Avagene Moore: Welcome to the EIIP Virtual Forum! ... Avagene Moore: On behalf of my EIIP Partner, Amy Sebring, and myself, it is a pleasure to welcome each of you to the first Virtual Forum for this fiscal year. ... Avagene Moore: I will be your moderator today and will give a few instructions before we introduce our speakers. Avagene Moore: Let's review the format for the session, since it has been awhile and we have some first-timers with us today. Avagene Moore: We will be starting with a presentation that will include some slides. I will be putting up a URL, and when you see a blue link in the chat window, please click on it. Avagene Moore: The slide should open in a separate browser window. We will pause to give you time to view it, then you will need to bring your chat window back to the top when you are finished. Avagene Moore: Subsequent slides may not bring your browser window to the top automatically, so you may need to do it manually. Please note that the slides will be posted after the session with a transcript ... Avagene Moore: so you will be also able to review them later. Following the presentation we will have time for your questions. Avagene Moore: We will review how we do that right before we start that portion of the program. You may also wish to jot your questions down as we go along so you will remember them by the time we get to Q&A. Avagene Moore: Please do not send private messages to our speaker or moderator (me) as we have our hands full. If you need assistance, you may send a private message to Amy. Avagene Moore: And now to our guests ... Avagene Moore: We are delighted to introduce our speakers to discuss the Citizen Corps Councils concept from the federal, state and local perspectives. Each of these ladies have very interesting backgrounds and are very accomplished women. Avagene Moore: Please take the time to read the bios on the background page after our session if you have not previously done so. Avagene Moore: To talk about the federal perspective, we have Elizabeth DiGregorio from FEMA. Ms DiGregorio joined FEMA in 1980 as a disaster assistance employee. She became a full-time employee in 1982 and moved to FEMA Headquarters in 1988. ... Avagene Moore: Ms DiGregorio was appointed chief of staff by FEMA Director Allbaugh in July 2001. She is now the FEMA liaison to the White House for Citizen Corps and is responsible for developing the national strategy for Citizen Corps and for overall coordination of the program's implementation. ... Avagene Moore: Second in our lineup of speakers is Christine Harvey from Tucson Arizona. Ms Harvey is the author of 6 business books published in 22 languages. She is experienced in communications and leadership training around the world having lived in London and Brussels for 23 years. ... Avagene Moore: She is a Past President of the London Chamber of Commerce. Currently Ms Harvey owns Intrinsic Marketing and is also the Chair of the Citizen Council for Homeland Security of Southern Arizona. ... Avagene Moore: Third, but not least, we are pleased to introduce Leanne Durm, a native of Lynchburg Tennessee. Ms Durm has been actively involved in public service throughout her career. Prior to her current position, she was employed with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) as a Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)/Domestic Preparedness Training Officer for two years. ... Avagene Moore: She also worked for U.S. Senator Fred Thompson for three years in Washington DC. Ms Durm is now the Director of Volunteer Programs for the State of Tennessee Office of Homeland Security, a position that promotes Citizen Corps and works to maximize Citizen Corps Councils throughout the State of Tennessee.... Avagene Moore: Ladies, we welcome you here today. We will start the formal part of our presentation by asking a few questions of each of our speakers. When we have interviewed all three, I will give you instructions for the protocol for asking questions of our guests. ... Avagene Moore: Ms DiGregorio - Liz, will you please tell us the history of the Citizen Corps? Liz DiGregorio: Thank you, Avagene and welcome to everyone... Liz DiGregorio: I appreciate this wonderful technological opportunity... Amy Sebring: (stand by pls, we are having trouble with the wonderful technology) Steve Busch: ok Avagene Moore: Just a moment folks. Amy Sebring: Ok, I am going to input Liz's prepared remarks ... Amy Sebring: she will however be able to answer your questions later ... Amy Sebring: the question was ... Amy Sebring: Liz, will you please tell us the history of the Citizen Corps? Amy Sebring: Citizen Corps was created in January 2002 as part of President Bush's USA Freedom Corps, Call to Service. The purpose of Citizen Corps is to create ways to engage all Americans in protecting the homeland by making their communities safer, stronger and better prepared to handle any type of threat, emergency or disaster. Amy Sebring: This is done by creating Citizen Corps Councils