What is Citizen Corps?
Citizen Corps offers volunteer opportunities to support local fire, law enforcement, emergency medical services, community public health efforts, and to contribute to the four stages of emergency management: preparedness, prevention, response, and recovery. With the added support of citizen volunteers, emergency service providers have more time to fulfill their highly skilled responsibilities to make our communities safer, stronger and better prepared.
The Texas Association of Regional Councils, a public entity, administers the Citizen Corps programs in Texas through councils of governments (COGs).
Texas Citizen Corps Receives National Award
TARC’s Citizen Corps Program has been recognized by FEMA’s 2012 Individual and Community
Preparedness Awards for Outstanding State Citizen Corps Council Initiatives. These Awards recognize
the innovative practices and achievements of individuals, Citizen Corps Councils, and non-profit, faith-based, and private sector organization working throughout the nation to make our communities safer,
stronger, and better prepared to manage any disaster or emergency event.
Each applicant demonstrated their ability to engage the Whole Community through partnerships,
achievements, and activities that took place from January 2011 to June 2012. Among other activities, the
Texas State Citizen Corps Program trained Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers
who were integrated into the response to the Bastrop Complex Fire last fall and North Texas tornadoes
earlier this year.
You can read more about this honor here.
Harris County Citizen Corps Council Given Jack Colley Award
 The Harris County Citizen Corps Council was recently recognized during the 2012 Texas Unites Conference in San Antonio.
The organization received the Jack Colley Citizen Corps Leadership Award, established in honor of Jack Colley, who served as director of the Texas Division of Emergency Management for more than a decade before his death in 2010.
Read more...
First Annual Jack Colley Award Recipient
Brenda Gormley, CERT Coordinator for Denton County, was awarded the first annual Jack Colley Award for Volunteerism last week in Austin. The prestigious Jack Colley Award honors an outstanding volunteer who exhibits leadership, dedication, self-sacrifice and service to the State of Texas in the field of emergency management, attributes personified by the late Chief Jack Colley.
This state-wide recognition is the highest honor bestowed upon a volunteer by the state's Citizen Corps Program. The award was presented by the Director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, Steve McCraw, and Texas Association of Regional Councils Executive Director, Penny Redington, at the annual Texas Unites Citizen Corps/VOAD Conference on June 22.
Community Preparedness Webinar Series
The Community Preparedness Webinar Series provides up-to-date information on community preparedness topics and resources available to citizens, community organizations, and Citizen Corps Councils. A webinar is a web-based informational or training seminar (a presentation, lecture, workshop or seminar) that is transmitted over the internet. These webinars will feature new community preparedness topics several times each month and are free to the public. Each webinar will accommodate the first 500 visitors that enter the website at the time of the webinar. In addition to airing live, each webinar will be recorded and viewable after it completes at your convenience.
For information on upcoming webinars, or to view archived Community Preparedness Webcasts and Webinars, click here. |
