Winding down at FEMA EMI

We’ve come down to the wire with one day left on a week of training that’s been fabulous.  Again, we’ve worked with great people from all over this great country.  People who are eager to help their communities be more resilient to disasters by helping citizens become better prepared.  And how fitting is it to end on a high note on Memorial Day weekend.  A true American holiday!

Welcome to “CERT Program Manager”

Today we started our CERT Program Manager class which prepares participants to establish and sustain an active local CERT program.  In the beginning, we told students that managing a CERT program has a great many similarities to running a small business.  And while challenging, it can be very rewarding.

Today, our students began learning about the core components of a local CERT program and the effective practices for:

1. Developing local CERT program goals and a related strategic plan – I believe this is THE most critical component of the CERT program.  Unless we spend the requisite time doing a terrific job of defining our program Goal and the subsequent program Objectives, the other components we place on top will wobble and perhaps even fall.  I saw it in my corporate career and I see it today with programs like CERT.  With well thought out and documented objects, we are able to gain the support of our key “stakeholders” and ensure that we follow the road to success.

2. Promoting local CERT programs – throughout the entire program life-cycle we are always promoting.  Promoting our goal(s) and objectives, promoting our training, promoting the benefits of CERT and the capabilities (value) a team of trained volunteers brings to the community.

3. Orienting and managing and retaining CERT members – Without volunteers we simply don’t have a program.  It’s that simple.  Volunteers are the backbone of program.  If we provide outstanding training, provide useful opportunities for our volunteers to engage, treat them with respect, value them, and recognize their contribution, our programs will grow and flourish.

4. Recruiting, funding, managing, and retaining CERT trainers – Top-quality instructors are vital to the overall success of our programs, just as our volunteers are.  As we talk about with our students, our volunteers will make decisions about our programs based on the instructors they interact with in training.  If we have dynamic, energetic, knowledgeable instructors our volunteers will learn correctly and will come back for more.  As role models, coaches, and motivators our instructors have the opportunity to create an environment that encourages our volunteers to “get involved”.

5. Acquiring and managing program resources – Similar to any other business, to produce the goods and services (ie training, exercises, operational response) a CERT program is built around, Program Managers must obtain and manage resources, both people, materials, and financial.

Tomorrow, our students will wrap up learning about the remaining core components of a local CERT program and the effective practices for:

6. Delivering and managing effective training and exercises

7. Developing policies and procedures for operating a local CERT program

8. Evaluating and sustaining the program

Finally, after class today, I spent time walking around this gorgeous campus.  Let share with you some pictures from both our class and around campus.  I hope you’ll come back tomorrow and read how we closed out the week.

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Protecting Tribal Communities and Resources

Welcome back to Emmitsburg, MD.  Today was a day off for our class.  Most of our classmates went out to tour either Washington, D.C. or the battlefields at Gettysburg, MD.  The others chose to stay on campus.  No matter what anyone did though today, it was a picture perfect day.  The rain finally let up, it was a bright sunny day, and comfortably warm.  I saw some of the folks that were out touring and they appear to have enjoyed the sun.

Mitigation for Tribal Governments

I chose to stay on campus today and took advantage of my down time to sit in and observe a new course that was being piloted this week.  The class is titled “Mitigation for Tribal Governments”.  It has been developed to give tribal governments a foundation for reducing or preventing potential losses from natural or other hazards.

“Mitigation for Tribal Governments” provides tribal representatives with an understanding of mitigation concepts and techniques for protecting their communities from all hazards.  The course covers the use of hazard identification and risk analysis for mitigation planning, and provides examples of tribal mitigation successes.  The course also provides an overview of FEMA mitigation programs as opportunities for further reducing risk to all hazards in their community.  This week, 19 various tribal government representatives to attend the class to both learn and provide final revision comments.

One tribe, the Pueblo of Acoma , had seven tribal representatives attending.  Especially significant was the fact that their tribal Governor was a member of the group attending.  Having a tribal leader such as the Governor involved in classes like this, means a great deal to other tribal members.

During one of the presentations, the Governor referenced the past disasters (fire, heavy rain storms, flooding) the tribe faced.  As a result of the destruction endured by the tribe from these incidents, mitigation is something that is very important to the Governor’s tribe.  As he mentioned to his fellow students, farming and planting is very important to his tribe.  If another disaster happens, his tribe would look for help from other tribes nearby.  And while they don’t predict or wish for these events to happen, they know they will, so it’s in their best interest to look at mitigation.  Also, if something happened to one of the other tribes nearby, they would look to the Governor’s tribe for help.

Another unique member of the class was a gentleman representing the Sagkeeng First Nation in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.  When a foreign representative (tribal or non-tribal) wants to attend classes at EMI, they make application similar to any other American student.  However, there is a through vetting process that their application must go through before being approved.  Generally, foreign applications require at least a six-month lead-time for this review and processing.  Additionally, anyone from a foreign country is required to pay for all of their own travel expenses in addition to course registration fees.