and other volunteer opportunities at the state and community levels that will foster the mission of community, family and individual preparedness and awareness; training individuals to be better prepared, and creating volunteer opportunities where citizens can actively support their local first responders. Amy Sebring: To start the program at the national level, the Administration identified five "national " programs. They are Neighborhood Watch, Volunteers in Police Services and Operation TIPS all managed through the Department of Justice; Medical Reserve Corps managed through HHS, and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Training managed by FEMA. Amy Sebring: FEMA also is responsible for creating the Councils and coordinating the overall program. FEMA also developed a process to have other national level organizations whose programs support the Citizen Corps mission join as "affiliate" members. Currently, the National Fire Prevention Association is an affiliate member. Many more are anticipated this coming year. Amy Sebring: FEMA also established a national Citizen Corps Council made up of key leaders in the fire, law enforcement, emergency management, medical, volunteer, non-profit, and corporate communities. This Council will meet to exchange ideas and share information on how to create a better preparedness citizenry. Amy Sebring: Please visit www.citizencorps.gov later and get a full description of the program and download the Guide! Avagene Moore: Liz, how is this different from existing volunteer organizations in our cities and counties? Amy Sebring: Citizen Corps and the Citizen Corps Councils use the existing resources. It does NOT set up a new volunteer organization... See the chart at: Amy Sebring: http://www.emforum.org/vforum/ccc/slide01.htm Amy Sebring: Because the state and local leaders drive this, we have intentionally given a community many options of how to form a Council and initiate Citizen Corps. Amy Sebring: For example, some communities are tapping into existing homeland security planning committees that have the first responder and community leaders already on board and adding a preparedness and citizen volunteer component. Amy Sebring: Others are tapping into the EPA Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs); others are reorganizing the Project Impact committees. Amy Sebring: The goal is to have the citizens actively involved in their community's preparedness, We want to make this work for them, so we welcome many different models to getting citizens involved with existing volunteer groups and the local leadership. Amy Sebring: Some key volunteer partners are AmeriCorps and American Red Cross. We are also working with many others and with the State Commissions on Volunteers to bring together the first responder and the volunteer communities. Avagene Moore: I assume forming a Citizen Corps Council gives more structure to the local community volunteer effort - who makes up the Citizen Corps Council? Amy Sebring: To date, we have more than 215 local citizen corps councils across the country. Please see the website for a full listing in your state. Amy Sebring: As mentioned, each state and local government forms the council somewhat differently and we encourage it. Generally, community leaders are on the Council. Groups such as the local fire, law enforcement, emergency management, emergency medical are standard. Amy Sebring: Business leaders, school and university leaders, as well as any special needs population representatives and the active volunteer and non-profit leaders are also on the Council. Amy Sebring: For example, The US Junior Chamber of Commerce, USJAYCEES have pledged to have all 2000 of their chapters support citizen corps at the local level. These members should be part of the Council when formed. Amy Sebring: In Orlando, Fl, Universal Studios is a major player on the Council because they are such a big part of the community. Others, such as Tucson, have highlighted schools and have created a "corps" within the Council that deals with all school related issues. Avagene Moore: How does the Citizen Corps Council work with other volunteer efforts, i.e., a Red Cross Chapter, Senior Citizen Corps, or Points of Light? Amy Sebring: We consider the existing volunteer groups our key partners! For example, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) which is responsible for AmeriCorps recently released over 10M in grants to get volunteers engaged in homeland security. Amy Sebring: This "volunteer network" will work with the local and state governments to implement many aspects of Citizen Corps. In the State of Rhode Island, the State level Citizen Corps Council is collaboration between the State Emergency Management Office and the American Red Cross. ARC actually chairs the Council. Amy Sebring: Also, with the DOJ programs, it is in collaboration with the National Sheriff's Association that Neighborhood Watch is expanding and DOJ collaborates with the International