navigate: home: magazine: winter 2000: article

Preparing for Y2K Publication helps Pennsylvania residents
This consumer’s guide for Y2K planning has been distributed widely throughout Pennsylvania and also will be available in all Wal-Mart stores across the state. Dr. Cathy Bowen	More than 1 million guides with common-sense tips for preparing for the year 2000 computer problem are making their way into the homes of Pennsylvania residents, thanks to the efforts of Dr. Cathy Bowen and the Pa2K Educational Outreach program.   Year 2000: A Consumer’s Guide for Y2K Planning was written by Bowen, assistant professor and extension specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education at Penn State. Support for the publication of the consumer guides was provided by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and AT&T.   Lt. Gov. Mark Schweiker, chairman of Pa2K, unveiled the consumer guide at the Collegeville Fire Co. in Montgomery County in June.   “The Y2K consumer guide provides practical information to every Pennsylvanian,” Schweiker said. “We have a responsibility to Pennsylvania’s communities to help them prepare for the year 2000. Considering the limited time we have before the new century, I believe this guide can help to dispel the doom-and-gloom outlook that some people have. This also is an opportunity for citizens to think about preparedness for all kinds of events.”   The consumer guide and other year 2000 informational materials have been developed through Pennsylvania’s Pa2K initiative. In July 1998, Ridge launched Pa2K in cooperation with Penn State to expand the state’s existing year 2000 outreach to Pennsylvania communities. Dr. Frederick D. Loomis, with Penn State Outreach and Cooperative Extension, serves as executive director of the program.   Pennsylvania already has partnered with the federal governments of Canada and Mexico. In addition, 12 U.S. states from Maine to Washington have joined Pennsylvania for an expanded North American public outreach campaign.   Pa2K offers a growing number of multimedia tools—from videotapes to CD-ROM planners—to help employers, local governments, schools and community organizations develop their own year 2000 action plans. A complete listing of these awareness and planning tools is available on a new Internet site, which can be accessed through the Pennsylvania home page at www.state.pa.us or directly at www.pa2k.org.   Year 2000: A Consumer’s Guide for Y2K Planning can be downloaded for free at www.pa2k.org or it can be ordered at no charge by calling toll free 1-877-PA2K-NOW (722-5669).