Please mark your calendars to attend Celebrate Lakewood Ranch. LWR CERT will be hosting a celebration at Greenbrook Adventure Park Saturday, Jan. 22 in recognition of our 15 years of service to the Lakewood Ranch community. We will honor our members, including several who have been involved for our entire 15 years! There will be plenty of fun activities and a surprise for each member who attends. I hope to see you there!

President, LWR CERT

Team Captains will be dropping off their Team Kits Saturday, Dec. 4. Captains should bring your Team Kits, First Aid sign, pry bar and any outstanding waivers from your team members. Remember to keep your IC radio.

Posing for the traditional Basic Training graduation photo on Nov. 6 are Lt. Day (left), Ryan Shipp, Bill Martin, Terry Scott, FF. Gingras, Janice Scott, Thomas Kitchen (Emergency Management), Andrew Williamson, Elaine Williamson, Anita Machlin, Hilary Harter, Herbert (Bud) Goetzinger, Pat Flinton, Craig Hullinger, Robert Flinton, Paula Grammas, Sebastian Ilka, Maureen Corristan, Robert Markow, Bill Corristan, FF. Thomas, Susan Mahoney, FF. Garback (Lead Instructor), George Jenckes, FF Garofalo and Lt. Krajacic. Not pictured: Cynthia Olcott (current member audited course)

Interested in attending a free Basic Training Course? You have several options.

Thanks to Jan Kuhn for organizing the TC presentations and to Rich Raymond for handing out the Smart Cookie awards.

Our Team Captains never cease to amaze! These five stepped up during the Annual Meeting to share some of their favorite tips.

Topics included what to say and not to say to a survivor, steel-toed tennis shoes and how to use cribbing in your home, packing your backpack for top efficiency, how to re-organize your team kit, and pet safety during an emergency.

Our thanks to presenters (clockwise from top left), Jan Kuhn (Team Captain Coordinator and Team 11 TC), Jean Hritz (Team 22 TC), Pat Knowles (Team 17 TC), Connie Farmer (Team 26 TC) and Eileen O'Neill (Team 30 co-TC).

More than 60 members attended the hybrid Annual Meeting and Election Nov. 3. The Election was also held hybrid with all attending members able to scan a QR code to vote virtually. 50 members voted -- 41 cast their ballots electronically; 9 at Town Hall chose to use paper ballots.

The members overwhelmingly elected the three candidates to three-year terms on the Board. After the Annual Meeting, a Special Board Meeting was held to elect officers.

Congratulations to (from left) Jim Emanuelson, Nigel Pilling, and Rich Raymond, who were each elected to 3-year terms on the Board.

President - Jim Emanuelson

Vice President - Dave Cashbaugh

Treasurer - Pat Knowles

Liaison - Valerie Stafford-Mallis

Team Captain Coordinator - Jan Kuhn

Hilary Harter

Craig Hullinger

George Jenckes

Bill Martin

Janice Scott

Terry Scott

Ryan Shipp

Stan Schuer resigned from LWR CERT last month. He was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation for his service to the LWR CERT community as Hub 2, an important function in the Emergency Radio Communications Network.

Stan was responsible for handling radio communications between teams 20, 21, 22 and 26 and our Incident Commander during activations.

Enjoy retirement, Stan!

Deb Diven received a Certificate of Appreciation as she finishes her 3-year term on the Board. During her term, Deb served as Liaison to our County partners including the East Manatee Fire Rescue, Manatee County Sheriff and the Manatee County CERT Coalition.

Deb has accepted a new position as our Interim Manager of Neighborhood Engagement, helping residents learn about LWR CERT and guiding them through Basic Training enrollment.

Steve Litschauer serves as chief of Manatee County Emergency Management and is a supporter of LWR CERT.

Steve has shared his experiences and enthusiasm at member meeting, our public events and regularly participates in Basic Training.

We congratulate Steve on his years of service and look forward to many more years of working with him!

Happy December birthday to members Becky Bertram, Donna Donato, Patsy Gasaway, Roger Grossel, Craig Hullinger, Karen Lilly and Christine Zieg.

Emergency Communications Radio Network Test - Members of the Radio Communications Committee including Frank Giannone, Jim Emanuelson and Tim Sherer conducted a radio network test with new Basic Training graduates Ryan Shipp and Bud Goetzinger to test the communication capability for a possible external hub location. The RCC will discuss the results at their next meeting.

House Numbering - Based on recent exercises, the LWR Board identified an issue with the visibility of house numbers and raised this issue to the HOAs and the IDA for their consideration.

Backpack Refresh - Now that we're out of Hurricane Season, take a few minutes to empty out your backpack and see if any of your supplies need to be replaced. Bandages get brittle and yellow or packaging may have torn, making them unsterile. You can get free replacements of all backpack items, except batteries. Just let your Team Captain know what you need and he/she will make arrangements with our Logistics team. Your backpack will be ready for the 2022 season.

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