Association of Police Chiefs to create and implement the Volunteers in Police Services programs. Avagene Moore: What types of programs are included in the Citizens Corps? Amy Sebring: See the chart for the existing programs, but many many more will become "affiliates." The theme of these programs is engaging every American in actively participating in making their communities and families safer and better prepared ... Amy Sebring: by offering opportunities for public education and outreach, citizen training, and volunteer programs that relate to crime prevention, emergency preparedness and mitigation, public health needs. Amy Sebring: by offering opportunities for public education and outreach, citizen training, and volunteer programs that relate to crime prevention, emergency preparedness and mitigation, public health needs. Amy Sebring: See http://www.emforum.org/vforum/ccc/slide02.htm Avagene Moore: What kind of funding is available for this effort and how do communities participate? Liz DiGregorio: It is important to recognize that the 10 statewide councils and the 215 local councils all started major Citizen Corps initiatives WITHOUT federal funding! The federal funds will help to greatly jumpstart the program and get a national initiative going a lot faster and with some common themes. Liz DiGregorio: FEMA currently has 21M dollars that it is distributing to state and local governments in the form of grants. The grant dollars are provided to the states based on the USA Patriots Act allocation formula (a base percentage plus population) and 75% must be passed down to the local governments. The funds are to be used to engage communities in CERT training and to help locals develop Citizen Corps Councils. Liz DiGregorio: HHS just released 2M dollars in competitive grants (up to 50K per applicant) for Medical Reserve Corps demonstration projects. A full listing of the awards is on their website.... HHS just released 2M dollars in competitive grants (up to 50K per applicant) for Medical Reserve Corps demonstration projects. A full listing of the awards is on their website.... Liz DiGregorio: FEMA currently has a request for FY 03 funds. The Administration requested 233 M. Currently numbers ranging from 15M for CERT training only and 30 M for Citizen Corps (councils and training) are being discussed with the Congressional appropriators. We hope to secure FY 03 funding in order to meet the homeland security goals for this program.FEMA currently has a request for FY 03 funds. The Administration requested 233 M. Currently numbers ranging from 15M for CERT training only and 30 M for Liz DiGregorio: FEMA currently has a request for FY 03 funds. The Administration requested 233 M. Currently numbers ranging from 15M for CERT training only and 30 M for Citizen Corps (councils and training) are being discussed with the Congressional appropriators. We hope to secure FY 03 funding in order to meet the homeland security goals for this program. Avagene Moore: Thank you, Liz! .... Avagene Moore: And now we turn to Ms Harvey from the Citizen Council for Homeland Security of Southern Arizona. ... Avagene Moore: Christine, when was your Citizen Corps Council for Homeland Security started? Christine Harvey: Hi all.. Christine Harvey: Ava, can you go ahead and put in the prepared answers? Amy Sebring: I will do it Ava. Avagene Moore: Sure, thanks Amy. Amy Sebring: We started 10 days after 9/11 and called ourselves "Operation Safe Tucson." After our Mayor (Bob Walkup) met with President Bush and 13 other Mayors about Citizen Corps, we transitioned into a Citizen Corps Council. Today we call ourselves "Citizens Council for Homeland Security - Southern Arizona." Avagene Moore: What is the Council's purpose or main focus? Amy Sebring: To prevent further terrorism, through education and through strong Neighborhood Watch programs and through publicizing our Sheriff's TIPS Hot Line. ... Amy Sebring: To respond to terrorist crisis, should there be one, having volunteers support emergency services. We also fill the gaps that exist because government can not pay for everything and agencies can not do everything. Avagene Moore: What types of programs are underway in this effort? Amy Sebring: We have all 5 Corps - Neighborhood Watch, TIPS, CERT, VIPS and MRC. We also have committees - school, PR and Marketing, etc. We have done this WITHOUT any of our own funding. We decide on a project, then go forward and ask for community or agency support. Avagene Moore: How many people are actively involved? Amy Sebring: We have 900 registered volunteers in the Council and 5 Corps. Right now most are interested in the Medical Reserve Corps. Soon we will train 1000 people in CERT. Avagene Moore: Your Web site indicated an exercise is to be conducted. What type of exercise is it and who is involved? Amy Sebring: The exercise is being organized by MMRS in collaboration with the Office of Emergency Management. It will be a test case for flying in pharmaceuticals and dispatching them. 