On September 30th, Director Muth testified in front of the US House of Representative’s Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management. The topic was “This is NOT a test: Will the Nation’s Emer-gency Alert System Deliver the President’s Message to the Pub-lic?”. His testimony discussed the current status of EAS, Mary-land’s improvements to EAS, EAS successes and vulnerabilities, the Federal government’s interaction and support to states regarding EAS, and recommendations for improvement of EAS.

If you are interested in seeing video coverage of Director Muth’s testimony or his written testimony, please visit www.mema.state.md.us.

MEMA Executive Director, Rich-ard Muth, had the opportunity on two separate occasions to testify before Congressional committees on issues related to emergency management at the State and local levels.

On July 29, 2009, Director Muth testified in front of the US House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security. The topic was “Beyond Readiness: An ex-amination of the current status and future outlook of the Na-tional Response to Pandemic Influenza”. He was joined by a panel of individuals from across the country who represented various disciplines upon which Pandemic Influenza would have an impact.

Director Muth’s testimony cov-ered four areas: establishing effec-tive management and coordina-tion, addressing and meeting key medical requirements, evaluating and updating plans, and improving early warning and detection. He also commented on the chal-lenges in applying the Stafford Act to Pandemic Flu.

September is designated National Preparedness Month (NPM) . NPM 2009 focused on changing percep-tions about emergency prepared-ness and helping Americans under-stand what it truly means to be Ready. Being Ready includes: get-ting an emergency supply kit; mak-ing a family emergency plan; being informed about emergencies and their appropriate responses; and getting involved in community efforts such as Citizen Corps.

FEMA Region III’s National Prepared-ness Month Challenge encouraged Citizen Corps Programs in Region III to plan, execute, and support Community Preparedness and Participation events at the state and local levels. The NPM Chal-lenge tracked NPM initiatives and events held in Region III states on a Community Preparedness section created for the external FEMA Region III website.

It was a close race, but Maryland placed 2nd to Pennsylvania with

113 registered Preparedness Month events or activities. MD also received two awards from FEMA Region III. The State Citi-zen Corps council was recognized with the 2009 FEMA Region III Pursuit of Excellence Award and the Prince George’s County Citi-zen Corps received the 2009 FEMA Region III Leading by Exam-ple Award. Kudos to all local Citi-zen Corps Councils for their out-reach efforts! Keep up the great work!

Executive Director Muth testify-ing before a Congressional Sub-

committee

Director Muth Testifies before Congress

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Laurel Hosts Secretary Napolitano

2

History of Camp Fretterd

2

MEMA Races for the Cure

2

MDDF and FEMA 361

3

Silver Alert 3

Employee of the Quarter

3

Agency News 4

National Preparedness Month Challenge

M A R Y L A N D E M E R G E N C Y

M A N A G E M E N T A G E N C Y The Coordinator N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 9 V O L U M E I I , I S S U E I I I

S P E C I A L P O I N T S O F I N -T E R E S T :

• Check out MEMA’s website for daily updates on emer-gency management activities!

• Visit www.flu.maryland.gov

for current info on Maryland’s response to the H1N1 flu outbreak

• Save the Date! The

Annual Emergency Manager’s Confer-ence in Ocean City will be held June 1st through the 4th

P A G E 2

Secretary Napolitano and CEO Cloninger signs the new affiliation Agreement between DHS Citizen Corps and the Girl Scouts

A History of Camp Fretterd

MEMA Races for the Cure

Laurel Hosts Secretary Napolitano On September 8, 2009, De-partment of Homeland Secu-rity (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano joined City of Laurel Mayor Craig Moe and Girl Scouts of the USA CEO

Kathy Cloninger to launch a Girl Scout preparedness patch and announced a new emergency preparedness partnership be-tween Citizen Corps and the Girl Scouts.

The announcements took place at Scotchtown Hills Elementary School in Laurel, Md., where Secretary Napolitano partici-pated in President Obama’s “My Education, My Future” initiative by visiting students and listening

to the President’s remarks encouraging them to work hard, set educational goals and take responsibility for their learning.

Secretary Napolitano, CEO Cloninger and City of Laurel Mayor Craig Moe also partici-pated in preparedness training activities with students high-lighting the importance of disaster preparedness, re-sponse and recovery. Several of the City of Laurel Community Emergency Re-sponse Team, Citizen Police Academy, Amateur Radio Operators and fire and rescue volunteers participated. The

City of Laurel invited county, state and private organizations to participate in the activities.

Submitted by Calvin Hawkins, President Prince George’s County Citizen Corps

Co-Captains Sharon Morazzani and Marianne Souders rounded up a team of 12 participants who raised $2,758 for breast cancer awareness.

