End Of Year CERT Class

On December 11th and 12th, the Delaware Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), led by Delaware CERT Program Manager Marny McLee Sr. and Coordinator Mei Johnson, taught the End-of-Year CERT Training Course. The courese was held at the Delaware Technical Community College (Terry Campus) in Dover. Thirty five students attended the two day preparedness class, which was made up of the Delaware Medical Reserve Corps, AmeriCorps, and community members from the CERT waiting list. A special thanks to our Delaware Technical Community College point-of-contact, Jeff Peck, who is a professor for the Homeland Security and Criminal Justice Programs.

Dave Majewski, Assistant Fire Chief of the Good Will Fire Company, teaches Captain Sue Harcke of the Delaware Air National Guard the proper approach for fighting a fire.

Department of Substance Abuse and Mental Health CERT Class

On September 30th and October 1st, the Delaware Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), led by Marny McLee Sr. (Citizen Corps/CERT Program Manager), taught a CERT class at the Department of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Herman Holloway Campus in New Castle.  Forty five (45) students, made up of psychologists, nurses, case workers, counselors, and others took the two-day national certification class on Emergency Preparedness.  The Delaware CERT Team was assisted by Director George Giles and Margie Williams of the City of Wilmington EOC. This is the fifth time the Delaware CERT Team has taught a class at the campus.

Lead CERT Instructor Dave Young demonstrates a head-to-toe assessment on CERT Program Manager Marny McLee Sr.

11th Annual Family Emergency Preparedness Day a Success!

Marny McLee Citizen Corps Program Manager, thanks the DSP/DIAC group for their particpation.

On September 19th, the Delaware Citizen Corps held its 11th Annual Family Emergency Preparedness Day event. The event was held at the Delaware Agriculture Museum and Village in Dover, with approximately 1,600 people attending. The day was full of fun, games, give-a-ways, and preparedness information for the whole family.  We would like to thank all the State, Local, Faith Based, school, volunteer groups, and donators that helped make this year’s event another big success! We would also like to thank the public who attended to receive very important information and many our give-a-ways, that will prepare their home and family.  

We'd like to extend a special thanks to our co-sponsor, the Kent County Public Safety Office: Director Colin Faulkner, Dave Mick, Brandon Olenik and Nicole Vautard. We'd also like to recognize our Family Emergency Preparedness Day Planning Committee which included:  Marny McLee Sr. (Citizen Corps Program Manager), and Mei Johnson (Citizen Corps Coordinator), Bob George, Rosanne Pack, Rich Phillips and Scott Martin (Citizen Corps Volunteers), Tim Collins (DEMA IT Manager), Gary Laing (DEMA PIO), Betty Decker, April Cleveland (Public Health Preparedness Section), April Willey (Sussex County Volunteer 50+), TSgt. Miranda Mal (Dover AFB Emergency Management Office), Kay Dietz Sass (City of Dover Emergency Management Office), Mark Vanderharr (Delmarva Broadcasting Company), and Suzanne Farris (Red Cross).

Walgreens of Dover was on hand again to give free flu shots.

11th Annual Family Emergency Preparedness Day

Delaware Citizen Corps would like to invite you to our 11th Annual Emergency Preparedness Day. The event will be held on September 19th, at the Delaware Agriculture Museum and Village, located at 866 N. Dupont Highway, Dover, DE. There will be numerous exhibits, displays, demonstrations, and giveaways for the kids. Eagle 97.7 / Cool FM 101.3 will be broadcasting live. The event and food are free to the public. We hope to see you there!

Click here for our Family Emergency Management Day Flyer.

Annual Citizen Corps Preparedness Night and Send Off for Bob George

On June 5th, the Delaware, New Castle County, and Wilmington OEM/Citizen Corps Councils sponsored the annual Citizen Corps Preparedness Night. Our partner organizations, the Public Health Preparedness Section, the Medical Reserve Corps, and the Red Cross also cosponsored the event. Marny McLee, Acting Citizen Corps Program Manager, sang the National Anthem at the beginning of the game. Steve Edwards of FEMA Region III’s Individual and Preparedness Division threw out the first pitch. Two preparedness exercises were held at the event. First, during the 7th inning stretch, the Blue Rocks Mascot Rocky simulated phoning his Emergency Contact for the fans and asked them to do the same. At the end of the game, Citizen Corps families’ youth practiced the earthquake “Stop, Cover, and Hold” drill on the field with Rocky.

The evening was also a surprise celebration send off for previous Citizen Corps Program Manager Robert J. (Bob) George, who stepped down effective June 1, 2015. Delaware Emergency Management Director Turner, Director George Giles (City of Wilmington OEM), Director Colin Falkner (Dover OEM), and Emergency Coordinator Dave Carpenter (New Castle County OEM) presented Bob with certificates of appreciation for his twelve years as the Citizen Corps and CERT Program Manager. Marny also presented Bob with a personal gift and, at the conclusion of the game, a picture show was displayed on the Jumbo-Tron to commemorate Bob’s years of doing outreach for the State of Delaware.

