Aloha and Mahalo from Volcano Hawaii

Well, it’s hard to believe but I’m back in St. Louis as we wrapped up a great week of training in Volcano, Hawaii. The trip home was long to say the least.

A little bit of sightseeing

Picking up where I last left off, last Thursday afternoon we finished class a little earlier than planned and so Wilson and I hopped in the car and did a little sightseeing. We drove over to see the Thurston Lava Tubes which is a 500-year old lava cave located within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Lava caves like this are formed when a river of lava gradually builds solid walls and a ceiling. When the lava flow stops and the last of it passes downhill, a cave is formed. These caves can be a few feet high and only yards long, or they can stretch for miles with high ceilings. After walking through the cave and the surrounding rain forest, we drove down to see where the lava flows went into the ocean. Along the way we passed several lave fields that dated back to the early 1970’s. Finally, when we reached the ocean and the blue water of the Pacific was beautiful.

Friday was our final day in class. For me personally, it started off with a wonderful six-mile run along Crater Rim Road. As I ran past the Volcano Observatory and then the open field with the steam vents I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d ever get the opportunity to return to this place and see more of God’s wonders. I sure hope so.

Polynesian culture

We started class off with another unique opportunity. As I mentioned in previous blogs this week, our class was very diverse. Not only did we have attendees from the Hawaiian Islands, but also from Guam, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. One of the gentlemen from Samoa was actually with us two years ago when we were first in Honolulu Hawaii. In talking with him about the Samoan culture, we agreed there are many similarities with the Native American culture. I explained that in the Native American classes we’ve taught, we usually have someone from their tribe open the class with a prayer in their native language. Along those lines, he shared with me that Samoan tradition is similar and he agreed to open our last day of class with a morning prayer in his native Samoan language. What a great way to start our last day of class.

Another cultural item we learned about was that in the various Polynesian cultures, it’s customary to give your guests a gift. After our morning prayer and before we actually started class, Wilson and I were both presented with blue conference bags with the logo of Guam Homeland Security and Civil Defense. Inside were homeland security/emergency management related gifts that students from each of the regional areas brought with them to give to us. What a surprise! I’ll proudly display these in my home.

This trip will go down as one of those life experiences I won’t ever forget. My good friend and teaching buddy Wilson and I made many new friends during this trip, and were able to see “up close and personal” one of the greatest natural disaster risks we have – a live volcano.

Well, let me close by sharing some final pictures from our trip.  I hope you enjoy them.

“Mahalo” to all of you who read my blogs during the trip and I hope you’ll come back starting July 28^th for a new adventure.

Lava Tubes this way.

In the rain forest

The walkway into the tube (aka cave)

It’s really dark. It almost looks man-made once you are inside.

These lava flows are recent.

A lava field.

You can see where the lava floed downhill toward the ocean

At one point they had to dig through the hardened lave to reopen the roads.

I love this shot of the hillside.

The Pacific Ocean. What a great sight!

Flowers

More flowers

And one more

More flowers

Along with volcanos, they also have earthquakes.

Training in Hawaii Continues

 

Well, the past four days have been spectacular here in Volcano, Hawaii.

From a training perspective, we ended our CERT Train-the-Trainer class yesterday. Wilson and I shot a short video of our class that we look forward to sharing with our upcoming class at FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (FEMA EMI) when we are back on campus at the end of July.  As I mentioned in a past blog this week, our class is very diverse. Most of our class has stayed with us as we began our CERT Program Manager class earlier today.

Hawaiian Hospitality

Similar to the infamous Thursday night BBQ’s we have at the FEMA National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland, a few of our students took it upon themselves to put together a class BBQ for our entire class. What a warm and friendly networking opportunity everyone enjoyed. One of the highlights of this trip will be the friendships we’ve created. The food that was prepared last night was amazing. The menu included great tasting beef steak rubbed with course Hawaiian salt, Char Siu pork, a Portuguese sausage, smoked sausage, and poke which is a raw salad served as an appetizer in Hawaiian cuisine. There were three kinds of Poke – Ahi poke which is made with yellowfin tuna, a spicy King crab poke, and another that wasn’t spicy. Both the food and the friendship were outstanding.

