This past Friday, RCSE went back to meeting in person at The Pirates House and it was lovely to see members face to face rather than on a screen. Meetings will continue to be in a hybrid format for the foreseeable future. Once all business items were discussed and Happy dollars were given, President Laura Lane McKinnon introduced our speaker for the day, Chelsea Sawyer with CEMA (Chatham Emergency Management Agency).
Chelsea began her presentation by talking about Emergency Management 101. CEMA is a support agency that helps in preparation for major emergencies and disasters. The roles and responsibilities of CEMA include education, planning, training and coordination of resources. They have three emergency operation centers. Chelsea's boss says that they are a small office with large responsibility.
Chelsea then spoke on her recent deployment to Newnan, Georgia. In the early morning on March 26, Newnan was hit by EF4 tornadoes which have 166-200 mph winds. This was the largest tornado to affect the state of Georgia. Over 1700 homes were impacted, the high school was destroyed, and the elementary school lost its roof. Chelsea was there to help provide assistance with crisis clean up (tree limbs blocking the streets), donation management and distribution, and to help with the volunteer reception center. At the volunteer reception center, they processed 1200 volunteers in two days. Her objective was to match volunteers based on their skill sets with the needs in the community. Chelsea said the Coweta County Public School System support was integral in the running of the center. To learn more about CEMA, please visit https://www.chathamemergency.org