Tomorrow, we’ll be back into training when we begin our CERT Program Manager class.  I hope you’ll check back late tomorrow for another update.

Hey Oregon … are you prepared?

Well, chalk up another one!  We finished up our CERT Train-the-Trainer class today.  We have really enjoyed working with 32 terrific trainers from across the country.  At the end of the day, the class collectively gave each instructor a personalized “Thank-you” card signed by every student in class.  On the cover of the card is a pen-and-ink drawing of the “Fallen Firefighter’s Monument” that resides on campus.  While it’s always an unexpected honor to receive gifts of appreciation from our students, this one carries a little extra because the artist, Jane Dierickx, is originally from my home state of Michigan.

Have you ever been to Oregon?

This week we had in our class seven students representing the State of Oregon .  Now, I’ve never been to Oregon, put would love to visit.  I understand it’s another gorgeous state in our great country.  It was funny, but earlier this morning at breakfast one of our Oregon students stopped me and told me she had enjoyed reading my previous blog posts this week, but asked me why, with seven students in class from Oregon, I hadn’t chosen to write about her state yet.  I told her it was very simple … I was waiting to speak with her!  At the end of the day, we sat down with her six “neighbors” and chatted about what’s going on in Oregon with respect to CERT and citizen preparedness.

In the state government organizational structure, CERT is a program that is managed by the state’s Citizen Corps Coordinator, who is part of the Office of Emergency Management, which reports in to the Oregon Military Department.

The state faces a large menu of natural risks.  Flooding is one of the more frequent significant risks.  Other risks include earthquakes, winter storms, tsunami (Pacific Ocean), and even volcanos (Mt. St. Helens) to name a few.  There are also many manmade risks the state faces including bridges.  Bridges are critical to the state due to the many stream and rivers in the state.  Bridges are critical for transportation within the state and should key bridges become inaccessible (perhaps due to flooding) ingress and egress will be negatively affected.

A large portion of the population (approximately 1.75M of the states 2.5M) live in the area that’s referred to as the I-5 corridor that runs from north to south across the state on the western side.  Other parts of the state are considered to be rural.

When it comes to citizen preparedness the state has a few initiatives underway, some with greater success than others.  One initiative that seems to be working well is “Map Your Neighborhood” (MYN).  MYN is a simple idea.  Neighbors gather at a home in the neighborhood for a 90-minute meeting where they learn the 9-steps to take immediately following disaster.  Together they develop a neighborhood skills and equipment inventory.  They learn where the gas meters are in the case of a landslide or earthquake where gas lines may break.  Most importantly, during the MYN gathering, neighbors meet neighbors and together they think through what they might need to do in a large-scale disaster when 911 might not be able to send help.  They learn to be self-reliant as a neighborhood, to organize effectively and to help neighbors in need, so the community’s emergency responders can attend to the large rescues and the ongoing restoration of services.

CERT is experiencing various stages of success across the state.  In some of the larger metropolitan areas (like in Eugene) it is being promoted and well received.  However, in some of the smaller, remote, and rural communities’ acceptance of CERT has been challenging, to say the least.  When I asked my new friends what they hoped to realize when they take back what they’ve learned this week, they agreed they would like to retain the volunteers they currently have, engage new volunteers, and finally sustain their programs long term.  Additionally, they said they would like to ensure they have more committed buy-in from their various stakeholders.

Funding always seems to be an issue when we are talking about the development and sustainment of programs like CERT and MYN.  Every class I’ve taught around the country I’ve heard this common concern.  Although Oregon received approximately $5.04M in Emergency Management Performance Grants (EMPG) and $2.8M in State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) grants, funding remains an issue for these programs.

A couple of ideas that came out of the conversation we shared today was for FEMA to develop a State Program Manager’s Awareness campaign that would include a series of webinars with state CERT/Citizen Corps coordinators to help create greater awareness of CERT and the benefits that may be realized by offering CERT training.  Additionally, our students are talking about establishing small networking opportunities that will allow these folks to obtain guidance and ideas.

And so, I’ll leave you with this … it’s a video posted on YouTube that one of the Oregon CERT teams was involved with regarding the Sandy River Flood media coverage of the event Sandy River Flood.

Campus Preparedness at U of T – Pan Am

I want to start out my blog today with a thank-you to you.  When I first started writing this blog I often thought (maybe worried) who would read – heck, would anyone read, my blog?  And what would I write about?  Well, here we are 17 months later and while I still ask those questions, they aren’t as prominent as what they were at first.  I’ve learned a lot since I began this writing quest.  I’ve also enjoyed it quite a bit.  I hope you have too.  Every now and then I take a look at the statistics WordPress maintains on my blog.  I’m very pleased to say that readership has increased steadily since we first started.  I can only hope that it will continue to grow.  To that end, I’d like to ask that after reading this posting you take a moment and “Leave A Comment” as to what you think about my blog(s), and let me know if there’s something specifically you’d like me to write about.

