Members of the Friendly Hands Disaster Team:
A team meeting was held on Monday, May 17, 2010 at 7 p.m. at Huntingtown U.M.C. There were 6 members present: Deb D'Amico, Donald Downs, Pat Major, Pat Miles, Ron Stevens and Dan Yoder.
The meeting was opened with prayer by Dan. He thanked everyone for attending the meeting. Minutes from the May 2009 meeting were read.
The team discussed how to raise awareness and attendance for our team. Pat Major suggested having a general disaster preparedness meeting, including what one can do in their own home or neighborhood in the event of a disaster. Perhaps holding such a meeting on a night when there are other meetings scheduled at our church would increase attendance. Everyone recognized that meetings take time.
The following possibilities were discussed:
1. Hold a presentation on a Sunday after the 2nd service and serve something to eat (pizza?) to attract more people. At this session we could have a speaker from The American Red Cross, or other organizations who would be involved in disaster recovery, presenting what individuals can do to be prepared within their own home. This presentation is tentatively scheduled for sometime after October 15.
2. On our web site - have preparedness tips for people to focus on. Things like where to turn off the utilities to the home, fire extinguishers and the various types and their uses. Pat Miles will send our web master (George Pierce) a message about having a link on the site where tips can be posted.
3. Publish information and tips in the monthly newsletter.
4. Display safety, American Red Cross, etc., brochures in the commons area of our church.
The team's mission is to raise everyone's safety awareness and get people ready to respond (even if involvement is limited to their own home).
Training was discussed and Dan committed to finding training for anyone on the team who desires specific training.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Pat Miles
