Batavia, OH – Clermont County Developmental Disabilities received an Honorable Mention for Outstanding Local Citizen Corps Initiative in the 2013 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Awards. The Individual and Community Preparedness Awards recognize innovative programs and individuals that have improved preparedness and resiliency in their community. From the nearly 200 applications, FEMA selected a winner for each of the seven award categories. An additional twenty-eight applicants were recognized with the honorable mention designation. Clermont County Developmental Disabilities was one of only twopresented to programs in Ohio. The awards were announced on September 18th, 2013.
Clermont County Developmental Disabilities (DD) receivedthis honor for their coordination of the Volunteer Reception Center following the March 2, 2012 EF3 tornado that impacted the Village of Moscow and Franklin, Tate, and Washington Townships. The Volunteer Reception Center initiative was developed in the late 2000’s to register, screen, and coordinate spontaneous volunteers during large scale emergencies. Immediately following the storm, Clermont County DD established an information hotline to gather information on potential volunteers including specialized skills and availability. On Saturday, March 3, 2013, a mobile Volunteer Reception Center was set up to register volunteers, match skill-sets to appropriate tasks, provide safety briefings and ensure that volunteers had the proper protective equipment. The mobile Volunteer Reception Center was operational for 9 continuous days and processed over 1,000 volunteers.
“Clermont County DD is an amazing organization. They havededicated staff, resources and time to developing the Volunteer Reception Center capability. It is a tremendous undertaking to coordinate and oversee the hundreds of spontaneous and well-intentioned volunteers that responded to help. Clermont County DD is very deserving of this great honor,” said Pam Broughton, Director of the Clermont County Emergency Management Agency.
For a complete list of the 2013 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Award recipients, visitwww.ready.gov/citizen-corps-awards.
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Content provided by: Pam Broughton, Clermont County EMA Director.
For additional information about this or other county news, contact Clermont County Communications Director Annette Meagher at (513) 441-9647 or by e-mail, ameagher@clermontcountyohio.gov