My Crater Rim morning

This morning stated out at 5:30 a.m. with a morning hike on the Crater Rim Trail up to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. While it may not have started out as what some might call a “bucket list” opportunity, it sure turned into one of those moments in life I’ll always remember. The weather was the same as it’s been since we got here …. sunny, cool, and windy – trade winds are blowing across Hawaii, and the sun was so bright!

While I started out on a trail that meandered through fields and vegetation, I ended up right smack dab on the ridge (edge) of the crater looking down. What an awesome view! As I went further along the trail, the elevation continued to increase. The trail ended at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. From there, I ended up having a short two-mile run back to the Kilauea Military Camp (KMC). I’m including some pictures from my morning walk.

Lunchtime presentation – Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (www.nps.gov/havo/index.htm )

At lunch yesterday we were treated to another special guest speaker. Talmadge Magno is the Chief Ranger of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. His presentation to our class addressed “Emergency Operations” at the park and specifically addressed his unit which is Visitor and Resource Protection. I was surprised to learn just how broad a reach his unit has, including:

• Special events
• Wildland fires (including structural fires)
• Pacific Area Communications Center (ie dispatch)
• Law Enforcement
• Aviation
• Technical Rescue – yes, people need to be rescued when they go places they shouldn’t!

So, tomorrow is our last day. It’s been a terrific experience and I look forward with sharing the remainder of our trip with you soon. Remember to check back.

A beautiful morning for a run.

This is probably my favorite picture. Smoke from the crater and this lone tree.

I thought this Ohi’a Lehua was really pretty

What a view!

The beginning of the Crater Rim Trail

Class networking BBQ

Day Two CERT Training in Hawaii and Volcanos

In my blog yesterday, I mentioned we are at the Kilauea Military Camp (KMC) located in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The park and camp are located at a elevation of 4,000 feet above sea level. I tell you this because the weather here is so different that what you might expect for a tropical area. The last couple of nights the temperature dipped down to the mid to upper 40’s (F; 7+ C) and during the day the temperatures have been in the low 70’s (F; 21+ C). Our host while we are here told us we are on the one Hawaiian island where they actually get snow in the higher mountain elevations! Snow in Hawaii? Not the Hawaii you would expect.

Running by volcanic steam vents

This morning I got up and went out for my morning run. It was spectacular. The sun was just starting to rise and as I started out from the camp I headed east on the Crater Rim Drive toward the park’s main gate. About a mile into my run I came across a large field that has several steam vents. Here rainwater sinks through the ground and is warmed by rocks which carry heat from the lava below. Hot water then rises through fissures to condense in the chilled air. It was really something to see.

Our class

Day Two of our CERT Train the Trainer class went really well today. While most of our time was spent review the core Basic CERT material, our primary student activity was their first “teach back”. This exercise allows students to stand before their classmates as an instructor and apply the training (skills) they’ve learned so far and actually conducted a very small section of material in our class. Past experience has validated that students really enjoy and benefit from the experience. And what’s more, not only do our students learn, but so do we as instructors.

Today one of our students demonstrated a wonderful way to help determine if you have an adequately sized fire extinguisher to put out a fire. He referred to this as his “Yes, No, Maybe” check. Basically it’s a way to size a fire extinguisher against the burning item. If the extinguisher is as big or bigger than the item burning, then yes, you probably have a large enough extinguisher to put out the fire. If the extinguisher is smaller than the burning object, then No you don’t. And of course, there’s always Maybe’s in life.

Lunchtime presentation – Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (NVO; www.hvo.wr.usgs.gov/ )

One of the key motivators for us to come to Hawaii to teach was the fact that we were going to be at the Hawaiian Volcano Park and we’d get an up close and personal presentation and tour of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

Dr. Jim Kauahikaua, joined our class today and provided a terrific overview (and slide show) of Hawaii’s volcanos as well as the island’s earthquakes. Jim is the Scientist-In-Charge of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Later this evening, Jim met us at the Observatory and provided us with a “behind the scenes” tour of the Observatory.

Tomorrow, we’ll wrap up our CERT Train-the-Trainer class. I hope you’ll come back tomorrow to see what else we are getting in to in the wonderful and interesting location. Until then, I hope you enjoy these pictures that I took today.

