Joint Information Center

(Harris County, TX) – Harris County Citizen Corps has earned yet another honor in its growing list of accomplishments.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced Tuesday that Harris County was among four finalists for the 2010 National Citizen Corps Achievement Awards–Celebrating Resilient Communities. 

Harris County Citizen Corps was selected in the category of Outstanding Citizen Corps Council Award Serving a Population over 750,000.

“We feel honored to be chosen as a finalist,” said Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, who chairs the Harris County Citizen Corps Council.  “Harris County Citizen Corps members are very deserving of the recognition and will continue their mission to make our communities safer and better prepared.”

Harris County Citizen Corps was chosen as a national 2010 finalist, in part, due to its excellence in all facets of community resilience, including collaborative planning, preparing the public and community organizations, and volunteer integration.

Harris County Citizen Corps Program membership includes more than 220 Community Emergency Response Teams, 21 Volunteer in Police Service agencies, Medical Reserve Corps, 300 neighborhoods participating in the USA on Watch program, and 20 Fire Corps agencies.

Harris County Citizen Corps has been recognized as a National Best Practice, with its most recent recognition coming in 2009 when it received the National Citizen Corps Council Achievement Award for Volunteer Integration.  Other awards include the 2003 Best Practices for Innovation Award from the Texas Association of Counties, the 2006 Governors Volunteer Award for Community Capacity Builder and the 2007 President’s Call to Service Award for coordinating the volunteer response during Hurricane Katrina relief effort, awarded by the White House in 2008.

The Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management is proud of the hard work and achievements of the members of the Harris County Citizen Corps, as this recognition demonstrates their superior dedication and commitment to ensuring our community is prepared.  Harris County Citizen Corps is known for its excellence in community emergency planning, fostering successful public-private partnerships, prioritizing collaboration, demonstrating creative and innovative local problem solving and implementing sound programs that can be modeled for use by other communities. 

“Harris County Citizen Corps volunteers are essential partners and play a crucial role in disaster preparedness and recovery,” Emmett said. “Our volunteers have proven themselves through numerous emergencies, the latest being Hurricane Ike.”

Award winners will be announced in September as part of National Preparedness Month (NPM), and will attend a Community Resilience Roundtable in Washington, D.C., with national leaders in emergency management, including FEMA, the National Emergency Management Association, and the International Association of Emergency Managers. Led by FEMA’s Ready Campaign and Citizen Corps, NPM is held each September to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses and communities.

For information on Harris County Citizen Corps, go to www.harriscountycitizencorps.com.