May 2021

Hurricane Prep week starts May 9. It's never too early to start preparing. Register for our virtual 2021 Hurricane Prep session below.

From the top

Hurricane Preparation
We have friends and neighbors who will prepare for a hurricane…when it’s too late. They will be in the middle of the panic buying of water and supplies as a hurricane is bearing down on our area. They get frustrated when they can’t find what they want in the stores. That’s a sign that our neighbors are not prepared for the season. Hurricane Preparedness Week is May 9-15, 2021. Help educate your neighbors to prepare when the weather is nice, so they are not panicking as the weather is turning nasty. LWR CERT is offering a free Hurricane Preparedness session on May 26. Details are below in this newsletter. Please invite your neighbors to register for this virtual meeting at lwrcert.org/events.
 
Board Update
At our April meeting, our Board of Directors elected Dave Cashbaugh to fill the vacancy on our Board. Dave retired as a Captain from the US Navy after serving 24 years as a Navy Officer; he brings significant leadership experience to our Board. Join us in welcoming Dave to our Board.
 
Hurricane Athena
Thank you to our members who participated in the Hurricane Athena communications and activation exercise in April. We practiced as if Hurricane Athena was coming to Lakewood Ranch. Ninety-six, yes 96, of our members were checked-in via radio to our hubs for this exercise. It was great to “hear” the involvement after a year of pandemic lockdowns. Thank you to our wonderful volunteer members for your efforts to help our neighborhoods stay resilient to emergencies!

Jim Emanuelson
President, LWR CERT
850.396.2695
Upcoming: May 6 Member Meeting
Review of Hurricane Athena activation exercise
Local vet to discuss animal encounters during disaster
The next Member Meeting is set for this Thursday, May 6 at 7 PM. It should be an educational and interesting session. More than 55 members have already registered.

We'll start the meeting with a review of the Hurricane Athena exercise that had more than 90% of the teams participating in a simulation of our activation communications followed by a radio check by almost 100 members.

In addition to a review of the Hurricane Athena Exercise and lessons learned, the meeting will feature Dr. Terry Clekis, Medical Director and co-owner of Braden River Animal Hospital.

Dr. Clekis will present "It's Raining Cats and Dogs; Now What?" He is currently working with the Manatee County Emergency Management Operations Center and Steve Litschauer on dealing with animals during a disaster.
The May Member meeting is a 2021 Active Responder qualifying event.
Upcoming Public Event:
Hurricane Prep: Keep Your Home and Family Safe
The first of this year's public Hurricane Preparedness educational sessions is set for Wednesday, May 26 beginning at 7 PM and will be virtual. Registration is required to receive log-in information.

Register at lwrcert.org/events

This is a free virtual event open to the public. Sharing the registration website information with family, friends and neighbors is encouraged.

This year's Hurricane Prep session has been updated to include information about 2020 hurricanes and the pandemic's continuing impact on preparations. Thank you to Pat Knowles for agreeing to return as the featured speaker.

The public Hurricane Prep session is a 2021 Active Responder qualifying event.
Recap:
Hurricane Athena hits LWR as Cat 4 storm
Members "activated" to serve their neighborhoods
Hurricane Athena hit LWR with all she had on Friday, April 16.

As the storm approached, members responded to their Group Leaders that they were willing and able to activate to save their neighbors, should the need arise.

THANK YOU to all those who responded to activate including our amazing Radio Hub Operators. Our Medical Advisor, Dr. Rich Paul, made surprise check ins with each radio hub to see if any medical issues needed to be addressed.

Thank you, too, to the Team Captains and Group Leaders who stepped up and took charge of their teams/groups and led them through the activation process from initial availability response through radio checks. The radio issues that were discovered will be remedied in plenty of time for this year's hurricane season.
Members who participated in the Hurricane Athena activation exercise earned credit toward 2021 Active Responder status.
Congratulations!
Dave Cashbaugh named to LWR CERT Board
The members of the LWR CERT Board unanimously voted to add Dave Cashbaugh to their Board during their April meeting to fill a vacancy. The Board voted to take this opportunity to even out the term-ending dates of its members. Dave's term will run from April 12, 2021 through December 31, 2023.

A Nominating Committee, comprised of Jan Kuhn, Valerie Stafford-Mallis and Rich Raymond, interviewed several candidates for the position before nominating Dave. Dave graduated from Basic Training in September 2019. Since then, he has been an active member and currently serves as the Operations Manager. Dave was the driving force behind the Hurricane Athena activation exercise. Dave also created and manages the member side of the LWR CERT website, www.lwrcert.org/member.
Congratulations!
Additional members reach 2021 Active Responder status
After participating in numerous LWR CERT events through the end of April, including the Hurricane Athena activation exercise, 124 members have already earned Tier 1 2021 Active Responder status and 46 members have earned Tier 2 Active Responder status. Congratulations to our newest members who are listed here!

