North Dakota's United Tribes Wins Award

NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 25, 2009

Contact: Sarah Werner, ND League of Cities
(701) 223-3518

UNITED TRIBES CITIZENS CORPS COUNCIL RECOGNIZED WITH NATIONAL AWARD



BISMARCK, N.D. – The United Tribes Technical College Citizen Corps Council was recognized as the nation’s “Outstanding Tribal Citizen Corps Council” at an awards ceremony in Arlington, Va. August 11, 2009.



During a ceremony at the 2009 National Conference on Community Preparedness (NCCP), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Deputy Administrator of the National Preparedness Directorate Timothy Manning recognized eight outstanding Citizen Corps Councils from across the nation as winners of first annual National Citizen Corps Achievement Awards-Celebrating Resilient Communities. The councils were recognized for their innovative practices and achievements in making their communities safer, stronger, and better prepared to manage any emergency situation.

“As the state Citizen Corps Council chair, I am proud of the hard work and achievements of United Tribes Technical College as this recognition demonstrates their superior dedication and commitment to ensuring their community is prepared and safe from harm,” said North Dakota First Lady Mikey Hoeven. “As a winner, they exemplify excellence in community emergency planning and implement sound programs that can be modeled for use by other communities.”

The Citizen Corps program is FEMA's grassroots strategy to bring together government and community leaders to involve citizens in all-hazards emergency preparedness and resilience.

United Tribes Technical College was chosen as a national 2009 winner due to its dedication to implementing the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program on each of North Dakota's reservations. The CERT program teaches citizens to take care of themselves, their neighbors and their communities in the event of a disaster.



The winning Councils were featured during the conference of over 750 community preparedness conference stakeholders from across the nation, recognized on the national Citizen Corps Web site, and received an award certificate and holder signed by FEMA Administrator W. Craig Fugate. Additionally, National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) Incoming President David Maxwell and International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) President Russ Decker recognized and congratulated the award winners.



The Citizen Corps program in North Dakota is jointly sponsored by the North Dakota League of Cities and the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services. For information on North Dakota's Citizen Corps program, visit www.ndlc.org. For information on Citizen Corps across the nation visit www.citizencorps.gov.



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