Coronavirus cases are increasing in our area. Unfortunately, the August behind-the-scenes member tour of the Manatee County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has been cancelled to help protect the health and safety of the EOC employees. We will continue to monitor Covid in our community and its impact on our remaining scheduled in-person events.

President, LWR CERT

On July 6, Hurricane Elsa passed near the Sarasota- Bradenton area. Forecasts indicated Elsa might bring 58-73 MPH winds and a storm surge greater than 3 feet in parts of our response area.

The LWR CERT Executive Committee decided to move to Readiness Condition 2 (ALERT) at 9 AM that day. This meant that a Readiness Condition 1 (ACTIVATE) was automatic after the storm passed.

LWR CERT successfully completed a Damage Assessment Activation despite this being only the second activation in our organization’s history. The LWR CERT Incident Commander received damage assessments from 18 active teams by 10:34 AM on July 7. More than 85 members activated. A damage assessment report was relayed to Manatee County via Manatee County ARES using Winlink.

Thank you to the LWR CERT members who activated for Elsa and those who responded to pre-storm messages to let us know you were out of town or otherwise unable to activate. We appreciate the efforts of our Team Captains, Group Leaders, Hubs and our Operations Manager, Dave Cashbaugh. Lakewood Ranch was fortunate to escape major damage from Elsa -- areas to our south and east endured major flooding from this storm.

Members of Team 8 conducted a complete activation for Elsa. Led by Group Leader Mike Staley, Sam Mallis, Cynthia Olcott, Karen Lilly, Patt Staley, Paul Jackowski and Valerie Stafford-Mallis helped clear streets in Summerfield Woods.

Members who activate for a storm are automatically awarded Tier 2 Active Responder status. Share your team photos. Email them to communications@lwrcert.org.

The next Hurricane Prep event is set for

This important hurricane preparedness information event is free and open to the public. Doors will open 30 minutes early for viewing of the Hurricane Prep supplies display.

More than 50 residents attended the July 22 Hurricane Prep event at LWR Town Hall where they socially-distanced while learning tips on how to keep their homes and families safe during hurricanes. Thank you to all who participated in this educational session.

Visit www.lwrcert.org/events for details on future LWR public educational events.

LWR CERT is pleased to announce three members have stepped up into new roles as managers within the organization.

Bruce joined LWR CERT in August 2019, He serves as Team Captain and Group Leader for Team 9 in Summerfield Glades. Bruce is responsible for keeping accurate records of all our members along with their most updated contact information. He'll use his IT background to analyze team and volunteer data. Bruce also tracks member activities, Active Responder credits, and Active Responder Tier 1 and Tier 2 awards.

Eddie graduated from Basic Training in June 2021. He is a member of Team 36 in Ashland in the Country Club. Eddie is responsible for managing the inventory of our supplies in our storage units, preparing backpacks for our new members, coordinating the annual Team Kit pick-ups and drop-offs, and tracking returned backpacks and radios from resigning members.

To prepare for the current hurricane season, Group Leaders attended a workshop at Town Hall Saturday, July 10. They discussed the 2021 Activation process with Activation Manager Dave Cashbaugh, learned the importance of the new waiver form from President Jim Emanuelson, tested their IC radios with Frank Giannone (Hub 6), and practiced a new first aid skill, the Jaw Thrust Maneuver, with Pat Knowles and Brenda Nusbaum.

The two (recently named) LWR CERT manikins, Homer and Jerome, played key roles at Town Hall last month, helping more than 20 members learn Hands-Only CPR. The 90-minute training was conducted by American Heart Association-certified CPR instructor and LWR CERT Team Captain Connie Farmer. Attendees also learned how to use an AED and how to save choking adults and children.

Thanks to Valerie Voutsas and Stephen Voutsas for sharing their photos of the event.