1000 volunteers are needed. Amy Sebring: The exercise will be of national interest, with people coming from as far away as Hawaii and New York. We expect Secretary of Health Tommy Thompson and Surgeon General Rich Carmona to be here. Anyone wanting more information can contact the office of MMRS manager Les Caid, 520-791-4512 at Tucson Fire Department. Avagene Moore: I understand you celebrated your first anniversary last night (Nov 12); can you tell us a little bit about your celebration and how you hope this impacts your Citizens Corps Council? Amy Sebring: Every time we have an event, it impacts our Citizen Council and Corps for 3 reasons. First, the publicity the event gets, helps to let people know we exist so that they can use us as a resource. Secondly it draws in new volunteers. Thirdly it helps to keep us all motivated. Amy Sebring: Last night's event was a very special black tie dinner evening at which I was honored by the Mayor and my team mates for my service this year as Founding Chairman. Amy Sebring: We also had installation of the new 35 member Board. Our keynote speaker was Ralph Diaz, head of the local FBI. We had about 100 people attending, officials from surrounding cities, volunteers and family members. Avagene Moore: What are your plans now that you are Past Chairman of the Citizen Corps Council? Amy Sebring: I plan to lead a team to expand the number of Citizen Corps Councils nationwide. I'm heading up a special task force for this. We plan to meet once a week and mentor other cities and regions that want to start one. Amy Sebring: I feel that our experiences will help other regions short cut their start-up. We have already mentored a large number of cities and regions informally, but now we want to give it specific emphasis and outreach. Avagene Moore: From your very successful experience this past year, what is necessary to get a Citizen Corps Council started? Amy Sebring: We started in the Mayor's living room with 20 interested people immediately after 9/11. The Mayor's wife put the team together. Most of us didn't know each other then. Amy Sebring: We went around the room and asked everyone to tell about their own uniqueness as an icebreaker. We learned a lot about each other that way. Amy Sebring: Then after discussion on terrorism, the economy and stress in the community, we went around again and asked each person to say what they thought needed to be done to keep our community safe. Finally each person wrote their name and telephone number on a 'post-it' plus the area of their interest. Amy Sebring: It was that easy. We then formed committees based on each person's area of interest. We had meetings at least every 2 or 3 weeks and always invited new people and more agency people each time. Amy Sebring: When I was elected Chairman, I chose the Corps Chairmen based on their expertise and ability to move mountains. It is amazing to see people come forward for Board positions and for the Corps. Amy Sebring: I think we have a much stronger community for it, and certainly stronger friendship and knowledge of the talent in our community. I can't think of anything more satisfying. I urge everyone to go out and do this. Avagene Moore: Christine, thanks for sharing your experiences with us. Sounds like a really good Citizen Corps Council in your area. ... Avagene Moore: And now we move to our last speaker, Ms Leanne Durm. ... Christine Harvey: Thank you Avagene Moore: Leanne, I understand the State of Tennessee has recently implemented a Citizen Corps effort. How is it organized in Tennessee? Leanne Durm: Hello. Thanks for having me... Leanne Durm: And, thank you all for participating... Leanne Durm: Citizen Corps efforts are being organized within the State of Tennessee's Office of Homeland Security. We are tasked with maximizing the establishment of Citizen Corps Councils throughout the State... Leanne Durm: Governor Don Sundquist just recently announced members of the statewide committee, known as The Governor's Citizen Corps Advisory Committee. This committee will serve in an advisory capacity to the Governor, the Deputy of Homeland Security and to Citizen Corps Councils at the local level. Avagene Moore: How are you publicizing this effort? Leanne Durm: We are currently publicizing Citizen Corps and the five programs under its umbrella simply with press releases and scheduled speaking engagements/ presentations. However, We did have a statewide Citizen Corps Conference in September... Leanne Durm: Once Tennessee has received dollars from FEMA (allotted from the supplemental budget FY 02), we will incorporate an advertising/ marketing strategy which may include public service announcements, brochures, et al. Avagene Moore: Can any Tennessee city or county participate? If so, what is required of them to join the Citizen Corps? Leanne Durm: Sure, any city or county may participate, and we are encouraging them to do so... Leanne Durm: Since this is a grassroots volunteer initiative, participation requirements are