Flood volunteers honored

By DENISE GRANT
Staff Writer

"I will study and be ready and perhaps my chance will come."

Hancock County Commissioner Emily Walton remembers the quote from her high school yearbook. On Tuesday, as volunteers were recognized for their work since the August flooding, Walton said Hancock County was ready.

"We do all of this work for disaster readiness — hoping that we'll never have to use it," Walton said. "Our chance did come."

In total, more than 2,400 people have volunteered 35,000 hours responding to the flood and cleaning up afterwards. And they are still working.

Findlay Mayor Tony Iriti said it was volunteer firemen in boats that were asked to respond to more than 200 rescue calls on the first day of the flooding.

Iriti also said that all the volunteers deserve a "pat on the back." On Tuesday, some got a little more.

Walton was just one of several volunteers recognized by the Ohio Citizen Corps during a special ceremony held in Findlay City Council Chambers.

She is a veterinarian and a member of the Hancock County Medical Reserve Corps, a program of the Citizen Corps. Walton coordinated efforts at the county's emergency operations center for two weeks following the disaster.

Brock Bierman, director of the National Citizen Corps, also spoke at Tuesday's ceremony, recognizing several community volunteers and presenting each with a medallion in recognition of their service.

"Volunteers are a very valuable part of a civilized society. Americans give back so much to their communities," Bierman said.

Also recognized at the Citizen Corps ceremony were:

• Lu Draper — Draper is the superintendent of the Cube, which served as a disaster shelter for flood victims. She was recognized for working diligently, not just in making the facility available, but also for keeping the focus "on the people of Findlay during the crisis."

• Steve Rackley and Bishop Vince Jones — representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. About 700 members of the church, from throughout the country, came to Findlay and Hancock County to help during the flood aftermath. The church also received four truckloads of supplies to distribute, including 7,500 cleanup kits, 4,000 hygiene kits and tons of non-perishable food items.

• Christina Drake and William Recker — Drake and Recker staffed the communication links on volunteer phones and the Red Cross disaster pager. Drake is now working in New Orleans in the ongoing recovery efforts there.

• Maile Doyle — Doyle, who has an extensive volunteer history, will serve as chair of the Hancock County Long-Term Recovery Committee.

• Helen Sanders and Dick Baker — Sanders and Baker are both Red Cross volunteers, and were recognized for working tirelessly at the first responder shelter and for helping with damage assessments.

Bierman was recently named as the Federal Emergency Management Agency's new director of its Community Preparedness Division. The Citizen Corps program is operated out of the Community Preparedness Division, as part of the FEMA reorganization that started in April 2007.

Citizen Corps was created to help coordinate volunteer activities, and provides opportunities for people to participate in activities that help make their families, homes and communities safer from the threats of crime, terrorism and disasters.

On Tuesday, Bierman said he's still "getting his feet wet." The comment drew both laughter and sighs out of the crowd.

While Bierman is new to his post with FEMA, he's been an avid volunteer and public servant. He has served on numerous boards and community groups throughout his career. He entered public service as a representative in the Rhode Island state legislature, where he served three consecutive terms. Before joining FEMA, Bierman worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Bierman will also serve as small state and rural advocate with FEMA.

On Tuesday, he promised to keep his office accessible.

Contact staff writer Denise Grant at:
(419) 427-8412
denisegrant@thecourier.com