By Barbara Schlenger-Faber, Janice Winston & Ryan Gaul

The Disaster Cycle Services (DCS) Team would like to congratulate a few of its volunteers for their ongoing dedication and accomplishments. These individuals exemplify one or more of the Red Cross’s 5 C’s: Compassionate, Collaborative, Creative, Credible and Committed. Each month, DCS will recognize volunteers who are members of one of their specialized teams.

For the month of February, DCS recognized volunteers who are members of the Information and Planning Team, Emergency Management Agency Team and the Mass Care Team . Hats off to the following volunteers:

Tim Bulmer, Disaster Assessment

Tim Bulmer exemplifies the key value of being collaborative. He has considerable expertise in disaster assessment, particularly detailed damage assessment. He has served as a mentor to the Southeastern PA Damage Assessment team members as they develop their capabilities. His insights and experience regarding the role of disaster assessment in regional operations are very valuable and are strengthening our organization.

Sandy Capoferri, Emergency Management Team

Sandy Capoferri is committed. Since she joined the Red Cross in July 2015, Sandy has been a reliable member of the Emergency Management Agency team. She has enriched the team with her skills and knowledge, whether assigned to a disaster relief operation or to many county exercises. Sandy leads by example and continues to show her commitment to the organization by taking on the leadership role as the co-lead of our Montgomery County team, going out in a snowstorm to staff an Emergency Operations Center (EOC), working in EOCs outside of her home county, and taking the extensive trainings, and using the competencies required to be a liaison.

Heidi Dampman, Disaster Action Team, Home Fire Campaign, Logistics, Mass Care

Heidi Dampman is credible. She serves as one of Southeastern PA’s two Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) Instructors in addition to roles as a Disaster Action Team Supervisor, Home Fire Campaign lead, and Philadelphia Logistics lead, amongst many other roles. In 2022, Heidi deployed to support disaster survivors as a Mass Care Feeding Supervisor in Kentucky and Florida for more than 50 days combined. Locally, Heidi has been a creative force in helping transform our ERV loading and operational plans to reflect a greater readiness posture with drinks, food and supplies prepositioned for quicker local deployment.

Michele Fisher, Information & Planning Generalist

Michele Fisher exemplifies the key value of being committed. She has frequently undertaken reporting tasks for Southeastern PA operations, and has done so with a high degree of professionalism. Michele is also an active member of the Northeast Division weather monitoring team. Her enthusiasm for her work as a Generalist is reflected in the training she has conducted and the materials she has developed to enable other Generalists to comfortably step into the reporting functions.

Dianne Heard, Emergency Response Vehicle Feeding Team

Dianne Heard is committed. She became a certified Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) driver in 2022, in addition to her roles as a Feeding Service Associate and Sheltering Service Associate. Dianne put these skills to the test during her deployment as an ERV driver, supporting disaster survivors in Florida after Hurricane Ian. Dianne kept building on these abilities to support the recently developed ERV Feeding Team where she has demonstrated a leadership interest to help take our work into a more operationally sound and supportive team in 2023.

Ellen Torrance, Financial and Statistical Information

Ellen Torrance exemplifies the key value of credible. She consistently takes on financial responsibilities for the region during both steady-state and operational conditions. This includes maintaining Client Assistant Cards (CACs) and mission cards programs and providing financial reporting. She graciously mentors other volunteers in the financial field. Her reliability and integrity are greatly appreciated.

Editor’s Note: A version of this article was originally published in the March 2023 issue of The Volunteer Voice.