As I’m back on the campus of the Emergency Management Institute (EMI), I want to remind you that last October I was here and wrote several blogs about the EMI campus and some of the unique sites on and around the campus.  If you are so inclined, you might want to go back into the archives and read my previous” posts.

Yesterday, I shared with you about the Kent County Volunteer CERT guys that are in class.  Today, I’d like to take you “a little” south of Kent County Michigan to South Texas and specifically the Rio Grande Valley region.

University of Texas – Pan American

While I’m originally from Michigan, I also have very fond memories of living in South Texas in the Rio Grande Valley.  This week, when I found out there were three students from “the Valley” in our class I was excited and knew I wanted to talk with them and perhaps include them in my blog.

Rafael, Pablo, and Sayeed work for the University of Texas – Pan American in Edinburg, Texas.  Both Rafael and Pablo work in the Department of Public Safety.  Sayeed works in Facilities Management.

As part of the University of Texas, Pan American has emergency response plans in place for various incidents that may affect the university community.  Their greatest natural hazard they face is from hurricanes.  However, other hazards include high winds, flooding, and high heat, to name a few.  And of course, like many other communities, colleges, and businesses, there are a plethora of mad-made threats the university faces.

The university has an established emergency management team in place that will assemble at the time of an emergency and help direct response and recovery efforts.  This team is comprised of essential decision makers from throughout the university staff.  In addition to plans and dedicated teams, the university also has a campus-wide siren system and “Bronc Alert” which is a mass notification system that is used throughout the campus for notification of significant events and incidents.

Last year (2011) the University Chief of Police decided to expand emergency preparedness and include the entire campus community.  Today, the university enjoys positive working relationship beyond the university campus to include communities such as McAllen, Mission, Pharr, and of course the City of Edinburg.  In the past, Pan American has participated in a variety of community exercises that validated response capabilities.  Additionally, the university has mutual aid agreements with several neighboring communities.

The reason these gentlemen are in class this week is to better understand how the CERT program is utilized in communities and in campus environments and to return to the university with Best Practice solutions that could first be implemented within the university’s current emergency management (staff) structure, and then looking to the future, perhaps how CERT could be used within the student population.  Currently, there are various emergency preparedness initiatives (i.e. training) that are offered to students.

With our lessons learned from past disasters, I think the path forward the university is taking with guidance from these three CERT experts is a good one.  As I mentioned to them during our discussion, in order for the university to be truly prepared, it’s not enough to have plans in place and essential employees identified.  Strategically, all essential employees must be encouraged (motivated, compelled, required, forced) to practice emergency preparedness at home as well as at work.  After all, we can’t reasonably expect essential employees to return to work and help respond and recover if their families are in danger.  Good luck guys – and good luck Broncs!

So, until tomorrow stay safe and best wishes.  Please feel free to share my blog with others.

Welcome back to the National Emergency Training Center

This week I’m joining with two other top-notch instructors (John and Harry) who I’ve taught with before and we are on the campus of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Emergency Training Center (NETC).  Specifically, we are teaching at the Emergency Management Institute (EMI).

We are teaching another round of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Train-the-Trainer and Program Manager classes.  Today, we started the Train-the-Trainer class.  We have over 30 students joining us from various locations around the country, including Salt Lake City Utah, Grand Rapids Michigan, St. Louis Missouri, and Edinburg (Rio Grande Valley) Texas.

Ms. Vilma Schifano Milmoe, Deputy Director – FEMA EMI

As is typical for a class at EMI, we started the first-day with a presentation from Ms. Vilma Schifano Milmoe, Deputy Director – FEMA EMI.  Ms. Schifano Milmoe provided a very nice welcome to the class and shared the story of how FEMA, and specifically the campus came to be.

In 1979, during President Jimmy Carter’s administration, President Carter signed Executive Order 12127 that merged many of the separate disaster-related responsibilities into what we now know as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).   Among other agencies, FEMA absorbed: the Federal Insurance Administration, the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration, the National Weather Service Community Preparedness Program, the Federal Preparedness Agency of the General Services Administration, and the Federal Disaster Assistance Administration activities from HUD.  Civil defense responsibilities were also transferred to the new agency from the Defense Department’s Defense Civil Preparedness Agency.

John Macy was named as FEMA’s first director. Macy emphasized the similarities between natural hazards preparedness and the civil defense activities. FEMA began development of an Integrated Emergency Management System with an all-hazards approach that included “direction, control and warning systems which are common to the full range of emergencies from small isolated events to the ultimate emergency – war.

As it has been for 30 years, FEMA’s mission remains: to lead America to prepare for, prevent, respond to, and recover from disasters with a vision of “A Nation Prepared.”

