As part of September’s Kansas Emergency Preparedness Month, the Kansas Division of Emergency Management is hosting two free emergency preparedness webinars.

Both presentations may be accessed on the appropriate day from the home page of KSReady.gov (www.ksready.gov). The call-in number is (866) 620-7326, conference code 8551008957. Participants will need to call in to the number and will then be asked to enter the code to be connected.

“Prepared Pet” webinar will be presented from 12:15-12:45 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17. This webinar will feature information on how to make sure your pet is prepared in the event of an emergency.

The presenter is Midge Grinstead, Kansas state director, Humane Society of the United States. Grinstead is currently a board member of Lawrence and Douglas County Local Emergency Planning Committee, the Kansas State Animal Response Team, acting director for Northeast Kansas Animal Response Team and current board member for Kansas Animal Control Association. She has been the executive director at Lawrence Humane Society for more than 14 years and is a co-founder of the Humane Kansas Legislative Network.

The second webinar, “Family Preparedness Food Storage,” will be presented Tuesday, Sept. 24 from 10-11 a.m. and again from 6:30-7:30 p.m. During this presentation, participants can learn good choices for foods to put in their home emergency kit and techniques for storing them to insure long shelf life.

The presenter is Renee Aldrich, Regional Emergency Services coordinator for the American Red Cross. She has deployed to seven national disasters including Greensburg and Reading. She was a Red Cross volunteer for 25 years until hired in August 2011. She is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and oversees all women in the congregation, teaching self-reliance principles and classes in food storage, canning and preparedness planning for families. Aldrich received her Cannery Supervisor Certification from University of Wisconsin. She is a Boy Scout emergency preparedness counselor for scouts seeking the badge.