All you have to do is:

1. Leave a comment about your favorite personal safety tip or self defense technique.
2. Tweet on Twitter ‘@AnEscape Plan wants to give you a free #Protective Thinking DVD http://anescapeplan.info/blog/‘ . Just click the link to post to your twitter status now.  Leave a separate comment for another chance to win.
3. Become a fan of Escape Plan on Facebook, and leave a separate comment here telling us you did (or are) for a third chance at winning.
4. Subscribe to our blog and comment here saying you did (or tell us your already do) for a fourth chance at winning.
5. Post on your personal blog about Escape Plan’s giveaway with the title ‘Escape Plan wants to give you a free “Protective Thinking” DVD’ and post a comment with the link for a fifth chance to win.

Make sure to leave a comment for each separate entry to win. They cannot be counted unless they are separate comments. Comments will close Thursday, January 21, 2010 at midnight. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced Friday, January 22 between 9a and noon. Remember to share this with your family and friends!

If you did not purchase a DVD for yourself on Wednesday, you can order a DVD on our website.  Our blogger friends will be doing a DVD give away on their sites over the next few days.  In Good “Cents” has already posted her giveaway here.  I will post links to the other giveaways as are available.

We connected with some new and old friends and had a great time.  Thanks again to our sponsor St. Vincent Women’s Hospital and host Pacers and Sports Entertainment and supporting sponsors Stitch Smith, Julie Bandy Performing Arts, Indy House of Pilates, Myers Alarm, and Business Women Connect.

An Escape Plan co-owner, Jeff Patterson, was on the front page of Indy Star’s Metro section Thursday.  To see the article go here.

The one disappointment of the evening was the lack of safety whistles.  Unfortunately our shipment of safety whistles was held up in customs and did not arrive in time for our event.  So, if you would like to get a whistle we have PLENTY in some fabulous colors, go order safety whistles from our website along with the “Protective Thinking” DVD.

If you attended our event we would love to hear your feedback.  Leave us a comment on our comment form.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Be Aware.  Be Prepared.  Be Safe.

I have profiles on several social networking sites.  I had a man I did not know request to be my friend on a site that is more for professionals than it is for individuals.  When dealing with my strictly personal pages I do not “friend” people I do not know.  On sites that are geared toward business networking, of course I friend people I do not know.  So, I accepted this man as a friend.  The very same day this same man asks if I will meet him the following day for “networking” and gave me his cell phone number.  Meet HIM, not a group of people. 

I don’t know about you, but as a woman I would NEVER meet up with some man I do not know for ANY reason.  The other thing is, he should know better than to ask.  That is one thing Jeff teaches in the program.  A man knows better.  If he is doing something to make your gut clench, pay attention!  This incident made me think, there are women who may actually have taken him up on his offer.  Don’t get me wrong, I attend group functions.  I also have someone I know attend with me if it is the first time I have met with the group.  You can never be too cautious.  Keep your personal safety in mind at all times.

Be aware.  Be prepared.  Be safe.

Granted, I do not wear a bulletproof vest and a gun to work.  I do not knowingly run into gun fire to protect people I do not know.  I am NOT, IN ANY WAY, taking away from what police officers do for us every day.  I have the utmost respect for those who serve us in law enforcement and military, I could not do what they do.  I just realized, it could happen to me. 

It is not just the news which is full of stories about victims of violence.  My husband works in the city we live.  He is constantly coming into contact with people who have been assaulted or have assaulted someone else.  It could happen to me and it has happened to people I know.  I just knew there was more I could do about it than walk around waiting for the next time.  The next attack could be on me, my daughter, my mother or my sister.

It is no different for you.  You have a duty each and every day to stay safe and make it home to those who count on you.  What are you waiting for?  Tomorrow is guaranteed to no one.  Yes life is busy, I get it.  We all use that excuse to avoid doing things from time to time.  What could honestly be more important than making sure you can make it home each and every day?  Sure women survive sexual assault, but they have to live with the memory of it day in and day out.  Some never recover from the experience.  I am not sure I can even consider that “making it home”.  Educate, train and empower yourself.  Don’t wait until it is too late.

My husband is a police officer with the IMPD.  He connected me with Jeff Patterson when I told him I needed to take a self defense class.  I had taken a class before, but it had been 10+ years since that half hour class and I could not recall anything I had learned.  The urgency for me was the fact that two of my sisters were going to college in the fall of 2008.  I knew they had to get some type of training before they left for school, even if they didn’t.

 The first phone call with Jeff blew me away.  He conveyed an intense passion for training people to defend themselves.  Then I saw his resume.  I knew he was a training officer with the IMPD but had no clue to what extent he was qualified to do his job.  He was more than qualified to train police officers, let alone citizens.  I could not wait to see what he had to teach us.

I became excited (my friends and co-workers may have said annoying) about getting some women and teen girls together for this self defense class.  It was held in the basement of my mom’s house and Jeff trained my three sisters, my mom, her good friend, two of my close friends and me.  The training was educational, simple and effective.  His presentation was entertaining to say the least, but there was a seriousness to it as well.  Everyone had a great time and walked away with some valuable knowlege and skills.  He also told us there were two more pieces to the program and I knew we had to learn them all. 

The night and day following our introduction to “Protective Thinking” I became aware at just how much I was walking around blind to my surroundings every day.  As the wife of a police officer I am well aware of the dangers of our society.  The sad thing is I never really thought it could happen to me.  “Protective Thinking” changed all of that.  I became aware.  I paid attention to who was in the area as I walked outside or in a parking garage.  I was careful who I got into an elevator or stairwell with.  I also began telling everyone I knew about this program.  The next class was bigger than the first. 

Once Escape Plan was up and going, I began emailing Karen Kell to get classes organized.  I could tell even through emails this lady was different than most.  She was encouraging, open to feedback, passionate about the program and a smart business woman.  I finally met Karen face to face at an apartment complex where I supplied most of the class.  In person, Karen was everything I had sensed through our previous phone calls and emails.  I thought, “Wow! Jeff and Karen are an amazing team.”  Karen and I kept in contact about getting more people trained.  One day I just came out and said, “Karen, if you ever need an assistant I would love to help you out.”  It just happened to be perfect timing for both of us.  That is how I came to be Executive Assistant for An Escape Plan.