Also in 1979, then President Jimmy Carter brought together a number of Federal agencies that had involvement in disasters, including DCPA, and created a new, amalgamated organization, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  Also in 1979, President Carter dedicated the former St. Joseph’s College, which closed with its merger of participants and faculty with Mount Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland, as the FEMA National Emergency Training Center (NETC).  NETC then became the home for the National Fire Academy (NFA) and the re-named Staff College which become the Emergency Management Institute (EMI), to reflect its now broader training role.  The move from Battle Creek, Michigan, to Emmitsburg was done in the Fall of 1980 and the first EMI class was conducted in January 1981.

EMI and NFA are managed independently with unique participant audiences and curricula for the emergency management and national fire communities. EMI and NFA have collaborated on curricula and programs since their inception, and share in the cost of operation of NETC.

In closing, Ms. Schifano Milmoe mentioned to our class that she felt that the CERT program is the closest thing we (the United States) has to a National Citizen Preparedness program, one with a mission with the interest of our citizens.

Hello Grand Rapids, Michigan!

This week I’m pleased that we have representatives from my home state of Michigan.  Pure Michigan!  These three gentlemen are from the Kent County Volunteer CERT organization (in the Grand Rapids area) which is over on the western side of the state in the Lower Peninsula.  In addition to their website, they also have a page on Facebook  On an interesting note, due to its ties to the lumber industry in past history, Grand Rapids has long been recognized as the furniture center of Michigan, and the region.

OK, back to Kent County CERT … the Kent County Volunteer Cert organization serves all of Kent County.  The organization falls under the Emergency Management organization within the Kent County Sherriff’s Department.   The CERT organization has been in existence for some time, but more recently (about two and a half years ago) a new coordinator was appointed, and since then, the program is trying to grow and improve.  The Kent County Volunteer CERT organization has trained approximately 250 residents trained and of those approximately 40 are considered “active” in the program.

Ken, Chris, and Jim are in class this week to learn more about the CERT program and become better instructors so that they will be able to bringing the training to their community and help grow their program.  The Kent County Volunteer CERT organization offers the community one CERT class per quarter.  In addition, they work closely with their local Boy Scout troops to offer “Teen CERT”.  And to round out their educational classes, the CERT team also offers a basic emergency preparedness workshop for various neighborhood groups.

Recently, the organization finalized their 501c3 filing.  They are now looking at how grant funding and donations might be obtained for future development.  As the Kent County Volunteer CERT organization continues to develop and grow, a main concern they have is program and member sustainment (retention).  I shared with these guys that they should get a lot of good ideas during the upcoming Program Manager course.  In the meantime, the team is trying to figure out how to promote itself and in turn create greater awareness.  One fun way they hope to leverage is the state’s “CERT Games” that will be held in June 2012.  Last year, they took first place in the Western division, and missed first place overall by only a few points.  This year, in 2012, they hope to take first place overall, and if the rest on the team are like these guys, I think they stand a great chance.  Good luck Kent County Volunteer CERT!

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Well, that’s all for today.  Please come back tomorrow and I’ll share more with you including some new friends from South Texas.

Thank you Utah!

Well, we made it home.  It was a great feeling to walk through my front door and get to sleep in my own bed again.  Too bad it’s going to be short-lived … more on that, shortly.

We wrapped up a great week in Salt Lake City.  In both our CERT Program Manager and Train-the-Trainer courses we trained over 40 people in each.  Looking ahead, these individuals will go back into their communities and develop or strengthen CERT programs that will in turn educate citizens about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and train them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations.

The people we met along the way were terrific.  Along with learning, we were able to share many laughs along the way.  In one of my earlier blogs this week, I mentioned the high level of experience this class came to the table with.  That experience led to a lot of great discussion during the week.  As is often true, much learning took place during the breaks and at lunch through the networking that took place.

This was my first trip to Utah and Salt Lake City, and based on my experience this past week, I’m really looking forward to returning.

This coming week, I’m back at FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI).   Regular readers know EMI is one location I’m always eager to return to to teach.  I hope you’ll check back throughout the week (starting Monday May 21) and see what’s taking place.

The Mormon Cricket

In the pictures that follow, you will see a replica of a “Mormon Cricket”.  We were told that back in the early 1800’s, there was an infestation of these crickets and crops were being destroyed.  Fortunately, seagulls were known to have gorged themselves on these crickets and then flew to the other side of Salt Lake where they regurgitated the crickets they had eaten, and then flew back for more, and the cycle continued.  In the end, the seagulls saved the pioneers.

Then, back in 2002, the region suffered another infestation.  There supposedly were so many, when they crawled out of their holes in the ground, it looked like the ground was moving.

Hey, is that a K-State tee-shirt?

Of course, with me being from Missouri, one of the students in class felt “obligated” to give me a Jayhawk tee-shirt.  I told him I could only wear it in Utah.  Hey, wait a minute.  Do you think, maybe he didn’t like my teaching? And speaking of tee-shirts, we were provided a nice tee-shirt from the South Salt Lake City Fire Department CERT Team.

