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A TRUE COPY <;ERTIEICATiON ON LAST PAGE R. MTH. CLERK organizations direct the flow of critical supplies, food, water, and shelter to the areas of greatest need. In addition, maintaining communications through CERT members increases the flow of critical information to neighborhood residents who may be without power and unable to otherwise get important updates and notices. In addition, as a part of the CERT program implementation, we plan to increase the number and use of Amateur Radio operators throughout the county both before and during emergencies. By partnering with the Vero Beach Amateur Radio Club and the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), we will not only improve radio communication skills of volunteers, but will also ensure neighborhood CERTs have solid, reliable communications back to the Emergency Operations Center during emergencies. Prior to disaster situations, having CERT volunteers participate in exercises and drills, armed with in- depth understanding of the needs of their own neighborhoods, helps with pre -disaster planning efforts by county emergency management personnel and relief organizations, and increases the chances of success during actual emergency situations. In addition, CERT volunteers, deployed inside their own neighborhoods, and using the skills they learned in CERT training, can provide immediate assistance to their neighbors until professional help arrives, administer first aid as the situation warrants, and organize and mobilize the ad-hoc, spontaneous volunteers that will undoubtedly come out to help once the danger has passed. Neighborhood CERT teams will be able to do this while continuing to maintain communications with local authorities, keeping them updated on the local situation. In order to pull all of this together, CERT of Indian River County will primarily use volunteers to plan, manage and implement the program with support from the IRCES staff as required. A volunteer program manager has been named who has assembled a small initial planning team to begin work on the program's organizational structure and positions descriptions, and to begin recruiting volunteers to fill key leadership roles. In addition, planning is underway for CERT training and exercises, community outreach and internal messaging, both pre- and post -disaster operations, and the various administrative functions of the program. This year's training offerings will include a Train -the -Trainer class, refresher training classes for previously trained volunteers, two Basic CERT training sessions for new volunteers, and a variety of advanced skills training CERT members. For all activities, training and exercises, safety considerations are being built in to the plan. Recruiting and Retention Three major challenges are inherent in all volunteer programs; community outreach and recruiting, meaningful engagement of volunteers, and robust communications. CERT of Indian River County addresses each challenge with an eye toward building a viable, sustainable program. Recruiting is the life -blood of any volunteer organization. A comprehensive recruiting strategy that reaches each neighborhood in the county will be developed by program leaders to garner support and interest in the program, to generate fresh ideas about how best to implement the program, and to ensure a continual flow of new volunteers. Recruiting will start by contacting everyone in the county who had previously attended CERT training in order to reignite their interest in the program. To that end, a letter was sent in July by the Director of IRCES to each former CERT member with information about the revitalization project that is now underway, encouraging them to get reconnected with the program. In addition, email contact listings have been generated, the CERT of