News : FEMA Corps members graduate; receive praise for shaping program for future

FEMA Corps graduates recite the AmeriCorps pledge one last time.

Many FEMA Corps participants received the Congressional Award.

Pine Unit Leader Frits Noren told the audience they would remember their tough times best.

Region Director Dan Milnes congratulates a FEMA Corps graduate.

FEMA Corps team leaders pose for a photo taken by a FEMA representative from DC.

Group Photo: Members and leaders of the first FEMA Corps class from the Vinton NCCC Campus.

FEMA Corps member Meret Thali speaks of her experiences during graduation.

FEMA Corps graduation: Christian Lockwood looks back with humor on the challenges he faced.

The FEMA Corps Choir sings the National Anthem.

Like other graduations, the FEMA Corps event included many photos, good-byes and tears.

Displays showed some projects each team worked on throughout the year.

The first FEMA Corps members graduated from the program Thursday in Vinton, celebrating the completion of a challenging mission: Helping to create a new program while simultaneously helping others via the program that was a work in progress.

FEMA Corps is the newest addition to the constantly growing AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) campus in Vinton, which began in the summer of 2008.

“You had some tough times,” said Pine Unit leader Fritz Noren. “But the tough times are the times you will remember best.”

Spruce Unit Leader Kevin Burke and Hickory Unit Leader Thomas Howard also spoke, complimenting their members on their accomplishments.

Nearly 230 members began serving in three FEMA Corps units (Pine, Spruce and Hickory) in September; approximately 180 of them stayed completed the program this month.

NCCC Region Director Dan Milnes praised the members for their dedication, and for sticking with the program as it continued to change – and for being an important part of the process of changing and improving the program.

Milnes told the members that there were days in the past year when they felt as though they were making a big difference, but days, also, when they did not feel that way.

“Your relentless feedback has helped improve this program for those who will follow you,” Milnes said during the graduation ceremony in the VSHS auditorium.

Two members shared their thoughts and memories of serving disaster victims in New Jersey and several other locations across the U.S.

Meret Thali of Vermont was part of the Spruce 2 team. She and the others helped hurricane victims in New Jersey. She recalled communicating by hand-written notes with a deaf mute about needs he had following Hurricane Sandy. Thali told of speaking with several people who had been frustrated with how long the assistance process had been taking, and said her team had the privilege of listening to their stories.

Christian Lockwood of Georgia was part of the Spruce 3 team, which also spent most of its time in New Jersey. Lockwood’s humorous reminiscing of the difficult moments that made him want to quit the program earned him loud applause from the peers.

National NCCC Director Kate Raftery told the graduates that the FEMA Corps program came together virtually faster than any other government program, ever. She told members wearing the blue shirts with AmeriCorps and FEMA logos that the friendships they have made this past year will last for decades. A former Peace Corps member Raftery told the audience that she and her Peace Corps colleagues have remained friends for more than 40 years, sharing experiences and growing old together.

FEMA Corps began this year at two NCCC campuses, Vinton and Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Raftery also praised the NCCC staff for adding the FEMA Corps program to their already busy full-time schedule.

The next FEMA Corps team leaders will begin arriving in late July to prepare for its second year, while the traditional AmeriCorps teams continue their year of service. AmeriCorps members work mostly in surrounding states that are part of the Region 6, while FEMA Corps members only work in areas that have been officially declared disaster areas, and could work in any of the 50 states.

Many of the members received Congressional Award medals in honor of their volunteer public service.