The North Coast CERT training schedule for 2018 has been announced!  Training events will be conducted monthly in Huron and Ottawa counties.  Current and prospective volunteers are invited to all events.

CERT will once again be assisting with the Rev3 Triathlon at Cedar Point on Sunday, September 11 from 11:30am-5:00pm. Our job is the same as last year - distributing water, gatorade, and snacks to athletes as they leave the bike course and begin the run. We have a prime location near the main gates to Cedar Point with easy access to parking, restrooms, etc. All volunteers receive free parking at Cedar Point and a t-shirt. I believe volunteers can also purchase discounted park tickets for that weekend if they choose.

Can you help?  We’ve been a part of Rev3 for more than 5 years and it’s always an exciting event. As thanks for our assistance, Rev3 donates $15 to our team for every volunteer that helps in the name of North Coast CERT, which we use to purchase equipment and team supplies.

This opportunity is open to CERT volunteers and friends and family - the more the merrier!  Kids are welcome too, so long as a parent or guardian competes the registration paperwork. If you’re new to CERT or this event, we’ll give you a quick 5-minute training to get you started - we have a pretty simple job that’s more fun than actual work.

If you can help, please do 2 things:
1) Go to this link and sign up: http://www.doitsports.com/volunteer2/join-protected-group.tcl?event_id=215062 (Select North Coast CERT from the drop down menu)
2) Send us a quick email to let us know you registered.

We’re looking for 10-15 volunteers for this event, but more is always better! If you have any questions, please let Sandy or I know. If you’d like to help but Sunday afternoon does not fit your schedule, there are other volunteer slots open on Friday and Saturday. Let me know and I can walk you through registering for one of those slots.

​Happy Summer! School may be out for the kiddos but CERT has a couple more activities before we take our summer break!
 
Points of Distribution Exercise
Wednesday, June 22 – 6:00-8:30pm
Norwalk Armory, 400 West Main Street, Norwalk
 
A key volunteer task in disasters is the quick, and organized distribution of goods to the community. Depending on the incident, this could include bottled water, flood clean up kits, food, or other necessary supplies. CERT is key in ensuring this distribution takes place efficiently and safely. This exercise will provide volunteers with basic training on operating drive-thru distribution points and is offered in conjunction with the Ohio Military Reserve. The exercise will include 1 hour of classroom training followed by a 90-minute exercise.
 
Sign up for this exercise by Monday, June 20 so we can plan for materials and copies.
 
Community Safety Days
Saturday, June 25 – 10:00am – 2:00pm
Wal-Mart, 340 Westwind Drive, Norwalk
 
CERT will staff an information booth to distribute disaster preparedness information at Wal-Mart in Norwalk as part of the store’s annual Safety Days event. We’d like to have 2 volunteers at all times but you don’t have to sign up for the full 4 hours.  The schedule can be divided into 1 or 2 hour blocks if that fits your schedule better. If you can cover any time on June 25, please let us know!

Thank you to everyone who helped with events in May and early June. Between the Walleye Run 5K and Flagship Collaborative Play Place construction event, we had amazing turn out. Thanks for continuing to make North Coast CERT a great team!

Happy Friday, CERT!  

I hope everyone is enjoying this recent stretch of warm, dry weather - we were certainly due for some sunshine!  As the weather gets warmer, North Coast CERT often gets busier and this year is no exception.  We’ve been asked to help with a few fun, interesting events in the next few weeks that we wanted to pass along.


​Opportunity #1
Traffic Safety at the Walleye Run 5K in Port Clinton
When: Sunday, May 29, 9:30am - 11:00am (approximate end time)
Where: Meet at Jefferson Street Pier in Port Clinton (Perry and Jefferson Streets)
What: We’re looking for 8-10 volunteers to help monitor intersections for runners during the race. It’s a pretty easy job and a short time commitment.
*If anyone from the Norwalk area is interested but does not want to drive, you’re more than welcome to ride to PC with us.

Opportunity #2
All Accessible Playground in Port Clinton
Several organizations in Port Clinton are working together to build an all-accessible playground at Lakeview Park.  Local organizations have been asked to help with the construction, which will take place from June 3-13.  No special construction skills or knowledge are required.  Volunteers will be provided training on site.  CERT is covering one full day of the project so we’re looking for volunteers to help build AND volunteers to help with registration and food. 
When: Saturday, June 4, 8:00am - 6:00pm
Where: Lakeview Park in Port Clinton

Shifts Available
Build:    8:00am - 1:00pm - 10 openings
        1:00 - 6:00pm - 10 openings
        *Build volunteers must be at least 18 years of age
        *Volunteers can sign up to help all day or for part of the day. If you’d like to help but need to deviate from these times, please let me know

Registration/Food:    7:45 - 11:30am - 3 openings
                11:30 - 4:00pm - 3 openings
                *This opportunity is open to volunteers of any age

If you have family, friends, co-workers, or acquaintances that might be interested in this activity, sign them up!  CERT is supplying the volunteers for this date but non-CERT members are welcome!

