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.

Good day Comminuty, My name is Steve Shaw and I am the Emergency Management Director for Audrain County Missouri. I also hold the County Safety Officer position along with the Chair position for our local emergency planning committee. I also hold the 3rd voting member position with the Regional Homeland Security Oversite Committee.  I have been in the response field for over 30yrs and have been in Emergency Management for almost 10 now. Some of my background: Military Police, Anti-terroist reaction team (Army), EPA Region 8 Emergency Response Team first entry. Crash/rescue Tech. Hazmat Tech, EMT, I hold a level 3 with the American Board of Certification in Homeland Security and currentlly I hold a position with the national response team for Public Health, Emergency Management and Emergency Medicine. Projects working on now: County wide Notification System which has been purchased and deployed throughout the County at no cost to our citizens. I have several grants out right now and am waiting to see if they will be awarded to me this year. one is to place an outdoor early warning siren in the town of Benton City MO. I got the Coop electric co to donate two 55' power ploes for the system and got another electric co to donate the labor for instlation. I have started a severe storm program in all the schools in the County with the motto "Don't be Scared-Be Prepared" and that has been a big hit. last March I was able to get the County Commission to sign a proclamantion of use of the ICS protocals County wide. (now it's in writting) We have worked on getting the Faithbased orginaztions to work together in prepaaring for and response to disasters and are currently developing a COAD program for our area.

Hello, my name is Joe Ferreri from Downers Grove, IL, about 25 miles directly West of Chicago. I am a graduate of the CERT program, a former 911 dispatcher of 7.5 years, former EMT of 2 years, and former Emergency Management Ground Search and Rescue team member. Having relocated, I am applying now to two local agencies. I am also the Emergency Mgmt Warden  for my employer in case of any type of emergency situation. Also am looking at pursuing status as an Emergency Medical Responder (IL state certified in 2013 hopefully). I have taken approximately 10 FEMA Independent Study courses to date, not including currently pursuing the FEMA Professional Development Series Courses. As of today, I have completed 50% of the coursework. Future goals - Become a CERT Trainer and complete courses offered by Illinois Emergency Management Agency. Currently Heartsaver AED/CPR/First Aid certified.

Hi Joe,

Thanks for joining the community and for sharing your experience. Looking forward to connecting with you.

-Lauren

Welcome and thanks for joining the community Steven!

Hello, this is my second year as a member of the coalition. I am Erik Miller, Founder of New Age Consultants, an Emergency Management and Preparedness Consulting firm. New Age Consultants specializes in preparing the At-Risk and Aging Populations. I have a Masters Degree in Emergency Management, almost a decade working in the emergency field, and a variety of emergency management certifications. New Age Consultants is planning an Emergency seminar for this preparedness month. It is good to be here.

Hello everyone, my name is Juana Hernandez and I am the EOC Coordinator for disaster management for the City of Hawaiian Gardens in California. My colleagues and I have been involved in natural and man-made emergencies/disaster several times. Our experience in the field of emergency disasters/situations in based on over 12 years of on hand exposure to various scenarios. I am glad to say we are a seasoned team and automatically kick into gear when our EOC is activated. This makes my employees an extremely valuable team to local government. I am here today and for the first time taking advantage of printed material offered here. We have been inspired to do the following things for our community outreach in preparing before, during and after a disaster. This year we are circulating preparedness tips in our city newsletter starting in September and ending in December. We will also be making announcements on the city’s cable channel about information they can gather here at our City Hall to help them prepare. Our City Council will make an announcement in formal open forum of it being National Preparedness month for September.

My thanks to this website,

City of Hawaiian Gardens

Hi Juana,

Thank you so much for joining the community and for expressing your passion and interest in this group of preparedness folks. It sounds like you have a great deal of experience that will be extremely helpful for new members, or those just wanting to learn best practices.

Additionally, thanks for your efforts to circulating preparedness tips in the newsletter and cable channels. What an awesome effort!

I look forward to connecting with you more in the future, and thanks again for everything you are doing.

-Lauren

Hello All,

  My name is Jason Oglesby and I live and work in St. Louis County, MO. I retired in 2008 and now work on a DOD contract. My interest began while in the U.S. Navy and stationed in Norfolk, VA. In 2000 I voluteered in a local disaster exercise and enjoyed the work. After the events in 2001 I decided to get more involved in disaster preparedness. After going without electricity for 10 days after a hurricane I joined the Virginia Beach Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). After retiring from the Navy I moved to the Saint Louis area. Since moving here I've joined with the Metro West CERT, became certified with NOAA / NWS as a severe storm spotter / reporter. I maintain my Red Cross certification in CPR/AED/First Aid while volunteering as a Community Disaster Educator (CDE) with Red Cross. I attend meetings of the Saint Louis County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) while getting involved with a local wilderness search and rescue team. I am currently working on getting my SAR Tech certification. I am hoping to get more people involved in helping themselves and their community in disaster preparedness. 

Good Morning, I am Erik Miller, with New Age Consultants, an Emergency Management/Preparedness Consultant agency specializing in the Aging and At-Risk Populations, located in Casa Grande, AZ; however, we provide services nationwide.

I have been a member of the coalition since last year, and I am trying to put together an Emergency Preparedness Expo or similar event. I ordered my supplies from FEMA and am trying to coordinate this event with local organizations and CERT Teams. If I cannot get a space, I will make rounds at the Active Adult Communities, Businesses, and Schools.
A little background, as the Founder of New Age Consultants, I have a Masters of Science and Technology (M.S.T.) in Emergency Management and Environmental Technology Management. I have close to a decade of Emergency Management/Services field, paid and un-paid, and I in 2009, I completed a Standard Operating Procedures document for Sheltering the Special Needs Population within Pinal County, AZ.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Hello!  Growing up, my Mom managed the American Red Cross.  i helped with delivering doughnuts and coffee to fires, blood to bloodbanks and the occasional message relay for servicemen and woman needing to come home for an emergency.   i worked in the Navy for nine years, most of which was in Physical Security, Crime Prevention and Antiterrorism.  I'm a Mommy of 6 kids now!  i am a Cub Scout leader in our community, volunteer at a local school and occassionally go to church.  My goal is the same as every other parent's...teach my children how to survive.  In doing that, I'd like to take it a step further and ensure the people around us know what to do in the event of an emergency.  I hope to have access to up to date information from this group so I may pass it on.  When the kids are a bit older, I will more than likely be looking for work or a volunteer position in our local community.

William Brennan (Billy) - Recently retired Corrections Sergeant State of New Jersey. I am looking for more involvement locally in Ocean County where my experience can help the community.

Welcome Billy!

Please join the Region II group. There you can connect with Eric Goldman who can assist you in getting more involved.

Joseph

Hi Billy,

I may be reached at the following email address:

Eric (dot) Goldman (at) fema (dot) dhs (dot) gov

Also, the Point of Contact (POC) for NJ is Howie Butt and his email is

lppbutth (at) gw (dot) njsp (dot) org

Thanks!

-Eric Goldman

Hello all.  I'm Jane Cahn from the North Castle Citizen Corps Council in North Castle, New York

I would like to hear from Bobby Parker - Leflore County and Joseph Porcelli and any others that have had a poster contest for young people to increase awareness in the community.  

We are a small town and a Citizen Corps Council with very little funds.  We would like to be able to sponsor a poster contest this September so planning needs to be done quickly.  I would appreciate thoughts from any and all Coalition members.

Thank you.

Jane Cahn, North Castle Citizen Corps Council, New York