We’re here! The sign at the entry of the Observatory

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

Looking out on to the crater

The crater

Inside the Observatory

A view looking into the crater

In image looking down into the creater looking at the lava flow.

That’s Dr. Jim Kauahikaua, Scientist-in-Charge at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

An even better picture at night

A nice nighttime glow picture of the crater

Aloha from Hawai’i

Aloha from Hawai’i

Looking at my last blog, it’s been a while since I last wrote about anything. I guess I just haven’t had much to say? What? Well, I thought I’d jump back into blogging and take some time and share with you some of my experiences that take place this week while I’m “on assignment” in the Hawaii National Park in Volcano, HI.

I’m here with my good friend and co-instructor “Wilson”. Wilson and I have taught with each other many times over the years and were originally invited to teach CERT Train-the-Trainer and Program Manager classes in Honolulu, Hawaii two years ago. I guess we did a pretty good job because we were invited back!

Getting here

Wow, the trip here was long. I started my day at 3:00A on Sunday morning (St. Louis time) and when all travel was done, I was finally in my room ready for bed at 10:30P Sunday night …. Hawaii time. It was a long day. I travel from St. Louis, to Las Vegas, to San Francisco, to Honolulu, to Hilo. Once we landed, we still had a 45 minute drive to where we are staying. Thank you Southwest, United, and Hawaiian Airlines.

Kilauea Military Camp (KMC; www.kilaueamilitarycamp.com/ )

One of my unique motivators to come here was that our class is being conducted at the Kilauea Military Camp (KMC). While I’ll write more about the camp later this week, let me tell you KMC is considered one of the military’s finest vacation gems. It’s located in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and sits amidst spectacular scenery, natural wonders, and cultural treasures including the marvels of the active Kilauea Volcano. The camp is open to all active and retired military, members of the Reserve and National Guard, active and retired Department of Defense civilian employees including Coast Guard Civilians, dependents and sponsored guests. What a GREAT facility!

A great diverse class

This week we have 32 attendees in our class. Most are from the Hawaiian Islands. A few are here from Guam, others are here from American Samoa and some have come as far away as Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands. Talking about a long trip!

Many of our attendees are first responders representing law enforcement, the fire service, or emergency management. We have four members of Team Rubicon (www.teamrubiconusa.org/ ) which is an organization that unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams. We also have, several attendees representing education.

Lunchtime presentation – NOAA/NWS

Each day this week, attendees will be treated to daily presentations from local industry experts. Today, we welcomed Mr. Kevin Kodama. Kevin is the Senior Service Hydrologist with the Weather Forecast Office in Honolulu, HI. Kevin gave a terrific presentation about “Tropical Cyclones – Impacts & CPHC Products”.

OK, well that’s it for today.  I think it’s a good start for a first day day back.  Check back tomorrow and I’ll have more to share with you from the KMC and Volcano, HI.

Mahalo

Trying to be a More Effective Communicator

Instead of the teacher, I was the student.  I was “grasshopper”.

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a Dale Carnegie workshop that my employer hosted as part of our employee development program.  The course was titled “How to Say What You Mean to Get the Results That You Want”.

I was pleased (confident) when throughout the class we talked about several topics that we also cover in the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Train-the-Trainer curriculum that I’ve been teaching for the past few years.

I thought I’d share with you some of the concepts, suggestions, and thoughts that I left the class with.

Some characteristics of an effective speaker. They are :

• Engaging
• Credible – they know their material.
• Good listeners
• Focused on their message
• Animated
• Clear and concise – no ambiguity
• Empathetic.
• Articulate

There are five levels of listening (from lowest to highest) – Ignore, Pretend, Selective, Attentive, Empathetic.  At the highest level “Empathetic” (which we should work towards), we are putting ourselves in the other persons shoes.  It sounds simple, but the instructor used a great analogy to make the point.  If someone wearing a size 9 shoe tries to put on a size 13 shoe, it’s impossible.  However, if they take their size 9 shoe and then place their foot into the size 13 shoe, it goes in very easily.  The point here is that an empathetic listener is one who steps out of their own shoes before stepping in to someone else’s.  The empathetic listener truly looks at things from the other perspective beyond their own.

