CERT Member e-magazine is here to serve CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) members, their families and local CERT teams and others as a source of inspiration and motivation and to give a voice to those who volunteer for their community, city, county and state.

As a CERT member for my small city, I found that there was not a lot of information regarding CERT. Yes, there are a lot of do’s and don’ts during training and repeated training, and as many common sense tips as the fireman paramedic who was doing the training could think of. However, with many volunteer positions there wasn’t that knowledge and camaraderie that can only be unveiled by experience and continuous team training.

Most CERT volunteers also have jobs and families to think and care about away from other CERT members, and even with their best intentions cannot match the teamwork that fire fighters have. Let’s face it – fire fighters work, eat and sleep at the fire house. I’m sure most CERT members are not willing or able to do so, and the program is not designed for that.

This magazine was created to help bridge that gap between training and experience and allow you to read others’ stories, and also to keep you motivated and vigilant and to keep yourself and family prepared for the possible terrorist attacks, industrial accidents, and inevitable earth quakes, fires, tornadoes, floods and hurricanes. To always remind you of taking the little extra time to think through and prepare during your busy hectic schedule, or give you ideas and tips on better organizing yourself and your immediate community.

One more thing I might add, I wanted to spread volunteer idealism to others and help people realize that there is a world of good they can provide through volunteer organizations such as CERT, Red Cross, Salvation Army, emergency HAM radio (ARES, MARS, RACES, SATERN, etc) and the like.

Volunteers, especially CERT volunteers, come in all makes and models and years so to speak. I’ve seen and heard and learned a lot from many of the interesting people I’ve met and amazing stories I’ve heard.

I believe you want to hear from all of the remarkable volunteers across the country, and contained within this magazine, I hope you will find their stories.

Sincerely,

Dana Reed, Senior Editor