MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

December | 2025

In This Issue

A Message from the Chairperson: Farewell 2025
Quarterly Meeting - 12/8 @ 10am
Register for the 2026 Mid-Atlantic VOAD Conference
Church of the Brethren is hiring!
Join the VOAD Movement
Reauthorization of State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program
New Super Depot at Mission Central
Host the Maryland VOAD Tool Trailer
Help Needed in Western Maryland
Challenges Facing Emergency Management in a Changing World
Upcoming Events
Facebook page

A Message from the Chairperson: Farewell 2025

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

On behalf of our Board of Directors--Christina, Jenn, Thea, Bruce and myself, I want to thank all of our Members, Partners and Affiliates for the commitment you have made to work together over the past year. For the survivor families and individuals whose lives we have touch, I have seen first hand, what an incredible difference we have made in their lives, and the hope that our cooperation, communication, collaboration and coordination has brought to them.

We have continued our support of the Eastern Shore Long Term Recovery Committee's work to elevate and repair a 100 homes on the Lower Eastern Shore. We have supported the communities in the George's Creek Valley of Allegany County when devastating floods ravaged many homes in May. We have helped these communities establish the Western Maryland Long Term Recovery Group and begin their work of helping survivors reach recovery. (At our Quarterly Meeting on Monday we will have time to review the work we have done together in the George's Creek Valley.) We are on the cusp of putting the Maryland VOAD tool trailer into service, as we are securing the best supplier to spend our $25,000 raised for purchase of new tools. This list doesn't include the myriad of responses many of you have made individually, that reflects positively on all us.

We (Maryland VOAD) is made up of 60 organizations. It might seem to the outsider that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to get that many organizations to work together. But, that simply is not my experience as one who is involved in this coordination. One of my great joys is what I experience as an extremely high level of commitment to work together for the good of the residents of Maryland. I believe this is our greatest achievement of this past year (and previous years)!

As this year comes to a close and we enter the most special of holiday seasons, I wish all of you and your families the best of celebrations and holiday gatherings. I look forward to our work together in 2026--knowing, unfortunately, there will undoubtably be much to do.

Holiday blessings to all!

Quarterly Meeting this Monday December 8

Join us at the Maryland Department of Emergency Management Offices

Please join us this Monday, December 8th at 10am for the Quarterly meeting.

Come out and join the conversation in person. We strongly encourage everyone to participate in person for this meeting. This allows for networking and building relationships that are crucial for our work together.

LOCATION: 7229 Parkway Drive, Suite 200 Hanover, MD 21076. (Old AT&T Building) - Room 142

MEETING DOCUMENTS - Below is the link to the folder containing meeting documents. This folder contains:

The agenda
Minutes from the September Quarterly Meeting
The Treasurer’s report.
Two documents for an After-Action-Review of our initial response to the Western Maryland Flooding in May. These two documents contain:
A timeline of our coordinated responses to the flooding
An outline of the process we will use to evaluate our work.

(Please take a few minutes to look these over to be prepared to engage in the process. We have devised a way for both in-person and virtual participants to be involved.)

02 December 8 2025

ARE YOU ATTENDING IN-PERSON:

Please RSVP by noon on Friday, Dec. 5 so we have a count for lunch.

Let us know of any dietary needs you have.

RSVP by emailing Tessa Lovro at tessa.lovro@maryland.gov

ZOOM LINK - For those who have to attend virtually you can use the link below to join the meeting. We hope you won't need it.

To Join the Quarterly Meeting by Zoom

https://zoom.us/j/8672051054?pwd=K1ZsQ05PeDhxajNZaFlJRUdSS3FLZz09

Meeting ID: 867 205 1054

Passcode: 727250

One tap mobile

+13017158592,,8672051054#,,,,*727250# US (Washington DC)

Dial by your location

• +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)

• +1 309 205 3325 US

• +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

Conference Registration is Open!

The Mid-Atlantic Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (DC, DE, MD, PA, and WV) invite you to join us for our 2025 annual conference. Our theme is:

The Urgency of the 4C’s:

The Importance of State and VOAD Relationships

Please click here to Register for the Conference

The conference, designed to be interactive, will focus on the 4C’s (Collaboration, Cooperation, Communication, Coordination) as an important road map in the face of shifting Federal policies, as States and VOAD’s work together to identify the most critical service gaps and barriers to recovery, and how to address them.