Challenge coins and pins

Both Wilson and I were presented with a couple of nice challenge coins and a couple of pins.  The challenge coins are from the Utah Department of Public Safety, Division of Homeland Security and the other is from the Carbon & Emery County region 6 Emergency Services Organization.  The pins were gifts from Weber County CERT Team and the other is from the Utah “Be Ready” campaign.

Meet the Grimm Bros.

One of the gifts we were given was a very neat little “Outdoor Skin Protection Kit” from the Grimm Brothers.  These guys were great to have in our class.  They have actually developed a nice little emergency preparedness business.  Here’s their website:  www.brothersgrimmdisasters.com

In closing, I’ll cherish these very kind gifts.  I’d like to share some closing pictures with you.

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Take care Utah!

Training and Touring the Utah Capitol Grounds

Earlier this morning, my friend “Mike” dropped me a note chastising me for not posting a blog last night.  After apologizing to him, I shared with him, and now you, the fact that we’ve been very busy with our classes this week and yesterday was no exception.  Yesterday, we began our second class, CERT Train-the-Trainer, which is a three-day class.  It was a bit different for us yesterday as we relocated our class from our earlier auditorium location in the State Office Building over to the operations floor of the state’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) which is in the Capitol Building.  This relocation was a one-day transition, and today (and tomorrow) we’re back in our normal auditorium setting.

As is typical to what we normally see, most students seemed to enjoy the Train-the-Trainer class more than the Program Manager class.  Most of us have more fun working as an instructor (helping people learn) vs developing and managing programs (program/project management).  Of course, there are some (me included) that absolutely enjoy both.  Maybe it was my corporate background, but I feel very comfortable, and enjoy, all aspects (strategic and tactical) of program development and management.  And, to be able to develop and conduct training (working with people and helping provide an environment in which to learn and be better), well it’s a perfect opportunity!

Utah SIAC 

Today we were fortunate to have Mr. Jared Terry join us to introduce a new initiative the state is kicking off for homeland security.  Jared is an Intelligence Analyst (Intern) working with the Department of Public Safety in the Utah Statewide Information and Analysis Center (SIAC)

If you aren’t familiar with the SIAC, it’s the state’s intelligence fusion center.  A fusion center is an effective and efficient mechanism to exchange information and intelligence, maximize resources, streamline operations, and improve the ability to fight crime and terrorism by analyzing data from a variety of sources.  Fusion centers have been created within state and local governments to foster both collaboration and the exchange of intelligence between law enforcement, first responders, public health, critical infrastructure (private sector), and other agencies involved in crime suppression, homeland security, and counterterrorism from all agencies and levels of government.

The Utah SIAC serves as a collaborative effort of multiple agencies that provides resources, expertise and information for analysis, with the goal of maximizing their ability to detect, prevent, investigate, and respond to criminal and terrorist activity.

Presently, the SIAC is trying to improve the awareness, ability, and willingness of Utahans to report suspicious activity to law enforcement.  In the past, general public reporting has not been as effective as what authorities would like.  To overcome this information shortfall, a new initiative is being implemented across the state.  The program is called “If you see something, say something” and is intended to encourage the general public to feel confident in reporting suspicious behavior to their local law enforcement.  In turn, there is a process in place that allows local law enforcement to share those reports with the SIAC and vice versa.

Touring the Capitol grounds

Yesterday and then again today, we had the opportunity to walk around the Capitol grounds and see some very interesting memorials there are here in tribute to significant Utahans.  I’d like to share with you some of what we saw.  I hope that you enjoy this brief tour around the Utah Capitol grounds.

The Utah State Capitol 

The Utah State Capital grounds are very beautiful and well maintained.  One observation we’ve made several times while we’ve been here is how few people there were walking around outside or even inside the buildings.  It’s very pleasant.

On the Capital grounds, there are several monuments including:

• Mormon Battalion Monument – commemorates the sacrifices made by 500 Mormon pioneer volunteers who joined the U.S. Army during the Mexican War. The 100-foot granite and bronze monument was created by Gilbert Riswold in 1927. There are many figures chronicling different periods of the Battalion’s history – you will find “The Enlistment,” “The March,” “The Discovery of Gold in California,” and “The Arrival of the Pueblo Detachment.”
• Harriman Memorial – The expense of building the State Capitol was supplemented by a collection of an inheritance tax upon the death of Edward Harriman, president of the Union Pacific Railroad. He had invested in a trolley car system in Salt Lake City and the tax levied on his properties was enough to give the State the fiscal ability to begin building its Capitol.
• Civil War Memorial – This memorial honors Utahans who served and died in the Civil War. This monument was created as a part of the golden age of American public sculpture. The importance of historical awareness was emphasized in the wake of the Civil War and erecting monuments to significant historic events became a national trend.
• Daniel Cowing Jackling – Jackling’s progressive vision of massive extraction of low-grade minerals at Brigham Canyon copper mines helped pave the way for the success of Utah’s mining industry.
• Brigadier General Thomas L. Kane – General Kane was an indispensable help to the early settlers in Utah. He assisted pioneers as they traveled to the region and mitigated early conflicts with the federal government before the territory was made a state.
• Martha Hughes Cannon – the first woman senator in the United States, was erected by Utah sculptor Laura Lee Stay. Cannon was elected in Utah’s first state election in November 1896. While she was a senator and prominent suffragist, Cannon held a medical degree and promoted important health policy in Utah.