For more info on the playground, here’s a recent article from the Sandusky Register: http://www.sanduskyregister.com/Local/2015/04/19/A-Port-Clinton-playground-for-all

Last but not least … 
In place of June training in each county, we are planning an Points of Distribution (POD) exercise for Wednesday, June 22 @ 6:00pm. Our OHMR partners are helping with the training and equipment.  We’ll have 1 hour of POD training followed by a 90-minute exercise.  Event will be held at the Norwalk Armory, 400 West Main Street, Norwalk.  More details to follow!

If you’re available to help on May 29 or June 4, please let me know ASAP. And don’t hesitate to email/call with any questions.

Have a great weekend!
~Lauren

Now that spring is in full bloom, it's time for North Coast CERT to turn our attention to the many summer activities we are asked to support. Summer 2016 promises to be an active time of year for us, as it usually is. Here's a quick update on important items for May and beyond ... 

Capability Groups
Thank you to everyone who has identified their capability group preferences. As you know, this is a transition we are making throughout 2016. Our goal is to have the groups solidified by early fall. If you haven't selected your groups yet, you can do so here --> Capability Group Survey
​
As of today, the following volunteers have submitted a response: Andres, Appenfelder, Bunt, Carrisalez, Dresser, Galindo, Giesler, Gill, Hunter, Irick, Koebel, C., Koebel, M., Migrant, Notestine, Reda, Sprunk, Stewart, Thompson, M., Troike, D., Walker, Wilson

May Training
Erie County - Monday, May 9 @ 7:00pm, Perkins Twp Admin Bldg, 2610 Perkins Ave, Sandusky
Topic: ICS for Volunteer Agencies

Ottawa County - Monday, May 16 @ 7:00pm, Ottawa County Resource Center, SR 163, Oak Harbor
Topic: Debris Management

Huron County - Tuesday, May 17 @ 6:00pm, Huron County Admin Bldg, 180 Milan Ave, Norwalk
***Change Alert***
Topic: Our partners at Huron County MRC are working on a very cool project to address community health needs AND prepare for disasters. They've asked North Coast CERT for help distributing the gardening materials for the class, which is essentially a POD. Please help us support MRC and practice our bulk distribution skills on the 17th!

Safety Team Needed for Walleye 5K Run in Port Clinton - Sunday, May 29
We're looking for volunteers to help with race route safety for this event on Sunday, May 29. We've helped with this activity for the last several years - it's a great reason to enjoy a few hours outdoors on a Sunday morning. It's also pretty easy! Volunteers will need to be at the Jefferson Street Pier n Port Clinton by 9:30am and should be done by 11:00am. Interested volunteers from the Norwalk area are welcome to carpool with us! If you're available to help, please let us know - volunteer@northcoastcert.com. 

June Preview: POD Exercise, First Responder Exercise Support, Community Safety Days and more! (Watch your email for details)
​
That's it for our May update. We hope to see everyone at training this month. We'll have more updates for June coming your way soon. Stay safe!

Happy April!

The weather may feel more like winter but warmer temps are surely on the way. Our April training schedule is full of important, valuable topics for new AND experienced volunteers. Check out the schedule and consider joining us to expand or refresh your knowledge in one of these areas:

​April 11 @ 7:00 pm
The Chapel, 4444 Galloway Road, Sandusky
Safety and Wellness for Volunteers
This session is great for new and experienced volunteers. We'll cover important topics to keep us safe in a variety of disaster and emergency settings. This session is a requirement for all volunteers.

April 18 @ 7:00pm
Ottawa County EMA, 315 Madison Street, Port Clinton
(Park in Jefferson Street lot and enter at Sheriff's Department entrance)
ICS for Volunteers
Where do volunteers fit in incident command? This session gives volunteers the chance to explore the many ways volunteers can be organized to support and incident response.

