Good evening. I hope everyone has remained somewhat dry over the last month of increased rain!! So far this rainfall has only produced minimal damage within our communities. We can only hope that it stays that way.

We are just now entered our "busy" part of the hurricane season. I hope you are prepared and even though we have not had a true tropical impact in many years, remember "it only takes one". Have a plan & be prepared.

This week we are hosting Burgers & Badges on Tuesday night in Tierra Verde and Thursday Night in Lealman. Please see flyer below for more information. If you have time either or both of those nights, feel free to stop by and lend a hand. (I realize many of you may not be able to get their early, but we could use your help when you can get there.) I think this event will be a lot of fun and a great way to highlight our CERT program.

Because of work schedules, many of our members can not make it to the Monday night Next Step Courses. With that in mind, on Saturday, September 12th we will be offering all three next step courses from 9am until 4pm at Fire Station #18 (4360 55th Avenue North). In light of that schedule, we have cancelled the Next Step Course on August 24th. Please see the dates and times below for the remainder of the Next Step Courses this year.

We have a small committee continually working on a CERT conference in February. We could use some more people to "make it happen". Currently, we are looking at a price tag of approximately $200 per person for an all-inclusive conference from Thursday night, February 25th through Sunday morning, February 28th. While this price is reasonable, I think that $75 is a more reasonable amount to ask from a CERT member who donates his/her talents to the community. The only way we can accomplish lowering the price is to find community organizations and businesses to help offset the overall price. We will begin looking for sponsors soon. If you know of any organizations or businesses that may be able to help, please email me and we can talk about how best to approach them.

I hope to see you this week at Badges & Burgers. We DO appreciate all you do for your community. If you have any suggestions to build our program, please contact me. This is YOUR CERT Program.

Respectfully,

K. Larry Thompson, Captain

P.S.- Please promote our next CERT Basic Course in September. Flyer is below.

In this issue

BURGERS & BADGES

#LEAPN2CERT

NEXT STEPS COURSES

CERT TRAINING / ACTIVATION OPPORTUNITIES

CERT BASIC COURSE

#LEAPN2CERT

We are currently in the planning process for a CERT Conference at the Florida Elks Youth Camp in Umatilla, Florida on February 25th through the 28th 2016. This event will take a lot of effort and we need members to help organize and manage aspects of this project. As it is shaping up, we will be offering three tracks with seven breakout sessions for a total of 21 unique courses. In addition, we will provide several "social" opportunities and an exercise (possibly a CERT Olympics) on the Saturday afternoon.

Please save the date and if you are interested in helping to organize this conference, please email me.

NEXT STEPS COURSES

****ALL THREE NEXT STEP COURSES IN ONE DAY****

****SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12th****

****SEE LISTING IN TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES BELOW****

09/28/2015: NEXT STEP: CERT ORIENTATION - Next Step: CERT Orientation covers Standard Operating Guidelines utilized by Lealman CERT. Subjects covered will provide basic information in how our program works including the technology we utilize such as Mission Manager, Phonevite, and our Website. This course is required for issuing of Lealman CERT Identification cards. This course is a requirement for new members and must be retaken every two years by current members. The class is held in the Training Room at Fire Station #18 from 6:30pm until 9:30pm.

10/26/2015: NEXT STEP: ICS - Next Step ICS covers the basics of the Incident Command System (ICS) as well as systems utilized to "run" a mission. The class concludes with a tabletop exercise. This course is a requirement for new members and must be retaken every two years by current members. The class is held in the Training Room at Fire Station #18 from 6:30pm until 9:30pm. RSVP on MM.

2016: NEXT STEP: COMMUNICATIONS - Communications makes or breaks any operation. Communications is more than just equipment; It involves the ability to deliver a clear and concise message. Next Step: Communications involves learning about the different means of communicating including FRS/GMRS and amateur radios and how to properly "frame" a message for clarity, purpose, and urgency. This course is a requirement for new members and must be retaken every two years by current members. The class is held in the Training Room at Fire Station #18 from 6:30pm until 9:30pm. RSVP on MM

CERT TRAINING / ACTIVATION OPPORTUNITIES

(Please utilize your Mission Manager (MM) account to RSVP to events and training opportunities mentioned below.

If you are currently not a MM users please email me and we will set-up an account.)

08/18/2015: BURGERS & BADGES-TIERRA VERDE - Burgers & Badges is a National Night Out Event sponsored by the Lealman Fire District and Lealman CERT. It is this year's "Open House" for the community. We urgently need CERT members to staff a CERT informational booth, help prepare food items and help set-up and tear-down the event. The event runs from 5pm until 8pm with set-up starting at 4pm at Fire Station #21 located at 540 Sands Point Drive in Tierra Verde. RSVP on MM.

08/20/2015: BURGERS & BADGES - LEALMAN - Burgers & Badges is a National Night Out Event sponsored by the Lealman Fire District and Lealman CERT. It is this year's "Open House" for the community. We urgently need CERT members to staff a CERT informational booth, help prepare food items and help set-up and tear-down the event. The event runs from 5pm until 8pm with set-up starting at 4pm at Fire Station #18 located at 4360 55th Avenue North in Lealman. RSVP on MM

09/03/2015: CERT RADIO NET - The Lealman CERT Amateur Radio Club ''KI4ZKR'' holds a bi-monthly net on the 1st & 3rd Thursday of each month beginning at 8pm. The net starts on the N4AAC Repeater 145.310 MHz, PL tone of 103.5. Following the Repeater check-in the net moves to the CERT Simplex Frequency of 146.580 MHz. This is a controlled net. Please listen to and follow net controls instructions. RSVP on MM.

09/12/2015: CERT ADVANCED TRAINING - As requested by many of our members that can not attend the Next Step Courses on Monday evenings, this month's CERT Advanced Training will be ALL THREE Next Step Courses in a day. We will begin with NS: Orientation, then NS:ICS, and finally, NS:Communications. The training will start at 9am and continue until we complete all of the courses in the afternoon (shooting for 4pm or before). Lunch will be served. Please RSVP on MM.

09/17/2015: CERT RADIO NET - The Lealman CERT Amateur Radio Club ''KI4ZKR'' holds a bi-monthly net on the 1st & 3rd Thursday of each month beginning at 8pm. The net starts on the N4AAC Repeater 145.310 MHz, PL tone of 103.5. Following the Repeater check-in the net moves to the CERT Simplex Frequency of 146.580 MHz. This is a controlled net. Please listen to and follow net controls instructions. RSVP on MM.

09/21/2015: CAC MEETING - The Lealman CERT Advisory Committee meets each month on the 3rd Monday at 6:30pm to discuss and coordinate upcoming training sessions and activities. All CERT members are welcome to attend and your input is important in shaping the future of Lealman CERT. The meeting is held in the Training Room at Fire Station #18. RSVP on MM.

CERT BASIC COURSE

Registration can be found at www.lealmancert.org