rather minimal... Leanne Durm: One requirement of those organizations or persons coming forward, such as a state university in one Tennessee county and a Rotary Club in another, is that they MUST include the local elected official and the emergency management director in that area and keep them in the loop. Avagene Moore: Leanne, what are the plans in TN for expanding CERT training? Will the training be integrated through the Councils? Leanne Durm: CERT will be administerd by the Tennessee Emergency Mangement Agency (TEMA)... Leanne Durm: While CERT training will not solely be integrated through Citzen Corps Councils, those members interested will have every opportunity to take such training. Avagene Moore: Thank you, Leanne! ... Avagene Moore: We are grateful to all three of our speakers. Great job! I believe all our particpants today will have a number of questions about Citizen Corps Councils. ... Avagene Moore: I will now tell you how we handle the Q&A portion of our session. ... Avagene Moore: If you would like to ask a question, please send a question mark, ? , to the screen. (It is not necessary to re-enter your name as it will display automatically.) ... Lloyd Colston: ? Avagene Moore: Once you have submitted your ? to the screen, go ahead and compose your question but WAIT until you are recognized by name. ... Avagene Moore: Please indicate TO WHOM your question is addressed. We will take questions in the order of submission of question marks. ... Patricia Pearson: ? Sunnie Baldwin: ? Avagene Moore: When you are called upon, send your question in. We are now ready to get started. First question, please. Sunnie Baldwin: CE Jim Graham: ? Avagene Moore: Lloyd, whenever you are ready. Please state whom your question is for. Lloyd Colston: Ms Degregrio, Why Citizen Corp? Why not just let all the components compete for the $$$ without an umbrella? Can you have Community Emergency Response Teams, Neighborhood Watch, etc. without a Council? Liz DiGregorio: Mr. Colston, thank you for your question Liz DiGregorio: The applicants for the Citizen corps dollars are the state and local governmentss... charles ehret: ? Liz DiGregorio: one of the big lessons we learned after 911 is that there are a lot of activities out there, but need some coordination... TimM LasVegas: ? Liz DiGregorio: We are making it as easy as possible for the states and localities to apply the funds and the funds are for council development and the majority for CERT training... charles ehret: Ms Degregorio Jim Graham: Liz, in the event of a major disaster the problem isn't finding volunteers, it's managing the overwhelming influx of volunteers and donations, many unqualified or unneeded. Can Citizen Corps help communities manage this outpouring of support by helping establish call centers/web sites for volunteers, advising people about what's needed and making sure that needed donations of time and supplies (doctors, blood, etc) are not lost in the "chaos?" Avagene Moore: Folks, you have to wait your turn please. Jim Graham: Sorry, pressed send prematurely. Avagene Moore: Go ahead, Liz. Liz DiGregorio: a local council does NOT have to have all the national programs...in fact we are encouraging them to use what works for them... Liz DiGregorio: the funds however, are to lend some structure to the council and to help a community provide CERT training... Peggy Peirson: ? Liz DiGregorio: we find that a council is a great and easy way to get community leaders to share information and get to know one another and their communities capabilities. Avagene Moore: Patriicia Pearson next. Patricia Pearson: Question for general group. Do any of you have a written citizens corps concept plan you are willing to share with those of us just getting started? If you do and are willing to share please send to patriciapearson@comcast.net. Liz DiGregorio: This is Liz Liz DiGregorio: Ms. Pearson, we hope you look at th eTucson plan... Liz DiGregorio: from the national level, we are workingwith each state to share smart practices of what works in different communities. Avagene Moore: Christine, do you wish to add something for Pat/ Christine Harvey: You can see a bubble chart of our organization on www.tucsonccc.org ..this should help..other info too Leanne Durm: I'm also more than happy to send you any info I might have from this level... Avagene Moore: Thank you all. Sunnie, you are next. Sunnie Baldwin: CERT Question-Must ALL CERT Trainers go to Emmittsburg or their State DEM- Can people trained by FEMA or their DEM then train other Trainers at the local level? Sorry about the mis-hit there! We are sending 4 people to Emmittsburg next week and 2 to DEM in March for CERT. Can they then train local trainers? Leanne Durm: To my understanding, they sure can... Liz DiGregorio: IYes Sunnie Baldwin: Thanks! Avagene Moore: Jim, do you want to restate your question, sir? Liz DiGregorio: Ms. Baldwin Jim Graham: Liz, sorry again about sending the question early. I wondered how Cit. Corps can help