Introduce Yourself!

Welcome to the National Preparedness Coalition Forums! 

We want this to be a great resource for you! It should be informative, creative and just a bit fun. 

Please make sure to keep things polite and helpful, and do take a second to review our  Discussion Policy

Let's get started with some introductions! Who are you, why are you here, what experiences do you have with community preparedness and what type of projects are you working on etc.

Thanks for being a part of this community, I am sure we all have a lot to teach and a lot to learn.

Hi, Betsy.  Dolas Jackson Jr. here I am in the start up phasse of my business I read yor introduction on line and would like to be assoicated with you from San Diego Ca. i can be reached at 619 646 4502.  The specific puppose of my organization is to lead low-income families into the awareness of being prepared for natural disasters and other emergencies that require rapid response and attention to escape routes in thier community.

Hello all, My names Mike Kazyak and I am the Human Resource Director and Chief Safety Officer of the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative, a 501c(3) pending Detroit area non-profit. Delighted to meet everyone as I think there is no better way to promote emergency preparedness and response then the emphasis on a personal readiness and collaborative cohesion among, private, private, and governmental organisations. Its groups like this that really allow for a more hollistic understanding of the entire emergency managment process. Looking forward to excellent conversation and insight! 

Thanks for joining the discussion!  This forum is targeted towards engaging individuals in the United States, which is why we don't list every non-US country on the registration form, but all are welcome!  Please feel free to indicate where you are coming from if you are visiting from outside the US.

Evelyn McCarty, Owensboro Ky.

I started as a Red Cross volutneer in Jan 2000 when a tornado ripped through town and became addicted! I owned my own business so I wasn't able to volutneer as much as I wanted but when I sold my business I was hired. We did many great things while I was at ARC including opening a shelter and doing mass feeding after Hurricane Ike(yes, in Ky.!) came through and managed a 2-week long ice storm event that changed the way our area does disaster preparedness. It was the largest response ever in my area but thankfully there wasn't destruction to homes and property.

I loved every minute there but I left Red Cross and to join AmeriCorps to come to my local Emergency Management last September! Here I do many things that I did as emergency services director at ARC. It seems that my involvement is more than it was but I only have one county to work in so I can do more in-depth activities for these groups.

I am involved in:
CERT

VOAD- Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster - currently the chairperson

MRC- Medical Reserve Corps - currently the chairperson

Citizens Corps

Preparedness and outreach committe - through Citizen's Corps

American Red Cross - still volunteer and teach

Other special programs that I develop at Emergency Management

This forum can be a great place to share best practices and idea exchange. Thank you!

Hello,

My name is Brad Roberts. I live in Marion, Il. Over the past year, the area of disaster preparedness has really interested me. My home was recently affected by the tornado that came through Southern Illinois on Feb 29, 2012.

For the past year I have been developing, completed, and am now marketing a new disaster preparedness product. I am currently just looking for ways to plug into my local community on ways I can volunteer.

Hi - I'm Judy Harmon, CEM and work full time as the HLS and US&R Training Coordinator with Pierce County Emergency Management in Tacoma, WA.  In the last 20 years I served as a long time American Red Cross and American Heart Association instructor trainer, CERT instructor, and EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) with my local fire department.  Now I focus more on my full-time job and volunteer helping with faith-based and vulnerable population preparedness.  I do teach online classes for a local community college in Emergency Management and really enjoy that as well.  I am also interested in how online training can help support citizen preparedness and am a real advocate for EMI's Independent Study classes.   It will be great to see what's being done around the nation through this forum. 

Hello All,

My name is Teresa Mendoza, I work as a communcations supervisor for a consolidated dispatch center in Southern California. I am the Safety Officer/Emergency preparedness person for our center. As you know, our weather in California has become more what you in the S/W are more accustomed to . So, I am on a big learning curve as to Severe Weather events and how it affects our ill prepared community and unfamiliar 911 dispatchers. I will be here scanning discussions and sites to familiarize myself on the current affairs and new ideas for possible implementation to our center. Keep safe! tm

Hi Jason,

Welcome to the regional forum for FEMA Region 6 (TX, OK, NM, AR, LA)!  Where are you based?  We are located in Denton, TX.  Thank you for your interest in preparedness and helping those in need.  Are you trained in CERT?  If not, I can provide contact information for the nearest CERT team.