Co-Captain and Breast Cancer Survivor Marianne Souders state, “It was amazing to see the agency pull together and support this cause. Everyone showed their support and awareness of Breast Cancer by registering to walk, donating

The Maryland Emergency Man-agement Agency, Team ME-MAGRAMS, walked on Sunday, October 18th in the 17th An-nual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Hunt Valley, MD.

Despite the rain and even some snow, the MEMAGRAMS completed the 3.1 mile walk through Hunt Valley and were only a little damp at the finish.

money to our team and wearing pink on Thursdays. I am proud to work with such a caring group as we have here at MEMA. A special thank you to my Co-Captain Sharon Morazzani for all her hard work”.

Team MEMAGRAMS, staying abreast of an emergency.

English, and History with additional stud-ies at Johns Hopkins University with areas of concentration in Economics and Education and has her teaching certifi-cate. She went on to earn her Master of Arts from the University of Arizona and took post-graduate courses in historic preservation planning from Goucher College.

Ruth is an active par-ticipant in

community land planning associations and the Executive Board of the Baltimore County Historic Trust, Chairman and member of the Baltimore County Landmarks Preservation Commission, has created several historic sites nominations, and member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Preservation

Maryland, and Valleys Planning Council.

Everyone is welcome to attend on the 18th, please RSVP to Lauren Holley-Allen at lholley-allen@mema.state.md.us.

On Wednesday, November 18th, Ruth Mascari, Planning Section Chief for the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, will present “A Historic Overview of Camp Fretterd” as part of the Agency’s Yearning to Learn series.

Her presentation will give participants an understanding of the evolution of Camp Fretterd, also known as, William Patter-son’s Farm, the Montrose School for Girls, the Maryland National Guard, and home to the Maryland Emergency Man-agement Agency. Ruth received her undergraduate degree from McDaniel College in Political Science,

The MEMAGRAMS!!

T H E C O O R D I N A T O R

State Citizen Corps Program Manager Robert Ward, Prince George’s County Council Chair Marilyn Bland and Prince George’s County Citizen Corps Coordinator Ernest Walker

Pictured left: Montrose School for Girls

Maryland Defense Force 361 Initiative P A G E 3 V O L U M E I I , I S S U E I I I

In August, MEMA and Department of Human Resources officials joined members of the Maryland Defense Force (MDDF ) to conduct a primary shelter evaluation at the Queen Ann’s County High School. The evaluation was done according to guidelines outlined in the FEMA 361 manual for “Design and Construction Guidance for Community Safe Rooms” for high winds.

In support of the Maryland Army National Guard (MDARNG) as well as MEMA, the MDDF has es-tablished an engineering unit known as the Mary-land Emergency Engineering Response Team (MEERT). This unit consists of graduate engineers with the vast majority being licensed Maryland professional engineers. The Engineer Corps has not only graduate engineers, but experienced per-sonnel with expertise in construction methods, safety and management.

To take advantage of these valuable skills a second unit has been established - the Construction Divi-sion. One of the initial projects accomplished by the Engineer Corps in 2007 was the design and management of the renovations of the Merson Building at the Pikesville Military Reservation for use as the headquarters for the Maryland Defense Force. Although limited by the size of the unit and the material and tools available, the new construc-tion arm of the Engineer Corps provides the skill

and expertise to assist other units in the MDDF with construction support as well as guidance and safety expertise to help these other units help themselves.

Although not an actual operational unit, dedicated liaison officers have been identified and detailed to the MDARNG 58th Troop Command and MEMA for coordination during natural or manmade disas-ters. The 58th Troop Command is the MDARNG headquarters which will be designated for command, control and communications responsibility for any MDARNG response to a major disaster that hits the State.

The unit submitted a detailed report to MEMA in October which will now be used to apply for funding to do mitigation at the school and ensure that a safe shelter would be available in the event of a hurricane or high wind threat.

- Information gathered from the MDDF Quarterly Newsletter

"Robin has had a very positive im-pact on Exercise & Training. Her contributions make it possible for us to offer a wider range of courses and increase the frequency and complexity of our exercise efforts"., states Exercise and Train-ing Branch Manager Paul Hajek.

Robin received appreciation certifi-

On September 9th, MEMA Con-tractual Employee, Robin Hill, was recognized as Kelly Services Em-ployee of the Quarter.

Robin works in the MEMA Exercise and Training division, providing administrative support and coordi-nation to the branch manager and administrators.

cates from both Kelly Services and MEMA, as well as a gift certificate from Kelly Services for an item of her choice.

Great job Robin and thank you for all that you do!!!!

