FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 9, 2009

County efforts help New Jersey win award
Emergency response volunteers play a significant role

FREEHOLD, NJ – Monmouth County was well-represented in the first ever “Outstanding State/Territory Citizen Corps Initiative” award presented by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to the New Jersey Citizen Corps program. 

“The award recognizes the overall success of New Jersey’s Citizen Corps program, one of the largest and strongest in the nation,” said Howard Butt, New Jersey State Police, Office of Emergency Management, the New Jersey Citizen Corps state coordinator. “Monmouth County has a very large Citizen Corps and Community and Emergency Response Team (CERT) program and the success achieved by Monmouth was a significant contributing factor to the overall success of New Jersey.”

The award was presented to Butt at the mid-August National Citizen Corps Conference in Alexandria, VA. Butt invited all the New Jersey attendees to accept the award along with him.

“It was both a surprise and an honor to be recognized by our peers,” said Gary McTighe, a deputy coordinator with the county’s Office of Emergency Management who oversees the CERT program. “Our volunteers train and prepare to respond to emergencies in their communities and our office relies on them to be the extra hands and eyes in the field when called upon.”

CERT members give critical support to first responders in emergencies, provide immediate assistance to victims, organize spontaneous volunteers at a disaster site, and collect disaster intelligence to support first responder efforts. CERT is a part of the national Citizen Corps Program that works to organize volunteer services in the areas of crime, natural disasters and terrorism. 

“We are always looking to have residents become part of a CERT Team,” McTighe said. “We provide training that includes basic first aid, family disaster preparedness, disaster fire suppression, disaster mental health and basic emergency management. The training program empowers community members to prepare responsibly and respond appropriately when emergencies occur.”

For more information about how to become a CERT volunteer, contact the Monmouth County Office of Emergency Management at 732-431-7400

The award was presented by Russ Decker, President of the International Association of Emergency Managers, Tim Manning, Deputy Administrator of FEMA National Preparedness Directorate and David Maxwell, incoming President of the National Emergency Management Association.

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