CONTINUING EDUCATION IN ORLANDO
Olga Arroyo, Public Safety Education Specialist, Division of Public Relations

Since the program began in 1994, we have trained over 650 CERT members.  Each of these members is active and willing to be ready if a disaster hits the City of Orlando. 

In January 2002, our first class of First Responder was initiated and it was a success with a total of 25 participants.  Six of the participants have successfully passed the exam for First Responder on July 2002 by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians.  Each year we plan to have this class as an ongoing training for our CERT graduates.

In June 2002, we had a class for our senior citizens who were trained in CERT.    This year we will be targeting youth, senior citizens, and minorities.

So far we have 12 communities who are involved in CERT.

An Emergency Child Birth class is also underway.  It will be the first time this training is offered.  We are sure it will be a success since the members have asked for this type of training.  Another one of our training was the Ham Radio.  This class is a non-Morse Code basic license and does not require experience. CERT members who are licensed will learn how to operate an amateur radio.  They will be playing a major role in homeland defense as well as recovery from natural disasters.  Orlando has a particularly great need for Ham operators as a host for evacuees.  We plan on having a total of 100% passing.

And of course, our Universal Mock Disaster that is held every year was a wonderful success this year with at least 30 teams and over 300 volunteers.  Next year we hope to have at least 50 teams with over 500 volunteers.

The Second Annual Florida CERT Conference is coming up in January 16-19, 2003 at Lake Mary Marriott Hotel (www.floridacert.com).  We are looking for volunteers to assist with an emergency drill that is scheduled for Friday 01/17/2003.  The event will take place at the Sanford Airport from 7:30 – 12:00 noon.

Our goal is to train 720 citizens of the City of Orlando by the end of September 2003.  Of the 720 citizens 480 will be senior citizens.

Together we can make it happen!

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