Tier 1 members receive a removable car sticker so they can proudly display their status on their vehicle. Tier 2 members receive a backpack booster item sure to be helpful during activation. Awards for those named in this newsletter will be distributed to their team captains during Team Kit Pick Up on May 22.

The 2021 Active Responder qualification criteria may be found in the member section of our website.
Team Kit Pick Up Set for Saturday, May 22
Attention TCs! The day you have been waiting for is finally here.

Team Kit Pick Up Day
Saturday, May 22
9 - 10:30 AM

In addition to receiving three tubs filled with important activation supplies, TCs will also receive Active Responder awards earned by their team members for their distribution.
Member News and Things to Know
happy_birthday_cupcake.jpg
Happy May birthday to members Pablo Acevedo, Laura Adcock, Richard Ade, Norman Baillie, David Benfer, Annette Buhr, Larry Clemons, Ray Culver, Karen Emanuelson, Polly Greene, Paul Jackowski, Sue Joy-Sobota, Stan Niemi, Alan Silverglat, Jerry Swanson, Elizabeth Trencheny, Brenda Vertuca, Celia Williams, and Judy Williams.

Team Captain Changes: Thank you to Team Captain Kris Hoekman, for agreeing to add Team 10 members to her Team 7 and to Team Captain Joe Butch who has agreed to add Team 21 members to his Team 22 . We really appreciate you two taking on these additional responsibilities and members. Thank you also to Ken Bertram, who agreed to take over as Team Captain of Team 20. LWR CERT can't function efficiently without our vital team captains. We appreciate all TCs for all they do to keep our members engaged and our neighbors safe.

Thank you to Margaret Davis, who has stepped up to help with recruiting efforts. Margaret is working with Membership Manager Tom Hickey to contact the 80 Phase 1 residents on the Basic Training waitlist to fill the first Basic Training course, expected to be conducted in June.

Kudos to Pat Knowles, who recently completed the 18-hour online portion of the new hybrid Basic Training. Pat is working with Sarasota County officials and will be teaching sections of the required in-class Basic Training during their June course, helping LWR CERT prepare for possibly offering hybrid Basic Training to Manatee County residents.

The Training Committee is working on offering a CPR/AED Training session for members in June. Watch for details in the June newsletter.

The Training Committee is also planning to conduct its first in-person Basic Training course since the pandemic beginning June 2. There are currently more than 80 LWR residents on the Basic Training waitlist. We can't wait to meet, train and welcome our newest members!

Save the Date - GL Training: Group Leader training has been set for the morning of Saturday, July 10. Details will be sent to Group Leaders in the coming weeks.

Weather-Ready Nation - Click here to read the April newsletter from the NOAA, including information about rip currents.
Volunteer Opportunities
In light of the Board's recent expansion of the LWR CERT Mission Statement to include providing safety support for our community, we are sharing individual volunteer opportunities our members may wish to consider.

Local Feeding Events - Feeding Tampa Bay
  • Manatee County Mega Pantry: Every Tuesday 3 - 6 PM (feed 900+ families) Location: Desoto Mall, Hungry Howie's side, 303 301 Blvd W, Bradenton 34205 
Have a volunteer opportunity you'd like to share in an upcoming newsletter? Email details and links to: Communications@LWRCERT.org
Upcoming LWR CERT Meetings and Training
Meetings take place virtually unless otherwise noted and are open to all members

Communications/15th Anniversary Planning Committee - Video Call - Tuesday, May 4 at 4 PM - email for login information
Member Meeting - Virtual - Thursday, May 6 at 7 PM. Register to receive login info
Board Meeting - Video Call - Monday, May 10 at 7 PM
Operations Committee - Video Call - Thursday, May 13 at 6 PM
Radio Communications Committee - Video Call - Wednesday, May 19 at 7 PM
Team Kit Pick Up - Saturday, May 22 9-10:30 AM
Hurricane Prep Public Event - Video Call - Wednesday, May 26 at 7 PM Register to receive login info
Basic Training - Begins June 2 through June 26. Details provided to registered students.
LWR CERT Executive Committee

President - Jim Emanuelson
Vice President - Jan Kuhn
Treasurer - Pat Knowles
Liaison - Deb Diven

LWR CERT 941.404.8606
Newsletter Editor - Karen Emanuelson, Communications Manager

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