On October 1st, state officials gathered to mark the effective date of a new law aimed at assisting in the timely recov-ery of individuals with cognitive disorders who have gone missing. Maryland’s new “Silver Alert” program became law. The law directs the Maryland State Police to coordinate a notification plan that will be activated when certain criteria are met involving a person with a cognitive disorder who is missing. Patterned after the AMBER Alert program for critically missing children, the Silver Alert requires that certain criteria be met involving the missing person. If the situation warrants, state or local police investigating the disappearance will contact the Maryland State Police Silver Alert coordinator. Upon confirmation of the Silver Alert criteria, the coordinator will contact the Maryland Emergency Management Agency and request an emergency alert. This alert will go to all Maryland police departments, media outlets, and 9-1-1 centers. The State Police coordinator will also contact the State Highway Administration. Alert information, including a description of the person and the vehicle he or she is traveling in, will then be displayed on overhead highway signs in the geographic area where the missing person was last seen. Information may also be broadcast on the Highway Advisory Radio network. The Silver Alert program is the result of legislation introduced in the Maryland General Assembly by Delegate Benjamin Kramer and Senator Rona Kramer, both of whom are from Montgomery County. The legislation was passed and signed into law by Governor Martin O’Malley. “Our new Silver Alert program gives us a coordinated way to communicate information about a critically missing person quickly and to as many people as possible,” Maryland State Police Superintendent Colonel Terrence B. Sheridan said. “Governor O’Malley tells us often that in Maryland, our families come first. Our families include our dearly loved senior citizens, or others who may have cognitive disorders, whom we hold in high regard.” -Information provided courtesy of the Maryland State Police of Media Communications and Marketing

Maryland Launches Silver Alert Program

Kelly Services Recognizes Employee of the Quarter

Robin Hill, MEMA Executive Director Richard Muth & Janine Davis, Kelly Ser-

vices Branch Manager

Degree in applied Sciences: Emergency Management

• Hank Black and Gary Zamer-ski were appointed to the Regional Emergency Com-munications Coordination Working Group (RECCWG) for Maryland. The group serves as the single, regional coordination point for emer-gency communications pre-paredness, response, and recovery for federal, state, and local governments within Region III. They also provide tactical disaster emergency communications capabilities to support all-hazards response and recov-ery and national security emergency requirements in the Region. The RECCWG reports to the FEMA Re-gional Administrator and is led by the Disaster Emer-gency Communications Co-ordinator.

• As of September 30, 2009, 100% of Maryland local jurisdictions and State agencies have submit-ted their FY2009 NIMS Imple-mentation Objectives for com-pliance. A major accomplish-ment for 54 State entities for the second year in a row. Great job!

• Maryland received reimburse-ment for the EMS Strike Team EMAC mission to Louisiana in response to Hurricane Gustav

• Federal evaluations of CCNPP ingestion pathway zone Coun-ties were successful

• MJOC Supervisor Nathan Dur-man, recently completed and passed an EOC Management Class

• MJOC Watch Officer, Larry Cohen, is currently enrolled in Frederick Community College’s Emergency Management Pro-gram. He is currently complet-ing his internship for December graduation with an Associate’s

5401 Rue Saint Lo Drive

Camp Fretterd Military Reservation

Reisterstown, MD 21136

Phone: 410-517-3600

Fax: 410-517-3610

Maryland Emergency Management Agency

Agency News

Please submit suggestions and comments to

Erin Holloway, eholloway@mema.state.md.us

www.mema.state.md.us

MEMA Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary at Camp Fretterd On November 19th, the Maryland Emergency Management Agency will mark it’s 10 Year Anniversary at Camp Fretterd. It was just prior to Y2K, that MEMA settled into new digs at Camp Fretterd after spending more than 35 years on Sudbrook Lane in Pikesville, known to those who worked there as “the bun-ker”. In 10 years, MEMA’s staff has nearly doubled. “Space was the key factor in moving to Camp Fretterd,” reflects Communica-tions Specialist Sharon Osborn. Sharon worked at the bunker for 33 years. “Moving to Camp Fret-terd allowed for opportunities to expand our radio systems, staff,

and for the creation of the Mary-land Joint Operations Center.” MEMA’s home at Camp Fretterd has grown in many ways. Staffing is again at the root of that growth. In 2007, MEMA expanded the building to include two temporary buildings. This was to accommo-date the increase in the Agency’s staffing. It is hoped that a more permanent addition will be in our future. MEMA Staff who worked in the “bunker” and are still at MEMA today include, Hank Black, Sharon Campbell, Fred Frey, Ruth Mascari Sharon Osborn, Barbara Roccaldo, Tyrone Walker, and Sandy Wentworth. Happy Anniversary MEMA!!!

This postcard was mailed out to MEMA’s partners announcing the big move!

Sandy Wentworth (left) and former MEMA Employee Joyce Bethel greet then Gov-ernor, Paris Glendening at MEMA’s Open House