Southwest Oklahoma Walk Like MADD #AltusOK

I would like to introduce myself to you. My name is Melissa Cornelius
and I am the walk coordinator for the SW Oklahoma Walk Like MADD on
September 22, 2012. My mission is to bring programs and information
about underage drinking and making responsible choices to students in
schools and communities throughout SW Oklahoma hoping to save lives.

MADD began with a mother who lost her child in a drunk driving crash.
She turned grief into positive change; her work and the work of so
many other mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers started a movement
that has saved nearly 300,000 lives…and counting. But even today, one
in three people will be involved in an alcohol-related crash in their
lifetime. Our children share the road with an estimated 2 million
drivers who have had three or more prior drunk driving offenses. MADD
supports drunk driving victims and survivors, serving one person every
nine minutes at no charge.

Walk Like MADD is a non-competitive walk to allow corporations,
schools, organizations, law enforcement, and individuals to team up
with MADD in "keeping our communities safe." Local agencies have the
opportunity to be a visible leader in our campaign to make our
roadways safer for our communities and families.

I am asking for your participation or sponsorship in Walk Like MADD
for Southwest Oklahoma (Altus Reservoir). By encouraging faculty,
staff, officers, or individuals to participate and walk with other
agencies, you can help make this Walk a success. There are many
benefits to becoming a sponsor. Sponsorship and associated benefits
can be tailored to your agencies needs. Mothers Against Drunk Driving
(MADD) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit grass roots organization.

We greatly appreciate your consideration of our request. If you have
any questions, please feel free to contact me at
mcornelius.madd08@yahoo.com or 505-480-3566.

With your help, we CAN make our communities safer.

Below is the link to our website.
http://support.madd.org/site/TR/WalkLikeMADD/WalkLikeMADDwlm_?pg=entry&fr_id=3010


With Gratitude,

Melissa M. Cornelius
WLM Coordinator
P.O. Box 543
Mangum, OK 73554

On Volunteers in #AltusOK

Its just not the day and age that numerous young people are going to volunteer their time to work for free. They will work for money! But not free! 

Recently, I heard the group that does Bountiful Baskets tell a group of people they were running late because they did not get the number of volunteers they needed to complete the mission timely.

There was a text message that read "This is the times that we can provide due to limited staff"

There was a trip for an individual to Davidson because there was not a team member closer than Altus.


Does anyone remember the number of rural volunteer ambulance companies that are no longer working because there are not enough volunteers with training to support them?


From an email from a friend of a friend, It gives an update on the relief mission at Colorado Springs.  Robert and I are planning to go to Colorado Springs about the 18th to help with this mission.  If anyone would like to donate they can contact this mission or give it to us to take to them.  They really need funds and volunteers.  

So why volunteer?


First responders went above and beyond to help during tragic loss: was made possible by volunteers.

It takes a "whole community" approach to dealing with disasters.  Craig Fugate is all about the "whole community" concept.  


How do I volunteer?

Operation Care helps folks in the area.  They need volunteers.  So does Salvation Army and the American Red Cross.

Does your church have an outreach that is dear to your heart?

Altus Skywarn is taking applications for volunteers.

The Boy Scouts of America is trying to start a Venturing Scout group.


The Oklahoma Virtual Operations Support Team volunteers to monitor social media during and after emergent events.

"Not one of us can do what all of us can do" says Max Lucado.  

One emergency manager said "If everyone does something, then we don't have to do it all."

The sooner we learn this, the easier our next disaster will be.

How are you or will you volunteer to make your community and neighborhood a better place to live?

FEMA'S NEXT THINK TANK CONFERENCE CALL - TOPIC: EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, HEALTHCARE AND PUBLIC HEALTH: INCREASING COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION - June 28, 2012

Please join Richard Serino, Deputy Administrator of FEMA, and Dr. Nicole Lurie, the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as they host the next FEMA Think Tank conference call on June 28, 2012, from Houston, Texas.

WHAT:                      FEMA-ASPR Think Tank
WHO:                         Richard Serino, Deputy Administrator of FEMA and Dr. Nicole Lurie, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
WHEN:                             Thursday, June 28, 2012
11:00am – 1:00pm (Central) 12:00pm- 2:00pm (Eastern)

WHERE:                  Houston, TX

Call In:           888-989-4401

Passcode:        Think Tank
Captioning:    Individuals who would like to access the captioning for this event may do so by following this link: http://fedrcc.us//Enter.aspx?EventID=1967851&CustomerID=321

The FEMA Think Tank is a forum to engage the whole community, connect resources and share best practices, and develop solutions to the challenges we face in emergency management.  Featured topics have included incorporating preparedness into school curriculums, new technologies in emergency management and disability integration.  This conference call is a unique opportunity for the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and the FEMA Deputy Administrator to highlight the importance of integrating healthcare, public health and emergency management. 

The focus of this month's call is Emergency Management, Healthcare, and Public Health: Increasing Coordination and Collaboration. Topics that will be discussed include:

·         Emergency Management Coordination, improving communication with the Healthcare and Public Health sectors;
·         Medical Incident Support Teams (M-IST), a cutting edge best practice supporting State Emergency Management; and
·         Tennessee Mental Health Response Plan- coordinated state, regional, and local mental health planning and response efforts for disasters of any type; and Tennessee Recovery Project- creative approaches to providing services to reduce stress and the impact of disasters on survivors.

Please visit the Think Tank Online Forum and share your ideas on how to improve coordination and collaboration between emergency management, healthcare, and public health. 

If you have any further questions please feel free to contact FEMA's Office of Disability Integration and Coordination atfema-disability-integration-coordination@fema.dhs.gov or (202) 646-4100.

FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.