CERT plans free outreach conference

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Feb 21, 2008

The Community Emergency Response Team program will present a free conference on Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Red Lion Hotel, 161 W. 600 South.

Hosted by the the Utah Citizens Corps Council, the conference is open to the public, but registration is required.

CERT is a grass-roots corps of trained volunteers who support first responders by providing aid during natural disasters and other emergencies.

Headlining the event is national CERT director Rachel Jacky.

In addition, CERT leaders, trainers and graduates from throughout the state will share best practices from the field, and discuss ways to improve outreach and training. Utah has an estimated 20,000 CERT volunteers.

"We consistently rank No. 1 in the nation for volunteering," said Kathy Smith, director of the Utah Commission on Volunteers, said. "But more is never enough when it comes to personal preparedness and emergency response. We especially want to recruit CERT program leaders from underserved communities, including ethnic communities, seniors and people with disabilities."

For the conference agenda and to register, call 538-8785, or go to www.regonline.com/certconference.>

Copyright C 2008 Deseret News Publishing Co.

Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.