Jim Emanuelson (KN4VMK)

President, LWR CERT

Volunteers are needed during this year's BooFest on Friday, Oct. 27 in downtown LWR. This annual Halloween celebration will attract children and their families to trick-or-treat around Main Street.

Volunteers will staff four inflatables, ensuring the safety of the children participants. You will work in pairs in 2-hour shifts. The event begins at 6 PM. First-shift volunteers will arrive at 5:30 PM for instructions; second-shift volunteers will receive their instructions at 7 PM. Volunteers may choose to work the entire event (5:30-9 PM).

Sign up with a spouse, neighbor or friend. LWR CERT membership is not required to volunteer. What a fun way to give back to the community!

The September 7 Events Planning meeting achieved its goal of creating a calendar of 2024 events. Thanks to the inputs from Dave Cashbaugh, Jim Hermiston, Jill Perlin, Sheila White, Mike Modisett, Paulette Kessler-Westerman, Pat Knowles, Alan Blair, George Haralampoudis, Val Voutsas, Jean Hritz, Jim Emanuelson and Jan Kuhn, the team agreed the 2024 LWR CERT calendar will feature:

The final 2024 Event Calendar will be released when we receive confirmation of our requested meeting space from Town Hall.

Do you have an idea for a topic or speaker for a public event? Contact Karen Emanuelson to share your suggestion.

With our current membership at 227 and three Basic Training classes planned for 2024 providing us with additional members, we anticipate LWR CERT member events may soon outgrow LWR Town Hall accommodations. Sheila White is spearheading research into nearby locations which might be able to accommodate a group of 125+ for educational events such as our member meetings at a low cost or possibly no fee.

If you have ideas or connections at a location that might be able to accommodate LWR CERT for a weekday evening or Saturday morning meeting in 2024, please send an email to cert@lwrcert.org, and we'll add it to our list of prospective locations. Thanks!

The September 26 Member Meeting had our members' heads in the clouds as they learned how to become Storm Spotters. The SKYWARN training was presented by National Weather Service's Warning Coordination Meteorologist Dan Noah.

Attendees received an overview of the national SKYWARN program, learned to identify convective storm hazards and gained an understanding of the impacts various weather conditions have on cloud formations. By the end of the evening, attendees knew how to report and communicate local storm reports to the National Weather Service.

An online version of the National Weather Service course is available. Click here to view the online version of SKYWARN Spotter Training.

Thanks to Jim Hermiston for serving as event MC, to Jan Kuhn for running the check-in table and to Sharon Defferding for the photos.

River Club CERT is hosting their first Basic Training class on three Saturdays in October. Sessions will meet October 14, 21 and 28 from 8:30 AM - 4 PM at the Firehouse Administration Building on LWR Blvd. Basic Training is free and open to all adults. Seating is limited. Click here to access the online registration form. For more information, contact cert@riverclub.us.

Trailer Estates CERT is scheduling CERT Basic Training classes November 7, 8, 13, 16, and 18 from 10 AM - 2 PM. The Saturday, November 18 class will go longer as necessary. Basic Training is free and open to all adults. For more information and to register, contact Sharon Denson at originaltr@cs.com.

Jessica Moore, Wildlife Assistance Biologist at Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, will discuss common wildlife found in Florida communities at LWR Town Hall on Thursday, October 5 at 6:30 PM. Jessica will review wildlife conservation principles, basic biology, and best management practices for protecting people, pets and property.

The event is free and open to all. Registration is not required.

Happy October birthday to members Janis Ballard (Team 10), Ken Bertram (Team 20), Ann Bohlander (Team 31), Jerry Buhr (Team 27), Kathy Combs (Team 1), Kay Culliton (Team 20), Sharon Defferding (Team 36), Mark Holmes (Team 35), George Jenckes (Team 26), Abdiel Lorente (Team 30), Mark Marcus (Team 25), William Martin (Team 26), William Mechling (Team 36), Brenda Nusbaum (Team 35), Jim O'Donnell (Team 36), Mike Resetarits (Team 22), Lisa Robbins (Team 36), Alan Roth (Team 9), Julie Russell (Team 36), Christy Samuels (Team 9), Ryan Shipp (Team 11), Rosemary Stack (Team 32), Art Taber (Team 27), Connie Thompkins (Team 25) and Ryan Zachos (Team 10).

LWR-IDA Resident Orientation - New to the area or still confused about the roles the IDA, CDDs and HOAs have in LWR? Attend this month's LWR-IDA Resident Orientation Wednesday, October 4 from 5 - 7 PM at LWR Town Hall. Alan Blair and Cynthia Olcott will provide a brief introduction to LWR CERT and our role in the community during the event. Thanks, Alan and Cynthia!

Emergency Alert Test - FEMA and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will conduct a nationwide test of two key emergency alert systems on Wednesday, October 4 at 2:20 PM. The test is expected to last one minute and will send alerts to cell phones, radios and TVs.

CERTs in Manatee County - Steve Litschauer, Deputy Director - Public Safety and Emergency Management Chief for Manatee County, reports there are now 18 active CERT programs in Manatee County!

Whitemarsh Hurricane Prep - Belated thanks to Jim Hermiston for presenting a Hurricane Preparedness program to the residents of Whitemarsh earlier this year. Whitemarsh is part of Team 28's coverage area and currently has no LWR CERT members. If you are interested in joining LWR CERT, visit lwrcert.org/join for details.

LWR Area CERT Coalition - Congratulations to Howard Malis, who was recently named chair of the LWR Area CERT Coalition. Jim Hermiston serves as the LWR CERT representative to the Coalition, which meets monthly.

LWR CERT on Facebook - Are you one of the more than 1,375 Facebook users who follow the LWR CERT page? In the week leading up to Hurricane Idalia, LWR CERT Facebook posts reached more than 9,500! Check out our page and click the "like" button to see our posts in your feed.

Thanks to reporter Ernie Soller for recapping our latest Public Hurricane Prep event.

The article appeared in the September 20, 2023 issue of "Around the Ranch."

Send comments, suggestions, and photos for future issues to communications@lwrcert.org