Did you know if you rearrange the letters that spell LISTEN … it spells SILENT

The next time you find yourself talking too much, remember to WAIT … Why Am I Talking?

How we emphasize words when we speak can convey a total different impact to what we are saying. – If you say the following sentence seven different times and each time place the emphasis on a different word each time, it changes the impact of the message.  Here’s the sentence:

“I never said he stole my money”

Impact of the message – Our instructor shared with us a pie chart diagram that illustrated the non-verbal impact of a message.  The findings were attributed to a 10-year study that was conducted by a UCLA professor, Dr. Albert Mehrabian.  The study found that :

• 7% of a message is impacted by the actual words spoken
• 38% of a message is impacted by our tone of voice – how we say things
• 55% of a message is impacted by non-verbals (a.k.a. our body language)

Interestingly, like many studies, these results have been challenged by others.  In other work I have read, the following suggestions were made:

• If the purpose of your communication is to establish credibility, make an initial impression, or build a relationship, then your body language will have the greatest impact.
• If your communication is information heavy, such as a face-to-face sale or negotiation, then words become much more important; they may be the most important components.
• In most persuasive situations in which your body language and words clash, your audience will rely on your body language for their interpretation.

Learning Styles

As a reader of my previous blogs, you’ll know that in the CERT Train-the-Trainer curriculum, we address three different learning styles that people have – Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic.  In this class, there was a short exercise that I thought was really effective; so much so I think I want to include something similar in my instructional delivery of CERT Train-the-Trainer.  The “Learning Style Survey” asks 21 different questions and provides three possible responses (Often, Sometimes, Seldom).  Once I completed the survey, I then had to go back and score my answers.   Based on the point values and total scoring, I was able to determine if I was a Visual, Auditory, or Kinesthetic learner.  I felt the survey was fairly accurate.

Another interesting fact that was shared with us was that on average, 45% of us are Kinesthetic learners, 37% are Visual learners, and 18% are Auditory learners.

I want to close with a Dale Carnegie quote that was included in a handout … “… think in terms of other people’s point of view, and see things from their angle …”  I think that as communicators, if we took this advice more often, we’d be more effective.

Getting beat by a teenager in tennis, and what’s that got to do with Crisis Management?

I’m at that point in my life where one of the greatest joys I have is playing tennis with my teenage grandson. I’ve always looked at competition through sports as a great bonding opportunity for fathers and sons.  My grandson is taking lessons once a week at local club near us.  Over the past couple of years, he’s gotten pretty darn good.  To help him practice between lessons, I serve as his “sparring partner”.  We find time to play a couple of times a week together.

When I was younger (i.e. high school and college) I played some racquetball, but never tennis.  What I know about tennis has come from my being an easy mark for “the kid”.  But with my competitive nature, I’ve learned and practiced along the way to the point where I can actually give him a run for his money – oh that’s right, it’s my money.

Anyway, I just got in from playing tennis this evening with my grandson and while I was out on the court “getting schooled” again, I began thinking about how playing tennis can be similar to what we do in crisis management.

Preparation

Before you can effectively (operative word) play tennis … or manage a crisis … you have to develop knowledge and skills of the game.  The easiest way to do this of course is to be coached by professionals – those that have gone down the path before you.  Unfortunately, some think that because it’s not “rocket science” they can skip this step (anyone can do it) and just start playing.  Taking this approach generally means greater chances of losing vs. winning.  Trust me on this one.  Take the time to learn about crisis management.  Talk to others that have actually responded to and recovered from some type of crisis.

Practice

In past blogs, I’ve mentioned a saying a fellow instructor has used many times in classes we’ve taught.  The saying is “people will do what they’ve practiced, not what they’ve been told.”  How true that is in tennis (or any other sport) and in crisis management.  In order to be good at tennis, you have to practice.  In order to respond appropriately when a crisis incident occurs, we have to practice.  We practice by conducting table top exercises, drills, and full-scale exercises to name just a few.  Look for opportunities to exercise (practice) your plan.

