Mahaska County CERT Meeting Showing Team Maturity

Mahaska County CERT had their monthly meeting at Smokey Row in Oskaloosa

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The group that started out as a single group of people from one church in Oskaloosa has continued to grow. It now has members across the county, from high schools to the working man and woman.

Monday night the group gathered for their monthly meeting at Smokey Row.

• The group discussed where they were in their online training classes with FEMA, and that all certificates needed to be turned in to the proper people.
• The new software to help coordinate who is responding when calls for help are sent out was also discussed.
• Participation in the Lighted Christmas Parade was decided on by the group that they did want to participate.
• Meetings will now be held the 3rd Monday of every month starting in January.

CERT really grew out of the disaster that was Hurricane Katrina when the President Bush said “the big push was when Katrina and George W told Americans you need to be able to take care of yourselves, and by doing that, that’s when CERT really blossomed”.

When Robinson took over in 2007, there was a note on the wall in his office about a CERT team. “I didn’t even know what it was,” Robinson said. The now gone Vennard College was starting their own campus CERT team. After the school’s closure, Robinson continued to research the project further, and was able to get some grant money to help keep the project going. “In region 5, which is southeast Iowa, we are one of three counties that have CERT Teams,” Robinson stated about the group.

If you would like more information on the Mahaska County CERT Team or Mahaska County Emergency Management.

If you would like to see more on the CERT Team locally, follow the listed links to stories about them on Osky News:

• Practicing To Help Save Lives
• Missing Toddler Makes For Anxious Moments
• Preparing and Praying They Never Have To Use It
• Mahaska County CERT Continues To Grow
• Iowa Governor Branstad Signs Disaster Proclamation, Mahaska County Reaches Out
• Tornado Rips Path Of Damage Across New Sharon
• New Sharon Teen CERT Team Welcomes New Members
• Mahaska County CERT Team Continues To Grow And Organize
• A Community Says Good-bye To It’s Hero
• Mahaska County CERT Team Meeting Saturday
• Mahaska CERT Team Helps Marion County
• Mahsaks CERT Team Shows Their Spirit Of Service
• Mahaska Emergency Management Prepares For The Worst