Mark Boutote

Paul Drzal

Anne Goyer

Andy Goyer

Bill Sgro

Jeff Williams

Pablo Acevedo

Laura Adcock

Eileen Amesbury

Michael Baillie

Mary Balazic

Tricia Bauer

Tom Bishop

Stephen Bloom

Mark Boutote

Jerry Buhr

Marty Burton

Paul Catalano

Barb Clemons

Kay Culliton

Jim Curran

Mike Defferding

Sharon Defferding

Don Diven

Paul Drzal

David Forgash

Amy Franceschini

Frank Giannone

Anne Goyer

Andy Goyer

Polly Greene

Stephen Greene

Joan Grossel

Roger Grossel

Tony Gula

Barbara Hickey

Paul Jackowski

Irene Jimenez

Bill Leatham

Jack Mathews

Michael Miller

Mike Modisett

John Oakes

Cynthia Olcott

Julie Russell

Eddie Russell

Marty Saia

Mollie Saia

Stan Schuer

Bill Sgro

Art Taber

Robert Thompson

Valerie Voutsas

Douglas Webber

Jeff Williams

Lorraine Wright

Radio Communications Committee: Our Hub Operators have held their positions for many years -- in some cases, more than a decade -- and they are looking for a few special members willing to learn how to serve as Hub Operators during times of activation. You supply the brain power, and LWR CERT supplies all the equipment. We will even provide resources for you to pass your FCC exam! Contact Interim Radio Communications Committee Manager Jim Emanuelson.

15th Anniversary Celebration: We're planning a community-wide celebration at Adventure Park on Jan. 22, 2022 and need more volunteers to ensure the event is a success. We'd love to hear your ideas for who to include in our lineup of partnering organizations, how we should get the community excited to attend, and which food trucks we should invite. We need planning help in the coming months as well as "boots on the ground" day-of event help, so let us know how and where you'd like to pitch in. Contact 15th Anniversary Celebration Coordinator Karen Emanuelson.

Happy August birthday to members Paul Drzal, Kathy Epstein-Leis, Frank Giannone, Jean Hritz, Gordon Kuhn, Jeffrey Mull, Don O'Leary, Bill Plerhoples, Richard Raymond, Teresa Reeck, Eddie Russell, and Lorraine Wright.

Test of LWR CERT Emergency Radio Communications Network - Group Leaders and Hubs will perform a quarterly test of the ERCN Saturday, Aug. 14 beginning at 9 AM. GLs and Hubs should watch their emails for registration information and details.

Thank you to Pat Knowles who, until recently, served as our Logistics Manager. You've probably seen Pat at a LWR CERT function (or two). In addition to his previous role as Manager of Logistics, Pat is also a board member, a member of our Executive Committee, our Treasurer, a key Basic Training First Aid instructor, AND our amazing public Hurricane Prep feature speaker. We thank him for his years (and hours of work) as Logistics Manager and for his continued contributions in so many other ways!

Thank you to Tom Hickey, who, until recently, served as our Membership Manager. Tom's data analysis skills were instrumental in helping the organization better understand where to focus recruiting efforts to build up teams in unrepresented neighborhoods. He also served as Team Captain Liaison. Tom remains an active member and Team Captain for Team 32.

Thank you to Jan Kuhn who has stepped up as our new Team Captain and Group Leader Liaison. Jan serves as Team Captain for Team 11 and is also Vice President and a member of the Executive Committee. TCs and GLs are encouraged to reach out to Jan.

Sarasota County Basic Training - Interested in joining CERT? Sarasota County Emergency Management is offering Basic Training at State College of Florida in Lakewood Ranch. This free course is offered through 6 sessions. Registration deadline is Aug. 13. Click here for details and registration.

Emergency Alert Test - FEMA will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) on Wednesday, Aug. 11 beginning at 2:20 PM. For consumers who have opted in to receive WEA test messages, the message that appears on their phones will read: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”

Neighbor Outreach - Thank you to Matt Cangemi and Eileen O'Neil for their efforts to encourage their neighbors to learn more about LWR CERT. They wrote a great article for the July Weston neighborhood newsletter. Reach out to Matt and Eileen if you'd like a copy to use to promote LWR CERT to your neighbors.

Town Hall Mask Policy: Effective Thursday, July 29, all visitors and staff will be required to wear masks while inside LWR Town Hall regardless of their vaccination status. You may remove your mask when you are properly social distanced from others (at least 6 feet apart).

The most basic use of an emergency blanket is as a blanket, helping to keep a survivor who may be in shock warm. Mylar blankets are waterproof and can also be used to keep a survivor dry.

Emergency blankets can be crafted into a makeshift splint to immobile a broken or sprained arm or leg. Use strips of the blanket to secure sticks or even a rigid magazine around the limb. You can also use a blanket as an improvised arm sling.

A mylar blanket can keep the contents of a backpack dry by placing everything in the blanket, then wrapping it prior to placing it in the pack. It can be a makeshift tablecloth or used to create a clean surface for a survivor to sit on.

Have a volunteer opportunity you'd like to share in an upcoming newsletter? Email details and links to: Communications@LWRCERT.org