Size-up and take action

In tennis, we are constantly sizing up our opponent and how he or she is playing.  We are always looking for an opportunity to score another point.  It’s called gamesmanship.  In crisis management we also perform size-up to understand what the current situation is and what are capabilities there are “to score another point”.  Our size-up will help us to determine our game plan.  At that point, we need to take action.  All the planning and preparation in the world doesn’t do any good if we don’t step on to the court.

Command and Control

In both tennis and crisis management, if you aren’t in control, you will be controlled.  I hate to admit that tonight the kid controlled the “old man” two out of three sets.  In tennis, as well as in crisis management, a positive mindset is one of the most important skills you can possess.  In tennis, you don’t want your opponent to see your frustration or fear.  In crisis management, we don’t want our teams to see our frustration or fear either.  The best crisis management leaders reflect a sense of calm and order even when everything else appears to be dysfunctional around them.

Lessons learned

The only way to win is to improve skills that may not be your strongest and enhance those that you may be pretty good at.  If I realize my serves are weak, I need to spend time practicing serves before our next “big” match.  In crisis management, we need to perform a lessons learned activity (i.e. debriefing or hot-wash) session.  Our goal is to learn from the experience what worked well and what needs improvement.  Then, take those lessons learned and use them to improve.

Well, it’s time to take a couple of ibuprofen.  Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.  I’ll be posting again on August 1 and I hope you’ll come back.  In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment letting me know what you thought about this blog or any others I’ve written.  If there’s a particular topic you’d like to have me write about, please let me know.  I welcome your feedback.

Good bye Lincoln Nebraska

Well it’s hard to believe that our week in Lincoln has come to an end so fast, but here it is.  Today we completed our CERT Program Manager class and now I’m heading for home.

During our short five day stay here we have met some terrific, dedicated and committed people from around the “Corn Husker” state.  I’m convinced that with the training they have completed this week, they have the knowledge and skills (ability) to significantly improve the overall readiness (preparedness) of the communities they live in.  And since most of the folks we worked with this week completed both the CERT Train-the-Trainer and the CERT Program Manager class, I would hope that as they roll out their CERT programs (either new or improved), they will look to become self-sustaining rather than be dependent upon federal funding.  As I wrote in a previous blog, I don’t feel as though the federal funding that many programs across the country receive was intended to be sustaining funds.  Rather, they should have simply been used for one-time program development.  Then, once the program is developed, up and running, it should be the local program’s, or community’s, responsibility to find ways to provide their ongoing funding (self-sustainment).

As I shared with both classes this week, CERT is another program, like the old FEMA “Project Impact” from the 1990’s, where communities became too reliant on federal funding to help improve the resiliency of the community and didn’t seek out opportunities to be self-sustaining.  In the long run, Project Impact went away as federal funding went away.  I hope that CERT doesn’t suffer the same demise, but with the constant decline in federal money allocated for CERT, I think the future doesn’t look good.  With that said, all bets are off when the next big disaster occurs, especially if it is a homeland security incident.  Only then will we see the federal funding spigot turned back on.

Thank you Annette

One of students in our classes this week was a lady by the name of Annette who calls Lincoln, Nebraska home but also lives part time in Florida.  Annette has a military background and now enjoys giving back to her community – both in Lincoln and in Florida.  It was a pleasure to have Annette in class this week not only because she’s a nice person, but because she actually added a lot to our classroom discussions.

Today, she gave me a copy of a book titled “Blindsided – A Manager’s Guide to Catastrophic Incident’s in the WORKPLACE” by Bruce T. Blythe.  I am looking forward to reading this book and applying it to both the classes I teach as well as with the administration of my business continuity and emergency response and safety practices at my REAL job.

Thanks Annette! 

My fellow instructors

Working with me this week was Joe Sciandra and Alan Scott.  I’ve worked with both gentlemen before and have enjoyed working with them again this week.  Sharing their experience and perspective in class the way they did really made the class much more enjoyable for our students.

Well, it’s time to board the flight home.  While I’ve loved being back out teaching with my good friend Wilson Lee in Cleveland two weeks ago, and with Joe and Alan this past week, I’m really looking forward to getting back home and back to my real job.  There’s a lot waiting for me when I get back, which translates into lots of opportunity for success.