communities cope with overwhelming outpourings of volunteers and donations in disasters like 9/11. Liz DiGregorio: FEMA will be workingwith the states to have a series of train the trainers in each region and with each state Liz DiGregorio: Mr. Graham, this is an issue that we hear about a lot Lloyd Colston: ? Liz DiGregorio: one of the key factors behind Citi.Corps is tapping into the existing volunteer agencies and groups Liz DiGregorio: we are working very closely with ARC and AmeriCorps, Points of Light and others to address your very issue. Avagene Moore: Christine, would you like to add something here/ Terri Stockdreher: ? Christine Harvey: Yes, we do talk about this often... Christine Harvey: We have come to know so many agencies now... Christine Harvey: and so many Council members and their abilities... Christine Harvey: that we can organize ourselves quickly to help volunteers.. Christine Harvey: but I feel we need to work in advance to have for example Christine Harvey: 4 sites around town that spontaneous volunteers.. David King: ? Isabel McCurdy: ? Christine Harvey: could go to for instruction on how to use their talent. Avagene Moore: Charles Ehret, your turn, sir. charles ehret: Liz, how do we go about application for funding ?where can we get guidelines more specific tha n the present ones posted on the fema web site to help us in recruiting citizens in forming CERTteams? Liz DiGregorio: One great factor of working together during non-disaster situations thru the Council is that emergency managers and other first responders get to know what their needs are and can identifiy volunteers in advance and learn to better work with them on a day to day basis. We are relying heavily on our Americorps partners and ARC partners to help us get better at managinng volunteers. Liz DiGregorio: The funding is being handled by each state Liz DiGregorio: the state in turn contact their local governments Liz DiGregorio: the first round of applications from the states were due Nov. 8 Leanne Durm: If I may interject... Liz DiGregorio: We hope to soon provide you with more guidance on CERT teams, but each state already has state training officers thru emergency management and they now how to recruit for CERT Liz DiGregorio: go ahead leanne Leanne Durm: Such as with TN... Leanne Durm: We hope to have our money in hand from FEMA by the beginning of Jan. 03... Leanne Durm: IN turn, we will then begin the sub-grant process with local communites... Leanne Durm: who must fill out an application process to receive funding. Christine Harvey: We have teamed with the community college to organize and publicize the CERT training. Avagene Moore: Tim M, your question, please. TimM LasVegas: Ms. DiGregorio: Is FEMA agreeable that independent cities/communities can establish community-specific Councils to address their unique needs and collaborate together through a regional planning body? -AND- Will FEMA require the funding requests for Citizen Corps activities be tied to the state and local terrorism threat & risk assessment analysis? charles ehret: Liz although we are registered as a council our state did not foward the information to us . Where do I go now? Liz DiGregorio: are you part of a local government? charles ehret: Yes Liz DiGregorio: can you give me more information or email off line after this...which state? Avagene Moore: Please give him your email address, Liz. Liz DiGregorio: liz.digregorio@FEMA.GOV Avagene Moore: Liz, can you address Tim's question, please? Liz DiGregorio: sure Christine Harvey: I think this is not unusual, and perhaps Liz there should be a requirement for all state emergency folks to pass the info to registered Council. Liz DiGregorio: your question is complex and i do not want to mimimize its importance Liz DiGregorio: if you mean that individual towns, cities, counties can form councils, the answer is yes as long as a local elected official gives them the nod and that they are tied into the first responders. TimM LasVegas: Yes Liz DiGregorio: I don't really understand communtiy specific? Liz DiGregorio: No, at this time the funds are not tied to risk analsis TimM LasVegas: Typing clarification -- stand-by... Liz DiGregorio: they are 100% and non-competitive at the state level Liz DiGregorio: we are looking at the state plans nows to see how they plan to devolve 75% to local governments Avagene Moore: Tim, could you please email Ms DiGregorio afterwards? We have five more people waiting to ask questions and we are rapidly running out of time. TimM LasVegas: Will do, thanks. END Avagene Moore: Peggy Peirson, please. Peggy Peirson: A quick question for Avagene - will transcripts be available for this session? And then, probably to Ms. DiGregorio - our County has an 12-year old, 60 member-organization, Emergency Management Council and it's own neighborhood emergency training program that was brought by our Council in the early 90's. (I'd be happy to share structure, bylaws, etc. for the council if anyone is interested....peggy.peirson@co.benton.or.us). Will those meet Citizen Corps criteria for a Council and a CERT prog Avagene Moore: You have a question, Peggy? Liz DiGregorio: Peggy, Avagene Moore: My response is yes, Peggy. Liz DiGregorio: thank you. We are encouraging communities to look at what they already have and Liz DiGregorio: use it to achieve the goals of citizen corps. Avagene Moore: Lloyd C, please. Peggy Peirson: ....