
and set its image in
the public's mind long
after the crisis is
over. If you are not
prepared and ready to
communicate quickly
and accurately, you
may be judged unfairly
based on information
obtained from unofficial
sources that were quicker
than you at communicating
publicly.
It
is important that your
chorus management team/board
of directors establish
procedures for responding
in the event of a crisis.
Responsibilities should
be assigned in advance.
Your goals in situations
of these kinds are to
calm fears, minimize
the long-range impact
of the event, and preserve
your chorus' ability
to operate successfully
once the situation is
in control.