I hope that you’ve found my blogs over the past couple of weeks interesting … and maybe even enjoyable?  I hope to return to my former regular schedule which will be on the 1^st and 15^th of each month.  If there’s something you’d like me to write about, feel free to make a suggestion by using the Comment link.

So until July 15^th … stay safe and be prepared.

Becoming a CERT Program Manager, and other Lincoln stuff

Yesterday we wrapped up our CERT Train-the-Trainer class and today we started our CERT Program Manager class.

For those not familiar with the CERT Program Manager course, it prepares participants to establish and sustain an active local CERT program back in their community.  During the two-day class we incorporate both lecture and practical exercises addressing the core components of a local CERT program.  At the end of each unit, participants document their thoughts and ideas on effective practices in a workbook for:

• Developing local CERT program goals and a related strategic plan
• Promoting local CERT program
• Orienting, managing, and retaining CERT members
• Recruiting, funding, managing, and retaining CERT trainers
• Acquiring and managing program resources
• Delivering and managing effective training and exercises
• Developing policies and procedures for operating a local CERT program
• Evaluating and sustaining the program

When participants complete the class, they can then use their workbook to move from Point A to Point B in starting or improving their CERT Program.  At the beginning of these classes I tell participants that being a CERT Program Manager is quite similar to running a small business.  And after having seen many CERT programs start, grow, and then crash and fade away, I encourage students to invest the needed time and effort to fully research and develop these administrative processes in an effort to better ensure long-term success, rather than simply jumping in and hoping for the best.

Revisiting the State Capital

On an earlier break in the action today, I walked over to see some more of the State capital.  Today, I chose to enter the Capital from the west entrance as I had been told by one of our students that there was a great statue of Abraham Lincoln there.  While as a kid growing up, I enjoyed learning about Lincoln in school, it wasn’t until I read “Lincoln on Leadership” by Donald Phillips that I became a bigger fan.  Phillips’ book is a must read for anyone interested in leadership and management.

The statue is located on the West Mall (known as the Lincoln Mall).  The statue was created by Chester French who also created the monumental statue of a seated Lincoln in Washington D.C. at the Lincoln Memorial.

I also had the opportunity to go up to the 14^th floor of the Capital and venture outside on a very windy ledge to snap of few pictures of the Lincoln horizon.  It was quite a sight, and I’ve included a few pictures for your enjoyment.

Another really neat thing I found out about at the Nebraska State capital is that there’s a Peregrine falcon nest on the 18^th floor of the building.

Lastly, in an earlier post I mentioned that on top of the Capital is a bronze statue of the “Sower” created by Lee Lawrie”.  The Sower faces northwest (most of Nebraska is north and west of Lincoln).  While it may not big at first from the ground, he is 19 feet tall, perched atop a 13 foot-tall base, on top of the dome, which is 400 feet above the ground. He can be seen for nearly 20 miles.

He stands barefoot and without hat, sowing seeds in the most primitive manner. He is symbolic of the state of Nebraska as a major agricultural state. He is not merely sowing seeds of grain, but something much greater. He is the symbol of sowing the seeds of agriculture, life, hope and prosperity.

150 year Celebration of the Battle of Gettysburg

And speaking of Lincoln, both the city and the President, I’m reminded that from June 28 through July 7, 2013 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania they are celebrating the 150-year anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.

The Battle of Gettysburg was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and is often described as the war’s turning point.  Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade’s Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, ending Lee’s invasion of the North.

So you might be thinking, “Tim, what’s the tie back to Lincoln, Nebraska and CERT, to the Battle of Gettysburg?”  Well, that’s a great question, and here’s the hook.  FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI) is located about 15 miles away from Gettysburg, PA.  Students that come to EMI to attend classes, often take time to drive over and visit the battlefield grounds.  It’s that simple.

Here’s some travel pics for you to look at

Welcome to our CERT Program Manager class. Hey, who is that hansome instructor?

The Nebraska State Capital

The Lincoln statue

A great view from the 14th floor…

… and another view …

and another.

Not sure which state building this is, but I thought the statuary was interesting.

 

Hey, I can do this in Lincoln …..