One of our priorities at FEMA Region 6 is to train our youth in preparedness.  The earlier and longer youth are trained in emergency and disaster preparedness, the greater the potential to transform our culture to one of responsibility and resilience.  Do you have the Boy Scout preparedness patch?  We're happy to be working with both the Boy and Girl Scouts.

Please continue checking our the forum, and let me know if there is anything I can provide for you.

Kind regards,

Shari Brand, Community Preparedness Officer

FEMA Region 6, Denton, TX  76210

940 898-5358

I am one of the MRC volunteer Unit Leaders here in Albuquerque, a Board Member of the Citizen Corps Council and an active Toastmaster.

In my Day Job I Manage a Large Network of Pyxis Supply Machines at the University of New Mexico Hospital.

Our MRC was Very Young when Katrina hit > we pulled together and along side the Red Cross processed @ 1200 "Displaced Persons" thru the Shelter at Albuquerque's Convention Center. WOW That was a steep learning curve!

My Roll is Logistics with side orders of Safety and Security.

My name Tim Crabtree in Owensboro, KY. I am currently attending CERT/MRC training. I am also part of the Daviess County Ky Weather Spotters (see our Facebook page) through our Emergency Management Agency. After being hit with an F3 tornado in January of 2000 as well as dealing with the Kentucky Ice Storm in 2009, I have come to realize the importance of being Storm Ready. My trainings include: Basic & Elite Weather Spotter Training, attended the 2012 Ky Emergency Management Weather Workshop,  CPR/First Aid, as well as online weather trainings through MetEd. I work in a Family Resource Center at an elementary school.

Hi everyone.....My name is Greg MacMorran and I am the President/Founder of Disaster Awareness, LLC.  My company is located in Rhinelander, Wisconsin.  My company is committed to helping citizens, non-profit organizations, and the public and private sectors to be prepared in the event of a disaster.  Our goal is to make sure everyone is aware, prepared and ready in the event of a disaster.  To reach this goal, we perform consultations, hazard assessments, disaster planning, and assist organizations with disaster preparedness projects and conduct seminars/presentations.

I volunteer with my local Red Cross Disaster Team.. I am a senior disaster team member and a disaster instructor.  Also, I volunteer with my local mainstreet (downtown) program.  I am in charge of safety and security issues.  I am in the process of creating a disaster plan for my downtown area and promoting disaster preparedness to the downtown businesses.

I don’t have all the credentials many of the others do. I’m just an old coot that’s been around for a long time. I have lived in Florida, Storm, lightning  and Hurricane country for 63 years and have been through many bad storms. Years ago I worked at a hospital and had first aid, EMT and some ALS training. I live in a retirement community that has a CERT chapter but the hours are at times I cannot take part in the group, because I still work.  My wife is an MD at the local hospital.    Jim

Jim,

I feel your pain.  It took me 16 months to get into a CERT course for the same reason.  I got "wonderful" suggestions from our then-CERT coordinator, like "take vacation/adjust your work schedule/etc.," but had to wait it out.  Now I'm waiting for the Animal Response course to be held in my county. 

Hi Holly,

I'm the FEMA Region 6 Community Preparedness Officer located in Denton, TX.  We work with the states of AR, LA, NM, OK, and TX.   I saw your comment about having to wait a long time to get CERT training.  May I ask what state you are in?

Kind regards,

Shari

Shari Brand

shari.brand@«hidden»

Shari,

I am in Texas.  I'm a member of a CERT team 2 towns over from where I live.  There were classes in my area, but none were convenient for a working person, for 16 months.