Chief Massasoit

This memorial is a tribute to the Indian chief who befriended the Pilgrims after they landed in Massachusetts. It was done by prolific Utah sculptor Cyrus E. Dallin in 1921. Another one of Dallin’s notable works, “Angel Moroni,” can be seen just south of the Capitol atop a spire of a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Utah Law Enforcement Memorial 

As the local ABC television affiliate said in an article at the time the memorial was constructed, they are Utah heroes and a memorial on Utah’s Capitol Hill honors Utah police officers who gave their lives in the line of duty.  Three statues along with the names of Utah’s fallen officers mark the Capitol site.  The motto of the memorial here is “All give some, some give all”.

Vietnam War Memorial

Just south of the Utah Law Enforcement Memorial lies the Vietnam War Memorial.  The circular memorial is set in the hillside directly west of the Capitol building and south of the west entrance sidewalk and is approximately 60 feet in diameter, with a heroic-sized 8-foot bronze statue of an infantryman on a base of cast stone 9 feet in diameter. The base also serves as a planter with seats.  The statue faces away from four polished black marble slates with the names of Utah’s Vietnam war dead inscribed on them.

The statue, was sculpted by former Salt Lake resident and Marine Corps veteran Clyde Ross Morgan, and is titled, “But Not Forgotten.”  It depicts a young soldier returning from battle carrying a fallen friend’s rifle.  According to a story that appeared in a Deseret News article when the memorial was first announced, Morgan said the expression on his face mixes bewilderment with determination to do the job his country sent him to do, a look often called the “thousand-year stare.”

Here’s a slide show of pictures of some of the things we saw  …

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Well, tomorrow we wrap up our week of training here in Salt Lake City and I can’t wait to get home!  As we always like to finish on the high side, we’ve got a lot to do tonight to get ready for our last day.  Come back in two days (on May 19) and I’ll post a short closing blog from this trip and I’ll also let you know where I’m heading to next.

Welcome to Day Two of training here in Salt Lake City

Utah Citizen Corps

Joining us in class this week is Mr. Jeff Johnson who is the State Citizen Corps Coordinator for the State of Utah.  I had the opportunity to visit with Jeff for a few minutes today and listen to his insight about one of the strongest Citizen Corps (or CERT) programs in the country.

Jeff was appointed the Utah State Community Emergency Response Team Coordinator in August 2009 as the program transitioned from the Utah Commission on Volunteers to Utah Homeland Security. In January of 2010 Jeff was appointed as the Program Manager of the State Citizen Corps, to coordinate the National Five Pillar Program. Jeff was also been appointed as the Co-Chairman of the Community Preparedness Committee of the Salt Lake Urban Area Security Initiative.

Q:  What’s been the path for Citizen Corps in the State of Utah?

A:  Citizen Corps was established in Utah in 2002 pursuant to President George Bush’s Freedom USA Freedom Corps mandate. Several of the components, such as Neighborhood Watch and Community Emergency Response Teams were already operating in a robust and vigorous manner. Citizen Corps has continued to grow and expand in the State of Utah since the national inception. All five pillars of Citizen Corps (CERT, Volunteers in Police, Fire Corps, Neighborhood Watch, and Medical Reserve Corps) exist and are functioning throughout various areas of the State. There are currently 65 registered Citizen Corps Councils in Utah on the National database. Pursuant to a Utah legislative mandate, Medical Reserve Corps are attached to every Regional and County Health Department in the State. Neighborhood Watch programs exist in nearly all the County Sheriff and City Police Departments. Volunteers in Police Service programs are growing rapidly in the State with more than a dozen solid programs operating. Fire Corps is also being embraced by Fire Departments.

Utah is a volunteer state and local governments are recognizing the value of volunteers during times of crisis. Training, educating and organizing volunteers before the day they are needed is a message being embraced by local governments and agencies.

Citizen Corps has been the perfect avenue for citizens to step up, volunteer and give back to their communities. Citizen Corps is a valuable tool in the preparedness efforts throughout the state, and with valued recognition continues to grow exponentially.

Q:  Give me an example of what makes the Utah CERT Program unique?

