SAFELY OUT Welcomes Formation of Advisory Team

SAFELY OUT™ has formed an Advisory Team to assist with moving the project forward. The team will also help out with prioritizing which communities would be best served by SAFELY OUT™. For many nonprofit agencies, it is important to have well respected people in the community named to an advisory board. In some cases these boards are in name only and do not meet to discuss relevant issues. SAFELY OUT™ has chosen to call its advisory group a “Team” and not a “Board”. As a team of professionals with very busy schedules, they are not just lending their good name but actually working on a team to advance the SAFELY OUT™ project. Because all of these team members are professionals in the field of emergency management, they know how important it is to insure that all people can be safely evacuated during a major emergency or disaster. SAFELY OUT™ is honored to have the following individuals on its Advisory Team:

• Charles Cassani, President of Steamatic of Sacramento. Charles’s firm does home and business restoration after a disasters. He is on the board of the Restoration Industry Association an international group in the field of restoration. He has 37 years of experience working during and after disasters.
• Leo Grover, President Pinnacle Emergency Management. Leo is also in the restoration services industry. His company was ranked 5th by the Sacramento Business Journal for fastest growing companies in 2009 as he now has offices in West Sacramento, Reno, Nevada and Houston, Texas. He did considerable work during and after Hurricane Katrina and after 9/11.
• Paul Jacks, Director of the Fritz Institute’s Bay Area Preparedness Initiative. Among other projects, Paul is currently working on assessing and establishing baselines of preparedness for community and faith-based organizations, who will be called upon to serve the most vulnerable when disaster strikes. Paul also has 30 years of experience in the public sector working most of the disasters in California during that time. He recently retired from public service as the Deputy Director of the former Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (now the California Emergency Management Agency), where he oversaw both response and recovery programs for California.
• Robert Samaan, is Undersecretary for the new California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA). Robert has worked at the federal level for the Department of Homeland Security and moved to California to work with the former California Governor’s Office of Homeland Security until it merged with the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to become Cal EMA. Robert has been instrumental in assisting SAFELY OUT™ with understanding the federal and state grant process and support SAFELY OUT™ in its successful application for state funding.
• Jerry Colivas, former volunteer for SAFELY OUT™ and now a Citizen Voice staff consultant, will coordinate and facilitate the Advisory Team. Jerry is a retired emergency manager, serving at the local and state levels of government during his 25 year career. He also works with FEMA part time during disasters.

The Citizen Voice SAFELY OUT™ team will continue to grow in number and we’ll keep you informed on the progress of this dynamic group of dedicated professionals.

SAFELY OUT Celebration a Complete Success!

In the midst of a massive early winter storm that wreaked havoc throughout California, supporters, sponsors and volunteers came together to celebrate the third anniversary of the SAFELY OUT™ Project last Tuesday night.  As the rain came down in torrents and winds blew ferociously, it was a powerful reminder of why this project is so important.  As Citizen Voice President Gary Dietrich shared that night, “Imagine an elderly woman with a walker or a person with disabilities in a wheelchair trying to get around on the flooded streets and debris covered sidewalks tonight.  Now multiply that weather ten-fold and extend that over days.  That’s what it was like for the vulnerable during Hurricane Katrina and Rita.”  The SAFELY OUT™ Project has partnered with some amazing organizations like the California Emergency Management Agency, Sacramento County’s Department of Water Resources, Guiding Hands Foundation PRIDE Industries and others, many of whom were able to be present to be recognized for their support and involvement.  At the event, we celebrated Citizen Voice’s SAFELY OUT™ Project reaching the pilot project financial goal of $500,000 to distribute 50,000 Kits in the Sacramento region.  We also looked ahead to exciting state and nationwide expansion that has begun its initial phase.  This event would not have been possible without our fantastic event sponsors — Pinnacle Emergency Management, First Responder, Steamatic of Sacramento and Westpark Associates.  For a complete list of SAFELY OUT™ suppoters go to http://www.citizenvoice.org.