EMERGENCY DISASTER SERVICES SUMMIT DRAWS RECORD TURNOUT FOR DISASTER PREPAREDNESS
The Salvation Army Midland Division welcomed a record 150 attendees for its annual Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) Summit the weekend of March 17-19 to take EDS advanced training courses and honor this year’s volunteers.
Salvation Army officers, staff, volunteers and students from several divisions took the weekend educational retreat to Camp Mihaska, the Salvation Army’s camp in Bourbon, Mo., for the EDS Summit.
Sixteen classes were divided between Salvation Army specific and those non-Army specific, including tornado awareness, disaster food services and canteen operations, spiritual and psychological first aid, and SATERN (Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network) workshops.
Salvation Army classes included disaster shelter operations, safety officer, logistics, and public information officer.
“We are capacity-d out this year,” Martin Rueter, Midland Divisional EDS Director, said. “The last nine years I’ve been the director of disaster services, this is the largest group we’ve ever had here. We’re very excited about that.”
The six-month EDS summit preparation included selecting which courses to offer and securing spots on instructors’ schedules for the same weekend.
Tornado preparedness, specifically, generates a lot of interest at the summit, Rueter said, owing to the Midland Division’s location in an area synonymous with tornados.
“What we’re doing here is we’re equipping the Midland Division to more effectively save lives, preserve property and stabilize communities,” Capt. Vinal Lee, who taught the public information officer course, said. “I believe so passionately that The Salvation Army has a story that needs to be shared, and I want to have really effective communicators to share that story. Especially in times of disaster, people’s livelihoods are on the line.”
Awards went out at Friday evening’s EDS banquet and volunteer recognition dinner, recognizing several groups of achievements.
Certificates of excellence were presented to individuals who had studied a noteworthy number of hours of disaster classes, including those through FEMA, SEMA, The Salvation Army, American Radio Relay League, and International Critical Incident Stress Foundation.
Christina Miller took top honors with a gold certificate for 76 hours of classes. Three silver certificates went to Donald Durbin (48 hours), Ralph Brigman (52 hours) and Nathan Hicks (56 hours). Eight bronze certificates went to Steven Kreeger, Jr. (28 hours), Gretchen Luke (32 hours), Steven Kreeger, Sr. (36 hours), Thomas Zeller (36 hours), Albert Franke (37 hours), Zachary Downs, Jennifer Kalishevich and Larry Miller.
Red Shield emergency first responders were recognized for their contributions to combatting the COVID pandemic and providing support at two primary locations of Salvation Army presence, after last December's deadly tornados.