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NEWS - PREPARE - SEARCH & RESCUE - ANIMAL TEAM - OUR ASSOCIATES - LICKING COUNTY HEROES
NEWS - PREPARE - SEARCH & RESCUE - ANIMAL TEAM - OUR ASSOCIATES - LICKING COUNTY HEROES
Volunteer
The Start and a New Beginning:
Licking County CERT started in 2004 and several classes were conducted. Then in the Spring of 2009 a new coordinator, Lori Dixon, was hired to run the program. Lori, a retired Newark Fire Fighter of 29 years, came with a large amount of respect and knowledge of the community. Lori only had 10 volunteers when she took over. In the summer of 2009, Lori held 2 CERT training courses. Then in the fall of 2009 she conducted 3 more courses. By late fall of 2009 Lori had almost 70 volunteers including 9 Teen CERTs. In October CERT assisted the Licking County Health Department with several flu clinics. This was the first time CERT had been this publicly used and it was a great experience for all involved.
The Reformation:
During the fall of 2009 Lori met
with one of her new volunteers about expanding CERT's role in the community. A new website was built and plans started being made
to start advanced teams within CERT. In December of 2009, Tony Walker was named Vice-Chairman of CERT. On December 21st CERT was featured
in the Newark Advocate in an article by Ken Mallett. During the January 2010 meeting CERT named Sam Skaggs, Elinor Miklos, and Eric
Armbrust as Directors of the Board. In the next several months a handbook was made, guidelines for the board were established, and
a goal to become nonprofit was made.
The Trains a Rollin
On January 11th CERT named Tony Skaggs, a current CERT volunteer, to the position of Team Leader for the newly developed Search and Rescue Team. Billy and Rochelle Andrews were also named Team Leaders of the Teens. During the Spring of 2010 Lori conducted 2 more courses bring CERTs numbers to over 100 volunteers.
As CERT started to grow, the county saw the ability of this group and donated a retired squad to assist us. This vehicle was given a graphic makeover donated by Dr. Signs of Heath.
Over the summer CERT took part in several parades and community events. CERT met with several other volunteer teams in the area and
started building relationships. In April CERT was asked to participate in a search exercise with COMSU, Central Ohio Mounted Search
Unit. This was CERTs first exercise with another organization. In June CERT received a grant from the Energy Cooperative to help equip
our command vehicle. Shortly after CERT received the Energy Coop grant we were surprised again with another generous donation. West
Licking Fire Donated a full size box squad to CERT.
In August of 2010 CERT leadership along with 64 other members of Licking County traveled to Emmitsburg Maryland. The group did an
Integrated Emergency Management course at the National Emergency Management Institute. The importance of CERT was stressed and some
good relationships were formed.
While in Maryland CERT was able to see weak links in the county’s disaster plan. CERT began to find ways to fill those voids. In September CERT announced the formation of the Licking County Disaster Animal Rescue Team. The teams goal is to assist in sheltering pets and help first responders deal with animals during a disaster. Another big event for CERT came in September when we were featured on Fox 28's Good Day Columbus for several segments on disaster training.
While in Maryland CERT was able to see weak links in the county’s disaster plan. CERT began to find ways to fill those voids. In September CERT announced the formation of the Licking County Disaster Animal Rescue Team. The teams goal is to assist in sheltering pets and help first responders deal with animals during a disaster. Another big event for CERT came in September when we were featured on Fox 28's Good Day Columbus for several segments on disaster training.
As we move into fall CERT will continue to provide disaster awareness to the public and do our part to help neighbors in need.