Bob led Delaware Citizen Corps from a program that did not exist in Delaware in February 2004, to being honored by FEMA at the White House in September 2014 as the best State Citizen Corps Council in the Nation! We would like to wish him congratulations and the best of luck during his retirement.

Annual Citizen Corps Preparedness Night for June 5th

On June 5th at 7:05 PM, the Delaware Citizen Corps, co-sponsored by Wilmington and New Castle County OEM/Citizen Corps Councils, will hold our annual Citizen Corps Preparedness Night. The event is held at Frawley Stadium, home of the Wilmington Blue Rocks, who are playing the Frederick Keys. We are sharing the evening with our primary partner organizations, the Public Health Preparedness Section, the American Red Cross, and the Medical Reserve Corps. There will be preparedness displays, and fireworks following the game.

All are invited to attend for a night of family fun and preparedness.

Delaware Skills Center CERT Course

On April 28th and 29th, the Delaware Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), led by Citizen Corps staff Bob George (Program Manager) and Marny McLee (Program Coordinator), and assisted by the Wilmington EOC, presented a CERT course at the Delaware Skills Center in Wilmington. Approximately thirty nursing students attended the class. This was the fourth CERT Class taught at the center.

DE Citizen Corps Presents Awards

On April 15th, Bob George, Delaware Citizen Corps & CERT Program Manager, chaired the Quarterly State Citizen Corps Council Meeting held at the Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA). Bob recognized and presented Certificates of Appreciation and Excellence to the Wilmington, New Castle County, and Sussex OEM/Citizen Corps Councils. The awards were presented for the agencies' support to community preparedness and the Citizen Corps/CERT Programs. Kent County was previously recognized for its outreach efforts.

Bob also made a special presentation to Marny McLee Sr. for his eleven years of service as the Delaware Citizen Corps & CERT Training and Outreach Coordinator.

Delaware Economics and Development Office CERT Class

On March 27th, Bob George (Citizen Corps/CERT Program Manager), Marny McLee (Citizen Corps/CERT Training and Outreach Coordinator), and Dave Young (Lead CERT Instructor) taught a CERT Workshop for the Delaware Economics and Development Office (DEDO). The workshop's focus was on Disaster Preparedness and Medical Operations, which are blocks of instruction from the full two-day CERT training course. The theme of the workshop was from the movie “Castaway” with a Hawaiian Island dress code.  Fifty members of DEDO attended the class, which was held at the Elizabeth Murphey School in Dover. Alan Levin, DEDO Director, attended the workshop. Interestingly, he took our full CERT course eight years ago, when he was Owner and President of Happy Harry’s.  He mentioned the valuable information he learned, and that he still carries his CERT Certificate with him daily.

Nellie Stokes Elementary Disaster Preparedness Presentation

On February 25th, Marny McLee, Citizen Corps Training and Outreach Coordinator, along with Stefan Smi and Ed Strouse of the Natural Hazards Sections, did a combined Disaster Preparedness Presentation at the Nellie Stokes Elementary School in Camden. Approximately forty grade school students their parents, along with school teachers attended the event.

Mr. Smi and Mr. Strouse focused their presentation on Earthquake Preparedness. Students participated in a thirty second FEMA approved Americas Prepare-A-Thon exercise, titled “Drop, Cover and Hold”.  Mr. McLee’s presentation covered All Hazards, in which he introduced and showed our Disaster Preparedness DVD which covers: “Make an Emergency Plan, Make an Emergency Kit, Evacuation and Shelter in Place Procedures.”  He gave the students, teachers and parents a 2G Lanyard/Travel Drive Combo, which was preloaded with a “Family Disaster Plan.” Participants were also given a “It’s a Disaster Booklet”, and a “Disaster Preparedness Pocket Guide” to take home and complete for their Family Disaster Plan. A copy of the DVD and a Citizen Corps Disaster Preparedness Kit was left for the school.

Upcoming Events

Delaware Citizen Corps would like to invite you to the following events. First, our Annual Citizen Corps Preparedness Night is scheduled for June 5th, 2015, at the Blue Rocks Stadium in Wilmington. The game start time is 6:30 PM. In addition to Preparedness Night, it is also a fireworks and super hero night.

Secondly, our Annual Family Emergency Preparedness Day is scheduled for September 19th, at the Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village in Dover, from 10 AM – 2PM.

The point of contact for each event is Marny McLee, available at 302-659-2243 or by e-mail at marny.mclee@state.de.us.