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December 2025
Inside: Join our Post Hurricane Season-Holiday Happy Hour, meet our new Logistics Manager, election results and photos from our Annual Meeting, situational awareness tips, plus learn about our 20th Anniversary celebration
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We received our wish at the end of the 2024 hurricane season…the 2025 season was quieter. Yea!
Our volunteers found new ways to improve the safety of our community by starting our drone team and creating an AED network in our neighborhoods. We had an amazing Annual Meeting last month, honoring our organization’s 2025 accomplishments.
Jim Emanuelson (KN4VMK)
President, LWR CERT
941.404.8606
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The annual LWR CERT Post Hurricane Season/Holiday Happy Hour is open to all --
including our members, members of the Lakewood Ranch area CERT coalition, and
our neighbors, family and friends in Lakewood Ranch.
We welcome you to join us as we celebrate a quiet 2025 Hurricane Season.
| | New LWR CERT Logistics Manager | | |
Logistics Manager - Dave Charron
Congratulations to Dave Charron for being named Logistics Manager.
Dave graduated from LWR CERT Basic Training in October 2025 and is a member of Team 22. He brings extensive experience as a business owner and manufacturers' representative where he developed strong skills in warehousing and logistics. Welcome, Dave!
| | RECAP: Annual Member Meeting and Election - November 17 | | |
Easy Ways to Improve Your Situational Awareness:
Practical Skills for Everyday Safety
By Kathie Neal
Our Annual Meeting included an energetic and highly interactive presentation on personal safety and situational awareness. The session – led by Krav Maga Self Defense’s John Brockhoff and Jodi O’Meara – a married couple who specialize in practical self-defense education – offered attendees hands-on learning, open discussion, and actionable strategies for staying alert in an increasingly distracted world.
The presenters centered their session on a core message: “Awareness buys time; time buys options.” With modern life dominated by busy schedules and cell phones, they emphasized how easy it is to move through daily routines without truly observing our surroundings. Their mission was to reshape that mindset by teaching simple techniques to train the brain to stay aware—and in turn, stay safe.
Krav Maga–Inspired, Instinct-Based Skills
Drawing from Krav Maga principles, the presenters demonstrated instinctual self-defense movements designed for real-world encounters. They stressed that their system is not a martial art, but a practical personal-defense approach focused on avoiding conflict whenever possible, particularly important in women’s self-defense scenarios.
Participants learned how small, intentional behaviors – such as scanning for all available exits or noticing when someone is standing too close – can make a significant difference. The couple encouraged attendees to look for what feels “off baseline,” meaning anything that doesn’t match what experience tells us is normal for a given environment.
Understanding Threat Levels: The Color Code
One of the standout teaching tools was a color-coded threat-awareness model. To begin, the audience reflected on a photo of a loved one – described as their personal “Why” for learning to stay safe.
The color levels were outlined as follows:
- White: Fully safe and in control of surroundings – such as being in your home
- Yellow: Out of your controlled environment – such as while shopping or running errands
- Orange: Something breaks your “baseline”; something feels wrong
- Red: Confronting an active physical threat
- Purple: A potential life-or-death situation
By naming and recognizing these stages, the presenters explained, individuals can communicate concerns to loved ones and act more decisively when needed.
Voice, Posture, and Presence
Another key theme was the power of voice. A strong, commanding tone can deter a potential threat, signal to bystanders that assistance may be needed, and disrupt an attacker’s decision-making process. This idea ties into the OODA Loop—Observe, Orient, Decide, Act – a framework describing how perpetrators identify and select targets. The trainers showed how clear commands, confident posture, and deliberate movement can break that cycle.
John and Jodi practiced using body language to appear less vulnerable: standing balanced, maintaining good posture, creating space by stepping back, and positioning hands in a defensive yet non-aggressive stance. These techniques, the presenters said, can help prevent a situation from escalating into a physical confrontation.
Building a Habit of Awareness
Throughout the presentation, the couple reinforced the value of practicing these skills daily – not out of fear, but out of preparedness. Situational awareness, they noted, is a habit that can be developed like any other, and doing so increases personal safety for ourselves and those we care about.
LWR CERT members left the session with practical tools and a renewed sense of confidence. As one attendee summarized afterward, “It wasn’t about fighting – it was about noticing, thinking, and acting before something becomes a problem.”
| Thank you, Jim Emanuelson, moderator; Anna Albano, producer and tech support specialist; Paulette Kessler-Westerman and Rich Raymond, photographers; Rosemary Stack and Jean Hritz, sign in desk help; and all our Managers who tended to our information tables. The meeting was organized by Jim Curran, Karen Emanuelson, and Gloria Schroeck. | Two Directors were also elected to the LWR CERT Board during the Annual Meeting. Congratulations to Jan Kuhn and John McInally for being re-elected to the Board. | | 2026 LWR CERT Board of Directors | | Annual Meeting Recognitions | |
2025 Outstanding Volunteers
Congratulations and thank you to (from left) Corinne Wagner, Phil Westerman, Mike Resetarits, Kathie Neal, Paulette Kessler-Westerman, and Carol Jenckes for being recognized as Outstanding Volunteers for their service to LWR CERT this year. We appreciate and thank Mission BBQ for helping us recognize these volunteers with donated gift bags.
