City-Community Map-Your-Neighborhood Event Recognized
ABOUT THE AWARD
On August 10, 2010, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
announced the finalists for its 2010 National Citizen Corps Achievement Awards –
Celebrating Resilient Communities.
The Peter Kirk Elementary School, Map Your Neighborhood Event in Kirkland has been
recognized for its exemplary community preparedness effort and was selected as a
finalist in the category “Preparing the Public Award.”
The Kirkland event was chosen as a national 2010 finalist, based on volunteer support
for the vision* and mission** of Kirkland’s Office of Emergency Management and for
local partnerships that help create a resilient community. (See original news release
regarding event, attached below.)
As a finalist, this event also exemplifies excellence in community emergency planning,
fostering successful public-private partnerships, prioritizing collaboration, demonstrating
creative and innovative local problem solving and implementing sound programs that
can be modeled for use by other communities.
*Vision: The City of Kirkland’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) will provide
leadership in promoting a community that is resilient in the event of a disaster.
**Mission: To create and sustain partnerships that support disaster prevention,
preparedness, response and recovery to become a resilient community.
ABOUT THE WINNERS
Award winners will be announced in September as part of National Preparedness
Month. They will attend a Community Resilience Roundtable in Washington, D.C., with
national leaders in emergency management, including FEMA, the National Emergency
Management Association, and the International Association of Emergency Managers.
Led by FEMA’s Ready Campaign and Citizen Corps, National Preparedness Month is
held each September to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for
emergencies in their homes, businesses and communities.
LOCAL RECOGNITION
The Peter Kirk Elementary School, Map Your Neighborhood event was the result of a
partnership between the City of Kirkland’s Office of Emergency Management, under the
leadership of Emergency Manager, Helen Ahrens Byington; Peter Kirk Elementary
School, under the leadership of Principal, Sandy Dennehy; local volunteers, under
the leadership of Kirkland resident, Liv Grohn; and Puget Sound Energy.
Do you have a news tip?