Today was Day Two for our CERT Train-the-Trainer class, and everyone came back!  As an Instructor, it’s a great day when all of your students come back.

The importance of feedback

Yesterday, we discussed the importance of feedback.  Students need feedback to know how they are doing in class.  Instructors also need feedback to know how they are doing in class.  As a guy that views the glass as half-full vs half-empty, I’m of the belief it’s beneficial to have daily feedback from our students so that we can make “mid-course corrections” to improve and thereby deliver value through knowledge and experiences.  We shared with the class a fun exercise that we generally conduct at the end of the day, but it proved to be an equally great starter exercise first thing in the morning.  The purpose of the exercise is to obtain instant feedback from everyone in class, it’s that simple.

All you need to conduct the exercise is a soft ball that can be gently tossed between students.  We find the soft “koosh” balls work well.  For those not familiar with what a koosh ball is, I encourage you to watch Season 6, Episode 8 of the television program “King of Queens” that starred Kevin James and Leah Remini.  In this very funny episode, Doug lost the koosh ball Deacon got from his son and tries to get it back (“who-who”).

To conduct the exercise, we have everyone get up and form a circle with everyone facing the center of the circle.  One person has the koosh ball and then, they GENTLY (operative word) toss the ball to someone else in the circle.  That person catches the ball and again shares with the group one item that addresses what they liked about the class, or what they don’t like about the class, or what one thing they’ve learned that was new.  This process continues until everyone has had the chance to provide their feedback.

The exercise generally can be completed in about 15-20 minutes for a class of about 20 students.  For instructors, we get meaningful feedback in a relatively short time.  For students, the exercise provides the opportunity to get involved in their own learning and perhaps make things better for all.

Student “teach backs”

A key part of any successful train-the-trainer class is practice.  Future CERT instructors need to practice teaching the skills in the CERT Basic Training course, and they need to practice incorporating the information they are learning in the CERT Basic Train-the-Trainer course.  They also need to practice giving feedback

The process for the teach-back includes both preparation and presentation.

1. Students pair up and select a block of instruction pre-selected from the CERT Basic curriculum.
2. Students are given time to develop their presentation.  Paired “instructors” are expected to be active participants in their teach-back.  They are allotted 10 minutes to be equally shared.
3. While each pair of “instructors” is delivering their teach back, the other students fulfill the role of the “audience” in the class.
4. After each presentation, the “audience” will complete a feedback checklist.  The audience will also give “instructors” feedback orally.

Teach-backs always prove to be a very well-received exercise in this course.  While it’s true some are nervous when we first get started, when everything is said and done, everyone enjoys the opportunity to practice and improve!

The Nebraska State Capital

I want to close out this blog with sharing a quick stroll I took over to the State Capital Building.

Nebraska has to have one of the most unique Capitals I’ve seen.  While most Capitals are typically short with a domed rotunda, Nebraska has a rather tall Capital standing at 400 feet tall.  This is actually the third Capital building that’s been in the state.  It was completed in 1932 at a cost of $9.8 million and was paid in full – no debt!   Positioned on top of the Capital is a 19-feet tall, nine ton, statue created by Lee Lawrie called “the Sower”.

Inside the Capital, Nebraska’s one-house Legislature, the “Unicameral” meets.  In government, unicameralism is the practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber.

I think tomorrow I’m going to head back to the Capital and see more and learn more about the state.  Until then, here’s some pictures from today …

the Capital from a couple of blocks away. Notice the “Sower” on top?

Looking up from the Capital steps

Is this the front door or side door?

A gorgous hallway inside the Capital

Looking up at the Rotunda

The chamber where Nebraska’s Unicameral meets

Getting Started in Lincoln, Nebraska

Sunny, clear, a bit humid, and highs in the low 90’s.  We are having great weather in Lincoln, Nebraska.  You just can’t feel bad on a day like today.

