Date: September 21, 2007
Contact: Joe Stinebaker
Communications Director
713–755-4027
Joe.Stinebaker@cjo.hctx.net


NEWS RELEASE

COUNTY OFFICIALS AWARDED PRESIDENTIAL SERVICE MEDAL
Emmett, Sloan Cited For Success Of County Volunteer Agency

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and the Harris County Citizen Corps have been honored with President’s Call To Service Awards, recognizing the leading role that the citizen corps has played in disaster preparedness and response.

Brock Bierman, the newly appointed director of the National Citizen Corps Program, presented the award to Emmett and Harris County’s community emergency response director, Mark Sloan, at a fifth anniversary celebration for the local citizen corps Thursday. As county judge, Emmett oversees the county’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, which is responsible for disaster preparedness and response.

“This award recognizes the incredible number of hours that our volunteers with the Citizen Corps devote to help ensure that Harris County can prevent, prepare for and respond to a long list of potential natural and man-made disasters,” Emmett said. “I’m proud to accept it on behalf of all county residents.”

The Harris County Citizen Corps, established in 2002 and composed of 11,000 volunteers from around the county, offers training programs designed to help residents prepare for and respond to emergencies. It is one of the largest of its kind in the country and received the 2006 Community Capacity Builder Award at the 23rd Annual Texas Governor’s Volunteer Awards and the 2006 Silver Spur Award from the Texas Public Relations Association.

“I am truly proud of the Harris County Citizen Corps,” said Sloan. “Our volunteers have undergone many hours of training in recent years to help ensure the safety of their neighbors and their homes, and I’m glad to see that hard work recognized.”