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2025 Managers
Our organization could not run throughout the year without an amazing team of Committee Managers leading our blue-sky activities. We thank (from left) Andy Mattheus (Drone), Mike Modisett (Basic Training), Karen Emanuelson (Communications), Magdalena Jones (Member Records), Gloria Schroeck (Events), Anna Albano (Technology), John Wilkey (Community Engagement) and (not pictured) Alan Blair (Radio) and Dave Cashbaugh (Operations) for their time, energy and commitment to excellence.
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Did you know?
LWR CERT has 13 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) placed throughout the CEVA, CCE, GBVA, and SRVA neighborhoods, providing quick access should an AED be needed.
Want to find the AED closest to your home? Download the (yellow) PulsePoint App today!
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Neighbors in the St. Georges neighborhood gathered Sunday, November 9 for the opportunity to learn about the AED located on Royal Birkdale Circle. LWR CERT Vice President George Jenckes introduced residents to the AED, demonstrating how simple it is to use.
Residents were given opportunities to practice using the training AED on a manikin and encouraged to download the PulsePoint app. The event was hosted by George and Carol Jenckes who are part of the LWR CERT AED Network. We thank George for sharing his skills and knowledge with our residents.
| | RECAP: Tribute to Heroes Parade | | On Sunday, November 9, more than 25 LWR CERT volunteers proudly served as parade route monitors during the annual Lakewood Ranch Tribute to Heroes Parade. Special thanks to George Haralampoudis for coordinating the team and for his swift response along with fellow LWR CERT volunteer Bill Rogers for responding to a medical incident along the route. | | Thank you to all our parade safety volunteers including Susan Avolio, Janis Ballard, Bruce Bedford, David Berkowitz, Annette Buhr, Jerry Buhr, Dave Cashbaugh, Gary Cockfield, Elaine Cockfield, John Festa, Susan Fink, Linda Gooen, George Haralampoudis, Jim Hermiston, Randy Koelb, Paulette Kessler-Westerman, Stephen Kost, Jillian Kubacki, John Moelhman, Kathie Neal, Rich Raymond, Bill Rogers, Jack Sandelman, Gloria Schroeck, Tim Sherer, Rosemary Stack, Jerry Toner, Phil Westerman, and Sheila White. | | Lakewood Ranch home catches fire | | |
Recently in Lakewood Ranch, a home experienced a dryer vent fire — a reminder of how quickly a simple household task can become a serious hazard.
Lint buildup in dryer vents is one of the most common causes of preventable house fires, and it can happen even when we clean the lint trap regularly.
Annual professional dryer vent cleaning is recommended and helps remove hidden buildup deep within the system, reducing the risk of ignition and keeping your home and family safe. If you have pets or do heavy or frequent laundry loads, your vents may need to be cleaned even more often.
Thanks to Pam Charron for sharing this important safety tip.
| | Save The Date - Saturday, February 7, 2026 | | New Emergency Treatment for Anaphylaxis | | |
Beginning with the October Basic Training class, LWR CERT members are being trained on a new emergency treatment for anaphylaxis - Neffy - an epinephrine nasal spray.
LWR CERT members do not administer treatments but can assist survivors administer their Neffy and Epipens when needed in an emergency situation.
LWR CERT members who graduated before October 2025 will be trained on this new emergency treatment in the coming months. In the meantime, click the accompanying photo to view a video.
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Team 22
Dave and Pam Charron hosted members of Team 22 at a meet and greet luncheon at the Lakewood Ranch Golf Club November 15.
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New drone operator
Congratulations to Radio Committee Manager Alan Blair who recently passed the FAA Part 107 Aeronautical Knowledge Test and obtained his Remote Pilot Certificate. Alan is now a licensed drone pilot.
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Quarterly Test of the ECRN
Members of the Radio Committee, including our Hubs, Medical Advisory Team, and Incident Commander, conducted a quarterly test of the ECRN (Emergency Communications Radio Network) Saturday, November 22. Members of the Radio Committee, led by Manager Alan Blair, also continue to train IDA Operations personnel several times a year to test the equipment and ensure adequate radio coverage.
October Basic Training
Thank you Dick Plotkin, Dave Esslinger , Jim Emanuelson and Frank Csorja for your assistance with the Radio Exercise during the October Basic Training class.
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December Birthdays
Happy Birthday to members Anna Albano (Team 16), Becky Bertram (Team 20), Michael Carter (Team 17), Donna Donato (Team 33), Dan Gulling (Team 31), Karen Lilly (Team 8), Elena Markow (Team 13), Martha O'Donnell (Team 36), Dave Thurston (Team 8), John Uttero (Team 20), and Paula Willis
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Meetings take place at LWR Town Hall unless otherwise noted.
2026 date to reserve on your calendar
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