Two East Dallas neighbors have created a digital communication system to help venues, businesses or organizations distribute important information to subscribers. This year, the Dallas YMCA’s 46th Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day plans to give the system a whirl.
Co-founders Brian Teague and Daniel Wagstaff have been working on RedFlag for more than a year now, and they’re ready to start marketing it to major businesses and venues. Almost 40,000 people are expected to participate in Turkey Trot this year, and utilizing RedFlag will help Turkey Trot officials guide the masses, as well as help ensure their safety.
The system is aimed at distributing information for any and all situations that warrant immediate notification such as severe weather, event delays or changes, construction hazards, accidents or threats of violence, lost children or even power outages.
“In the event of an emergency at this year’s race, the Turkey Trot team will be able to immediately notify participants, volunteers, spectators and their families via text, email and social media with any piece of information that needs to be communicated to keep the race running smoothly,” a press release explains.
Participants, supporters or anyone who wishes to be in the loop can sign up by simply texting the word TROT to 444222. From there, they will receive a text message with further instructions, including how to receive email messages if they prefer that method of communication. Also, the same alerts and messages will be automatically posted to the Turkey Trot social media pages using RedFlag.
Teague assured us no spam messages would be sent to the phones or emails of the individuals who sign up for the service. He says all contacts will be deleted promptly after the event.