We’re starting our Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Train-the-Trainer class.  We have 18 students in class for the next three days from across the State of Nebraska.  These dedicated 18 come from various walks of life including public safety, education, health and medical, as well as ordinary citizens that are looking to help their communities be better prepared.  There are two somewhat unique characteristics of this class.  Several students represent the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) and several others represent education, and more specifically community college and university.  While having different backgrounds, they come with a common goal – to learn how to be a more effective instructor of the CERT Basic training sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

This is my first trip to Nebraska, and that’s one of the reasons why I enjoy the blessing I’ve been given as a contracted instructor of the CERT program.  I’ve been able to travel around and see this great country of ours and meet the wonderful people that make up our communities.  CERT volunteers specifically have proven themselves to be a very committed group of people that want to give back to the community.

Nebraska has 11 registered Citizen Corps Councils spread across the state. If you aren’t familiar with Citizen Corps, the mission of Citizen Corps is to locally have a process and organizational structure in place to harness the power of every individual through education, training, and volunteer service.  Counsels can positively impact to a community’s ability to be safer, stronger, and better prepared to respond to the threats of terrorism, crime, public health issues, and disasters of all kinds.  There are five federally sponsored partner programs under the Citizen Corps umbrella including Fire Corps, USAonWatch, Medical reserve Corps (MRC), Volunteers in Police (VIPS), Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), and of course CERT.  Like other states in the country, many of the Nebraska CERT teams are very active and functional.  On the other end of the spectrum, there are teams that are either just starting or are reengineering themselves.

The core concept of CERT is preparing individuals to take care of themselves and families when a disaster occurs.    The range of disasters is great across the United States.  In Nebraska, according to the Nebraska’s Risk Assessment Survey results ( http://www.nema.ne.gov/pdf/hazmitplan.pdf ), the state has identified the following risks:

High Risk

• Thunderstorm
• Severe Winter Storm
• Tornado
• Terrorism

Medium Risk

• Drought
• Agricultural
• Flooding
• Wildfire
• Chemical

Low Risk

• Earthquake

While CERT voluteers may not ever be directly involved in response activities to any of these risks, they certainly can help themselves and their families (and their neighbors) become better prepared for most, if not all of them.  And by being better prepared that translates into less demand on our public safety system.

Tower Building Exercise

One of the “hands-on” exercises we did in class this morning was the infamous “Tower Building” exercise.  The purpose of the exercise is to introduce the participants to each other and illustrate the types of skills and abilities that CERTs require.

I really like this exercise and have used it (and variations of it) in other training classes I’ve conducted.  I want to share the instructions with you in case you want to use it in training you might conduct (i.e. Leadership, Project Management, etc.).

Here’s a list of the items needed to conduct the exercise:

• Scissors (1 for every 5 participants)
• Tape (1 roll for every 5 participants)
• Two pieces of cardboard, approximately 8 by 10 inches  (1 set for every 5 participants)
• Forty pieces of construction paper, 8.5 by 11 inches (1 set for every 5 participants)

And here’s how we make the magic happen:

1. Assign the participants to groups of five
2. Distribute the materials to each group
3. Tell the groups that they will spend the next 10 minutes planning and designing a freestanding tower that stands at least 5 feet tall from the bottom of the structure to the top.  Explain that you will tell the groups when to begin and that they will have 5 minutes from that point to construct the tower.  Emphasize that the first 5 minutes is for planning only.
4. Tell the groups when to begin their work and when to end.

At the end of the allotted time, facilitate a group discussion of what the groups have learned through the exercise.  Keep in mind that the exercise is not intended to be just an “ice-breaker.”  The exercise also demonstrates how unfamiliar people can work on an unfamiliar problem under unfamiliar conditions and in a time-compressed environment to reach a common goal.  These are the conditions under which CERTs will need to work to reach desired outcomes.

Well, at the close of the day we ended up where we planned and we seemed to have shared a lot of knowledge.  Tomorrow, we’ll continue to work on our instructional skills including our first of two student teach-backs.  We’ll also continue to review the material in the basic CERT class.  I hope you’ll come back and check-in with us.

I’ll leave you with a couple of class pictures.

Our room setup just before the start of class.

Mr. Ryan Lowry, Nebraska State Citizen Corps/Medical Reserve Corps Coordinator welcomes the class to Day 1.

fellow instructor “Joe” leading a unit of instruction.

One group building their tower. Great teamwork!

A little debriefing about the Tower building.