White House To Honor Man For Leading Century, Escambia County Disaster Prep

January 18, 2012

The executive director of  the  Be Ready Alliance Coordinating for Emergencies (BRACE) will be recognized at the White House on Thursday for his efforts in Escambia County and Century.

Greg Strader, founder of BRACE, will be one of the 17 local leaders who will be honored at the White House as Champions of Change who help prepare their communities for disaster and build a more resilient nation.

“These men and women have demonstrated significant innovation and creativity in working to get their communities ready for the unexpected and embraced the approach of involving all members of their communities in emergency preparedness and response, reaching out to faith-based, tribal, non-profit, private sector and community-based organizations, as well as individual citizens,” according to the White House.

The Champions of Change program was created as a part of President Obama’s Winning the Future initiative. Each week, a different issue is highlighted and groups of Champions, ranging from educators to entrepreneurs to community leaders, are recognized for the work they are doing to better their communities.

BRACE works to prepare educate and train local communities in disaster preparedness, response and recovery.

According to Kermit Housh, chairman of the board for BRACE, Strader will meet with administration officials to discus how the public private partnership model used by BRACE to prepare local for disaster can be a model for other communities.

“This past year we’ve been reminded that disasters can strike at any time and that preparedness is critical,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. “We commend the innovative practices and achievements that these individuals bring to the field of emergency management in order to make our communities safer, stronger, and better prepared.”

Through Strader and BRACE, Century recently held CERT — the Community Emergency Response Team — training, including mock disaster drill, for over two dozen local citizens.

Pictured top: Century town council member Sandra McMurray Jackson (left) and another CERT volunteer held a disaster “victim” during a CERT disaster drill. Pictured inset and below: CERT volunteers search for tornado victims during a drill.  NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.

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