A:  Since the inception of the Community Emergency Response Team program in the State of Utah, over 63,000 citizens have taken the training. With the launching of a new CERT Team in Rich County this year, all 29 counties in the State have an operating CERT Team. Utah leads the nation in volunteerism, with 74% (sic) of adult residents volunteering in some form or fashion. There are 82 nationally registered CERT programs in the State of Utah, ranging from large metropolitan teams of more than 4000 team members to rural teams of just a dozen local residents volunteering in small and isolated farming communities. There are communities in the State that have CERT trained 10% of their residents. In these communities, one in ten citizens has volunteered, completed the CERT training and is actively involved in their community’s CERT Team. We are constantly seeing a steady influx of citizens volunteering to assist with the CERT and Citizen Corps missions.

Q:  What’s the future look like for Citizen Corps and CERT in the State of Utah over the next few years?

A:  There are many avenues that are expanding for Citizen Corps programs in the State of Utah. This past year the Volunteers in Police Service Program was actively presented to the Utah Chief of Police Convention, as was the Fire Corps program to the Utah Fire Chief’s Winter Fire School and Convention. With diminishing budgets, increasing workloads and burgeoning community responsibilities, many agency administrators are seeing more and more value in including citizen volunteers in the solution. Citizens want to make their communities better and safer places to live. Almost invariably, citizens from every community in the state volunteer during a crisis and/or incident and want to be part of the mix in solving the problems on “That Day”. Citizen Corps provides smart, sensible and well established avenues to train, educate and organize these volunteers prior to the day their community needs that service.  A group of trained and educated volunteers who are called upon, or arrive, to assist with skills and knowledge, along with organization and a command structure and communications are priceless on “That Day”. Especially, compared to a group of spontaneous volunteers who arrive to accomplish the same task and missions. Pursuant to the realities and understandings, Citizen Corps has a strong and steady mission base to continue to organize and train volunteers in the State of Utah.

The power of Networking

Yesterday, I wrote about how several of the students in our class are well-seasoned CERT Instructors and in some cases Program Managers.  At the same time we also have folks who are new to the program.  As a result, we worked with Jeff Johnson to offer students the opportunity to network during the lunch-hour today and participate in a facilitated “Peer knowledge exchange” in an effort to leverage their collective experience.  During the hour-long discussions, primarily were centered on two topics … creative ways to generate funding beyond grants, and how to utilize CERT teams within the community.

Getting Prepared In a Year

Even though we are traveling this week, let’s continue on our journey of building our own preparedness.  With this blog, we’ll be making our eighth stop along this journey to preparedness.  So, let’s move on shall we?   Here’s what you can do now to add to your preparedness kit:

First Aid Supplies:

• scissors
• tweezers
• antiseptic
• thermometer
• liquid hand soap
• disposable hand wipes
• a sewing kit
• also, extra eyeglasses (if needed)

Things to Do:

Place a pair of shoes and a flashlight under your bed so that they are handy during an emergency.

 

OK – so there you have it; another great day today.  Come back tomorrow when we start our CERT Train-the-Trainer class and we’ll be in the state Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

The Preparedness Buzz from the Beehive State

Welcome to another special addition of my blog.

This week I’m in a state that I’ve never had the pleasure to visit before now, and boy am I glad I’m here!  This week I’m in the gorgeous state of Utah.  More specifically, I’m in Salt Lake City, Utah.  It is one of the prettiest areas I’ve been to.  I’m here with my good friend and co-instructor “Wilson” teaching another round of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program Manager and Train-the-Trainer classes for the State Department of Public Safety – Division of Emergency Management.  This week, I’ll again be writing several blog posts from Salt Lake City to share with you what’s going on in class as well as around the state.  I hope you’ll check back often.

Why the “Beehive” state?

Salt Lake City is the state capital of Utah.  On January 4, 1896 Utah became the country’s 45th state.  The name “Utah” comes from the Native American “Ute” tribe and means people of the mountains.

The beehive was chosen as the emblem for the provisional State of Deseret in 1848 and was maintained on the seal of the State of Utah when Utah became a state in 1896.  The State of Deseret was a provisional state of the United States, proposed in 1849 by Latter-day Saints settlers in Salt Lake City. The provisional state existed for slightly over two years and was never recognized by the United States government. The name derives from the word for “honeybee” in the Book of Mormon. The beehive became the official state emblem on March 4, 1959. Utahans relate the beehive symbol to industry and the pioneer virtues of thrift and perseverance.

The scenery here in Salt Lake City is awesome.  Everywhere we look, we see mountains, and some of them still have snow on them.  The highest point in the state is Kings Peak which is in the Uinta Mountains located in Duchesne County in the Northeast part of the state kings Peak reaches an unbelievable 13,528 ft. On the other end of the scale is Beaver Dam Wash which is near St. George in Washington County in the state’s southwest quadrant and is a modest 2, 350 ft.

