A background in emergency management is useful in a leadership position

One of my professional interests in addition to city government is emergency management. While in Michigan, I participated in a series of training events, both classroom and online, with the Michigan State Police and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This training culminated with a day-long examination, one of the most difficult tests that I had ever taken. I passed the examination and earned the designation of professional emergency manager.I then sought to use my training to assist others. I had enjoyed the emergency management training and believed that if I left municipal management, I would seek a FEMA-style position. As I looked for various opportunities, I discovered the Presbyterian Disaster Relief National Response Team (PDA NRT).I was raised as a Presbyterian and remained active in my local church. I submitted an application to join the NRT. The NRT is a group of approximately 65 to 70 volunteers who, when requested by affected churches, deploy in two- or three-person teams to areas that have been struck by a disaster. The efforts of the NRT focus on recovery efforts (dealing with the long-term after-effects of a disaster), not response efforts (search and rescue, filling sandbags, etc.).After a lengthy weekend “interview” in Arkansas, I was formally invited to join the NRT. My commitment entails four weeks of annual service: one week for our national training conference, one week of training and two weeks availability for deployment to disaster locations (the two weeks need not be consecutive, but may be a series of shorter deployments). For all of my work, I use my accrued vacation leave.My first real interaction with the PDA NRT was last year’s national training conference in San Francisco. Wow — a week in San Fran! But this was not a junket. We stayed at an area convent with very Spartan accommodations: Each room had a single twin bed, a small sink and a closet. The doors had no locks and each floor had a community bathroom. No cell phones were allowed. Despite the intensive 13-hour training days, it was incredibly tranquil and peaceful.During the conference, I was assigned a deployment to Nashville in response to the widespread flooding. I was in Nashville for a week, visiting area churches and assisting those churches and other relief organizations. It is critical to understand that spreading Presbyterianism is not an objective of the NRT. It is part of the faith to help others in need, no matter what their faith or beliefs. Most of our efforts were spent in helping area churches make preparations to host out-of-town volunteers coming to Nashville to do the “grunt work” of rebuilding the community.Less than a month later, I was deployed to a small town in Illinois. A tornado hit Streator, Ill., at dusk on a Saturday evening. The twister came down on the community theater (the annual spring production had completed its shows the previous week), battered a few homes, jumped over the area hospital, came back down and destroyed several homes and a recently renovated park complex before continuing across farmland. This “little” tornado generated nearly 2,000 truck loads of tree debris. The destruction was limited to property: No one died as a result of the tornado. I stayed in Streator for four days, helping a new pastor prepare for group counseling sessions as part of the community recovery effort. I also met with town officials to determine other possible opportunities for assistance by local groups or national relief agencies.I have found the relief efforts to be rewarding and fulfilling. The destruction and suffering that I have witnessed serves as a means to reset my “perspective meter.” After my seemingly inconsequential effort to contribute to Nashville’s recovery, I returned to a community that was embroiled in a dispute as to how many pets each resident would be allowed to keep. Somehow, the whole debate seemed trivial. Government, especially local government, can do so much more than debate little things that exhaust our time and resources.Next week I will be at the PDA NRT national training conference in North Carolina. Many of my fellow team members have deployed recently to Alabama, North Dakota, Georgia, Texas and Arkansas. When you hear of tornadoes or floods, please remember that a community has just been torn apart (and you rarely hear of smaller disasters such as shootings or fires that affected individual churches that request assistance). I used to unfeelingly turn the page or channel after hearing such news. I had never heard of Streator, Ill.; now I have hundreds of photos and even more vivid memories.Our community’s issues are strikingly small and humbling compared to Tuscaloosa, Ala. Please keep that in perspective. Let’s work together and make things better here.Dale Martin is the town manager of Winchester.