(continuing sorry) program and how do we proceed to join citizen corps without creating a new system? Liz DiGregorio: your committee structure would most likely be a great candidate to also implement citizen corps Lloyd Colston: Ms. DiGregorio, http://www.fema.gov/nwz02/nwz02_211.shtm is the URL for "Smart Practices". Should a Council be City or County based or should one have a community with a Council within a County with a Council? To restate the question in another form, how much turf should the Council try to cover, ex. South Arizona is a large chunk of geopraphy. Avagene Moore: Sorry Peggy. Peggy Peirson: Thank you. Liz DiGregorio: Mr. colston Liz DiGregorio: the smart practices website is not yet up Liz DiGregorio: what you see is similar but not specifically geared for the councils Liz DiGregorio: we plan to have one similar Liz DiGregorio: I think a community needs to section off as much or little as is doable for them Christine Harvey: Can I comment? Liz DiGregorio: we have all versions across the country Liz DiGregorio: some are city specific, others like LA have multiple ones Liz DiGregorio: and others have regional ones based around a regional airport, etc. Avagene Moore: Yes, Christine. When Liz is through. Liz DiGregorio: what works for one community wont work for others Liz DiGregorio: Christine. Christine Harvey: I agree.. Christine Harvey: As we only have 2 major cities.... Christine Harvey: we in Tucson as the southern big city... Christine Harvey: feel that whatever threat affects us... Christine Harvey: affectsthe whole region... Christine Harvey: However, within our area.. Christine Harvey: there are several smaller Citizen Councils... Christine Harvey: and we plan to get more started.. Christine Harvey: then we will all collaborate together.. Christine Harvey: some may join in on our CERT... Christine Harvey: others may do their own, etc. Avagene Moore: Terri, please. Thanks for waiting so patiently. Terri Stockdreher: Thanks for having this forum! Terri Stockdreher: I have a question and a comment Terri Stockdreher: Q: are the councils required to go through certification, possibly to qualify for funding ? and avoid scams? Leanne Durm: If I may... Lloyd Colston: ? Avagene Moore: Leanne. Leanne Durm: one of my responsibilities... is to track I am track all Councils statewide... Leanne Durm: I am so involved with the program at the state level...and who is doing what where... Leanne Durm: that we can keep tabs on who is officially registered ... Leanne Durm: and who are meeting the guidelines or criteria we are setting. Liz DiGregorio: The councils register on line. It then goes to FEMA who coordinates wtih the region and state. The states gives us the nod but does not certify. We do require a local official as the approving oficial for the council. Avagene Moore: Isabel. Isabel McCurdy: Liz, I am a Canadian and wondering is Citizens Corps Council specifically targeted only for the terrorism hazard response or does it apply to any other hazard? Christine Harvey: I have to run. Please remember to check our website and let us know if you need help starting a council. We have a mentoring team and our Mayor will talk to your Mayor. My email is christineharvey@qwest.net. Terri Stockdreher: C: re spontaneous volunteers... in our area, we are working with the local Volunteer Center. They are working closely with local EM and volunteer govt to establish regional intake centers. The VCs could act as another partner of the citizen councils to support spontaneous volunteers. Terri Stockdreher: Thank you. Christine Harvey: www.tucsonccc.org Liz DiGregorio: ISabel, Avagene Moore: Thank you, Christine. Avagene Moore: Sorry we have run over. Liz DiGregorio: Good question. What started as a response to 911 is truly ALL hazard. THe mission of Citizen corps Liz DiGregorio: is to promote personal responsibilitiy, training, awareness and volunteerism at all levels for ALL emergencies. Avagene Moore: Thank you Liz. .... Avagene Moore: Our time is up for today. This has been an excellent session thanks to our speakers, Liz, Christine and Leanne. We thank you, the audience, as well. We will have the transcript with slides posted no later than Friday on the EIIP Virtual Forum site. Avagene Moore: Our formal session is adjourned but please help Amy and me thank Liz, Christine and Leanne. Ladies, if you wish to plug in your respective email addresses, you can do so in case someone wishes to contact you. Audience, you are welcome to have some off-the-record discussion. No rules now! Avagene Moore: Thank you all for being here today!