Utah Citizens Volunteer

According to the annual 2010 report “Volunteering in America” published by the Corporation for National and Community Service’

• The top five states by volunteer rate are Utah (44.5%), Iowa (37.9%), Minnesota (37.5%), Nebraska (37.4%), and South Dakota (37.2%)
• For the fifth year in row, the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area ranks number one for volunteerism among large cities with a 37.1 percent volunteer rate. Other top serving large cities include: Portland, Ore. (36.2%), Salt Lake City, Utah (34.1%), Seattle, Wash. (33.9%), and Rochester, N.Y. (33.8%)
• Among 75 mid-sized cites, Provo, Utah led the nation for the fourth year in a row with a volunteer rate of 61%, followed by Ogden, Utah (52.2%), Iowa City, Iowa (50.9%), Boulder, Colo. (44.8%), and Fort Collins, Colo (42.2%)

Meet our class

Similar to many of the other classes I’ve written about previously, this week we are teaching both the CERT Program Manager and Train-the-Trainer classes for the State Department of Public Safety – Division of Emergency Management.  Today we started the Program Manager class.  We have over 40 students in the class.  In the past, Utah has trained a lot – and I mean a LOT – of CERT folks and trainers (about 63,000 in Basic CERT and about 750 CERT instructors).  CERT continues to be viewed as a valuable preparedness tool throughout the state.  Therefore, in an effort to more effectively deliver CERT training throughout the state, the state recently changed their training delivery strategy.  With our class, the state assembled a cadre of high-quality instructors from around the state, and anticipates using this cadre for all future deliveries of CERT Train-the-Trainer as well as the Basic CERT.

Faith-based support

In 1847 the Mormons migrated to Utah searching for a religious sanctuary in the remote West.  They migrated in large numbers, laid out communities, built homes and churches, established farms supported by an irrigation system, skirmished with the native people, achieved territorial status in 1850, and generally prospered. Non-Mormons came too, especially after precious metals were discovered in the 1860s, and they added diversification to Utah’s society. By the time of statehood in 1896, the total population approached a quarter of a million people.

Utah is the most religiously homogeneous state in the Union. Approximately 60% of Utahans are reported to be members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), which greatly influences Utah culture and daily life.

I learned today that within the state of Utah the LDS church has taken on a leadership role in initial recruiting of CERT volunteers within the state.  In many instances, the local leadership of the church, being encouraged by the church hierarchy – actively recruits people to become block captains within their local church boundaries and also take the CERT training.  Once these block captains are trained, they are then are encouraged to join local community (local city and county government) CERT teams.

Here’s some pictures from the day.  I hope you enjoy them and will check back again tomorrow to see what else is going on.  Till then … be safe!

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Closing out a great training week in Austin, Texas

Wow, it is really great to be home.  One week ago I was back from a week in Holden, Massachusetts and this past week I was in Austin, Texas.  And now I’m home.  Time to rest, recover, and tackle that Honey-Do List!

We had a terrific week in Austin this past week.  We met a lot of really good people from across the great state of Texas – people that are interested in helping citizens become better prepared for disasters.  This week I wrote about the diversity in our class … we had a couple of students representing the Yselta Del Sur Pueblo Tribe in the El Paso area; we also had a few students with the TEXSAR organization (search and rescue), and in my most recent previous blog I shared with you information about “Austin Disaster Relief Network” which is a faith-based organization.  I also wanted to mention a young lady we had in class this week.  “Vicky” was originally from Mexico and now lives in the United States.  English is not her primary language.  Vicky was in our class to learn how to manage and teach programs that are focused on the Hispanic population in our country who also don’t speak English as a primary language.  One of the more interesting presentations we had this week was during Vicky’s teachback when she spoke completely in spanish … and we (those that don’t speak spanish) were able to grasp the basic concepts she was covering!

Beyond the diversity in our class, I think the other aspect that made this class a bit unique is that we had so many experienced CERT instructors in the class.  Because of their tenure in the CERT program, their high level of interest in developing sustainability of CERT programs given the continual reduction in federal funding.  As one of my co-instructors said, we have to understand the federal money should be viewed as “seed” money – money used to start programs.  Once a program is started, sustainment (commitment) comes at the local level through things like the normal budgeting process of departments or agencies, formation of 501c3’s, partnerships between the private and public sector shareholders, etc.

Well, we had a great time in Austin.  I hope I get the opportunity to return and work with the Texas Division of Emergency Management and the folks that were in our classes.  The following pictures reflect some of my final memories of our class and my trip to Austin, Texas.

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By the way, I came home to the latest issue of the www.drj.com.  I have an article titled “Training and Awareness in Business Continuity” now appearing in the Spring 2012 issue.  I hope you will take a few minutes to read the article and gain insight on how training and awareness efforts can strengthen our overall business continuity capabilities.

Looking ahead … plan on joining me again in a week when I’m off to Salt Lake City, Utah for another class of CERT Train-the-Trainer and Program Manager.  I’ve never had the pleasure of visiting Salt Lake City or Utah, but I’m really looking forward to being there.  Stay tuned.