Our conference brochure includes information about the conference, the conference schedule, and Cacapon Resort State Park Lodge (location, amenities, and room rates).

NOTE: Individuals need to make their own lodging reservations by calling (304) 258-1022. (Code: VOAD)

If you are interested in being a conference sponsor, please click here.

You must register for this event

and make your room reservations

by March 2nd in order to attend !!

Church of the Brethren is Hiring!

The Church of the Brethren is announcing an open position for Program Assistant for Brethren Disaster Ministries – Children’s Disaster Services located at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, MD.

Applications will be received beginning immediately and will be reviewed on an ongoing basis until the position is filled. Qualified candidates may send a cover letter and resume to COBApply@brethren.org.

Follow the link for more information: https://www.brethren.org/about/employment/

Maryland VOAD welcomes new members.

To request an application send an email to membership@marylandvoad.org.

Check out the full list of our Current Members, Partners, and Affiliates.

Reauthorization of State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program

WEB SLCGP-Cyber-Grants-Program-v2_carousel 700x394 image

House Votes to Reauthorize the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program

In Congress, the House passed bipartisan legislation to reauthorize and strengthen the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP), which expired in September after initially receiving $1 billion under the 2021 infrastructure law.

The Protecting Information by Local Leaders for Agency Resilience (PILLAR) Act would extend the program for up to a decade, stabilize federal cost-sharing at 60% for single applicants and 70% for multi-entity groups, and encourage adoption of multifactor authentication, shared services, and AI-related risk mitigation.

Follow on the program website for FY26 NOFO Release and guidelines.

New Super Depot at Mission Central

Host the Tool Trailer

Can you host the tool trailer in 2026? Your support helps to the raise funds needed to outfit the Tool Trailer and to increase awareness about Maryland VOAD.

Email Chairperson@marylandvoad.org if you are interested to host the trailer in a lot near you.

Help Needed in Western Maryland

FURNACE REPAIR

Furnace assessment and repair is desperately needed as winter weather settles in and many families are without heat.

If you, or someone you know, can service electric or gas furnaces - we need your help.

Send an email with your contact information to:

chairperson@marylandvoad.org

CONSTRUCTION CREWS

Please begin recruiting volunteers to join construction crews to compete a variety of projects in support of survivors in Western Maryland.

For more information contact - ellen.udovich@gmail.com

Challenges Facing Emergency Management in a Changing World

We all recognize the mounting pressures that burnout, climate change, and declining public trust place on emergency management.

In a recent column published in Homeland Security Today USA, Dan Stoneking—author of Cultivate Your Garden: Crisis Communications from 30,000 Feet to Three Feet and adjunct professor at West Chester University—shares his insights on the five biggest challenges emergency management professionals face as the world evolves.

Take a moment to read the full column and see if you agree with his perspective on the future of emergency management.

DATES	Conference or Training Event	Location and Registration
Dates vary by location	Central MD American Red Cross Training	Schedule and Registration
Dec. 1- Dec. 12, 2025	Maryland Charity Campaign is ending soon.	https://mcc.maryland.gov
March 9, 2026	Maryland VOAD Quarterly meeting	Host Needed
Mar. 31 - Apr, 2, 2025	2025 Regional VOAD Conference View the brochure.	Cacapon Resort Berkeley Springs, WV Registration is open!
May 19-22, 2025	2025 National VOAD Conference	The Galt House Louisville, KY
June 8, 2026	Maryland VOAD Annual meeting	Host Needed
September 14, 2026	Maryland VOAD Quarterly meeting	Host Needed
December 14, 2026	Maryland VOAD Quarterly meeting	Host Needed

Visit, Like and Share - MDVOAD Facebook Page

Be sure to visit the MD VOAD Facebook page. While there, support our VOAD members by liking and sharing their content. This helps everyone reach broader audiences with our important message.

Newsletter Content

Do you have an update, event, or announcement to share with the rest of Maryland VOAD? Send your information and pictures to CommunicationsCoordinator@MarylandVOAD.org to be shared on our Social Media or by the 25th of each month to be included in the next newsletter issue.

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