Congratulations to the CERT class of 2015!

Last night the Land Trust building was packed with this year's CERT (Community Emergency Response Organization) students, and with CERT alumni ready to celebrate and welcome the twenty-six graduates of the CERT class of 2015. This class is news for a number of reasons. It's the first class that was managed by Jan Milligan, who is putting her energetic spin on this revered program. This class features some younger participants, which Vashon's rather gray-haired preparedness community sorely needs. And this class is notable for the already-deep skills and extensive engagement of a number of the students.

Jan Milligan gave the students their new CERT gear. Then they sat patiently while about a dozen folks from various preparedness organizations spoke briefly to the class, to give them a sense of the rich landscape here on Vashon. Organizations and efforts represented included: VashonBePrepared, Vashon EOC (Emergency Operations Center), Vashon ACS (the new auxilliary communications service), Equestrian CERT and animal rescue preparedness, Vashon mass care and feeding, Vashon MRC (Medical Reserve Corps), VoiceOfVashon's Emergency Alert system, Vashon Island Fire & Rescue, and Vashon NERO. The class also heard from Shelby Edwards, a business continuity and disaster recovery expert and CERT alum who lives on Vashon, and Alisha Griswold, an emergency manager and disaster technologist at King County OEM (Office of Emergency Management), who also lives on Vashon. Leading up this powerhouse with some of the history behind CERT was Brigadier General (Ret.) Joe Ulatoski, considered by many to be one of the founders of preparedness on Vashon. Catherine Cochrane delivered the certificates to the class, and Assistant Fire Chief Bob Larsen closed out the ceremony with his thanks and the hope that they will continue with this work.

It's always moving when a large group of Vashon preparedness volunteers gets together. These people represent a groundswell of passion and dedication to making the people (and animals) of Vashon safer during and after minor and major incidents.  This group "gets it" that in the first days and weeks after a major disaster, we will need to depend on each other and local resources to stay safe and comfortable. Looking out at the group of CERT grads, I couldn't help wondering what each of them will do next, now that their Friday nights are free. Some will hopefully continue in CERT to achieve REW (Registered Emergency Worker) status, with periodic training sessions, group drills and skills reviews. Some may choose a specific area on which to focus, such as medical or communications, and pursue further training in that direction. I hope that every single one will take the same energy that got them through this rigorous 40-hour class, and use some of those Friday nights to better organize their homes and neighborhoods. Congratulations CERT 2015 graduates!