April 19 @ 7:00pm
Huron County EMA, 255-B Shady Lane, Norwalk
Damage Assessment
In a disaster, damage assessment is one of the most important tasks CERT will support. Learn the basics of this process so that we're prepared to quickly and efficiently meet this time-sensitive need during an incident.

RSVPs are appreciated but not required. Contact us at volunteer@northcoastcert.com or 419-602-0758 with any questions. We look forward to seeing everyone!

~Lauren

Happy Spring, CERT! 

Because spring marks the beginning of severe weather season, our training all month has focused on preparing for and responding to severe weather situations. We have a busy week of training ahead and don't want anyone to miss out. Here's a quick recap of the schedule for this week - and a preview of next week!

Monday, March 21 @ 7:00pm (Today!) - Damage Assessment Training at Erie Shores, 220 S. Gill Road, Port Clinton. We'll review the process for performing damage assessment according to FEMA's guidelines and discuss how CERT can best prepare to perform this critical task.

Tuesday, March 22 @ 6:30pm - Skywarn Training presented by the National Weather Service at the US Border Patrol Station, 709 E. Catawba Road, Port Clinton. *** Please note: Seating for this class is limited; contact the Ottawa County EMA at 419-734-6900 to reserve a space ***

Wednesday, March 23 @ 6:30pm - Skywarn Training presented by the National Weather Service at Norwalk High School, 350 Shady Lane, Norwalk.  Pre-registration is not required for this session.

Coming Next Week ... 
Wednesday, March 30 @ 6:30pm - Skywarn Training presented by the National Weather Service at Castaway Bay, 2001 Cleveland Road, Sandusky. Pre-registration is not required for this event.

We hope you'll plan to attend one of these great training sessions. If you have any questions, please let us know!
~Lauren

Happy March, CERT!

The weather is warming up and spring is in quickly approaching! Because spring often means severe weather, our March training will focus on the Storm Team capability and preparing volunteers to respond in severe weather situations.

Here’s the complete schedule with locations: (Please note that these dates may differ from our original schedule published last fall)
Monday, March 14 @ 7:00pm
Damage Assessment
Perkins Township Hall, 2610 Perkins Ave, Sandusky

Saturday, March 19 @ 10:00am
Red Cross Shelter Fundamentals (offered through Ohio Military Reserve)
Norwalk Armory, 400 W. Main Street, Norwalk

Monday, March 21 @ 7:00pm
Damage Assessment
Erie Shores, 220 S. Gill Road, Port Clinton

Wednesday, March 23 @ 6:30pm
SKYWARN (presented by the National Weather Service)
Norwalk High School, 350 Shady Lane, Norwalk

Wednesday, March 31 @ 6:30pm
SKYWARN (presented by the National Weather Service(
Castaway Bay, 2001 Cleveland Road, Sandusky

We'll have more information soon on the April schedule. Until then, we hope to see everyone at a March event. If you have any questions, let us know!

Mark your calendars! The Huron County EMA is hosting SKYWARN Weather Spotter training on Wednesday, March 23. This free training is open to CERT volunteers and the general public. Pre-registration is not required; contact us with any questions.

We will share training dates in the other counties as they become available.

Good Afternoon CERT!

It’s been a few weeks since we’ve had any team updates for you so Sandy and I wanted to reach out and share information about the training schedule for this month.  First, welcome to all of our new volunteers!  We had several new volunteers join us in January and we’re glad to have all of you with us.  As of today you’ve been added to our email list and will receive all team communication.

Second, thank you to everyone who attended one of our January training nights.  We had really great participation across all three counties.  Each meeting focused on new ways for volunteers to participate in the team, essentially by choosing the types of response activities you want to be involved in.  If you weren’t able to attend and don’t know what this is about, watch for the newsletter later this week.  A complete explanation will be included there as well as posted on the website, Facebook page, etc. 

Finally, an update on the training schedule for February.  We’re going to deviate a little from our normal schedule.  Here are the details:

Erie County 
Monday, February 8 @ 7:00pm
Perkins Township Administration Building, 2610 Columbus Ave, Sandusky
Topic: TBD

Ottawa County
 *No Meeting*
This training was originally scheduled for February 15, which is President’s Day.  We’re moving away from scheduling training on official holidays so there will be no training this night.

Huron County
Tuesday, February 16 @ 7:00pm
Huron County EMA, 255-B Shady Lane, Norwalk
Topic: Haz-Mat Awareness; Instructor - David Troike

As always, training RSVPs are appreciated but not required.  Trainings are open to all volunteers regardless of your county of residence.

We hope to see many of you this month!
~Lauren