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The best form of a compliment is from those who have
been personally served by the work you have done. HandsOn
Greater Huntsville recently completed a 10 course module of Teen
CERT. VISTA Member Grace Lundy planned, organized and
implemented the Teen Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) by
certifying the Columbia High School JROTC department. Over
70 students participated in the 8 week certification program and
proved their skills and knowledge with a
culminating simulation at the high school.
Following is an EXCERPT from
a letter from an active participating volunteer:
Teen CERT Training Experience
As an intentional
observer of the CERT Simulation / Training Exercise, my first response
was as a "deer-stunned-by-headlights". A very exciting
sensory overload initially appeared to resemble a chaotic, abstract
orchestration. As my perception and comprehension came into
focus, those clashing noises soon resembled wonderful verses of melody
and harmony as immediate medical needs were with continually and
simultaneously met with quick, careful and definitive
responses. In other words, I was very amazed and pleased to
see how well these professional trainers did in preparing our JROTC
teens in how to effectively respond in a disaster with mass
casualties. I witnessed first hand how beneficial it is to have
additional well-trained, quick thinking, well-informed decision making
leaders along with cohesive teamwork in response to an emergency such
as this simulation represented!
I
greatly commend Ms. Grace Lundy, Mr. Ric Wilkerson, Mr. Kendall Birdwell ,
Mr. Chad Tillman and all of the Teen CERT trainers for doing an excellent job
of training our young cadets/students here at Columbia High
School. I had the opportunity to attend and observe most of their
training sessions and experienced / witnessed how professional,
knowledgeable, engaging, and effective (even humorous at times) these
trainers were.
Through this
experience, I have come to more greatly appreciate our emergency
response forces, their ability to process information very quickly in
order to make immediate and timely, life-saving decisions.
I highly recommend and
hope to (one day soon) see all high school JROTC programs implement
Teen CERT training as part of their curriculum. As a parent, a
spouse of a high school teacher and local citizen, I would feel more
confident knowing that our Emergency Response System would be
supplemented with the additional assistance of well-trained young
citizens in the possible event of disaster.
With
Much Gratitude and Appreciation,
Mrs.
Erica Hobbs
Columbia
High School
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