Several individuals from the Des Moines County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and SKYWARN received a Governor’s Volunteer Award from Governor Kim Reynolds and Lt. Governor Adam Gregg during a special recognition ceremony held in Ottumwa on June 8. The Governor's Volunteer Award recognizes those dedicated individuals and groups who volunteer their time and talent to help an agency or organization to deliver on its mission.
Volunteers from the CERT team who were presented with 5-year length of service awards were: Deborah Adams, Karl Daves, and Melissa Mixer. Dan Wischmeier received recognition for 5 years of service to the SKYWARN team. Tara Boecker, Kela Lehman, Dan Moeller, and Robert Wilson were honored with 10-year length of service awards for CERT, while Barney Paytes was presented a 15-year length of service award for volunteering with CERT. As a bonus, the Des Moines County CERT team (as a whole) was granted an award for being active for 15-years running. These individuals exemplify what it means to be there for others and give unselfishly of their time and talents.
According to Gina Hardin, Des Moines County Emergency Management Agency Coordinator, “These individuals, plus other members of these teams, put in hundreds of hours in a year to help the community, whether it be providing weather reports to the National Weather Service, assisting first responders in their missions, or supporting other local groups with traffic and crowd control at events and parades held through-out our community.”
Hardin is always looking for new volunteers and training opportunities are available. More information on CERT and SKYWARN can be found at dmcounty.com/ema or by calling 319-753-8206.