For more than 22,000 hours of service last year, the Sequim Operational Area (SOA) and Eastern Clallam County Community Emergency Response Emergency Team (CERT) program recently received a 2023 Washington State Volunteer Service Award for the Peninsula/Coastal Region from Serve Washington.
Diane Klontz, deputy director for Division and Program Alignment with the Washington State Department of Commerce, presented the award to SOA/CERT leadership on April 16 in Carlsborg during the Clallam County Fire District 3 fire commissioner meeting.
Acknowledging the 500-plus volunteers’s service hours, Klontz said, “(That) is a lot of time; thank you all for your service.”
She said it was her honor to be there and thanked them for lifting others up and she knows they’ll continue to do so.
Fire Chief Justin Grider and CERT Senior Program Manager Blaine Zechenelly accepted the group volunteer award on behalf of the volunteers. Charles Meyer, a CERT division chief, nominated SOA/CERT for the award that was chosen by a panel comprising Serve Washington commissioners and community members.
CERT volunteers are made up of community volunteers trained to help people during disasters when professional first responders might not be immediately available.
They meet for one hour per month to receive refresher training on various preparedness skills and topics, according to organizers.
In 2023, CERT volunteers partnered with the Sequim Food Bank to distribute more than 1,600 family meal boxes to people experiencing food insecurity between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
They also helped facilitate memorial services for Fire District 3 Capt. Charles “Chad” Cate, who died in January 2023.
They also continue to help at many community events with traffic control and basic first aid.
Fire commissioners also read a resolution to recognize Zechenelly and the CERT program for their “
outstanding contributions to the community in the realm of emergency preparedness.”
They also thanked Meyer and Zechenelly’s wife Cindy.
Zechenelly thanked commissioners and fire district leaders and said, “without their support, the program would have gone nowhere.”
Since starting in 2016, CERT has more than 550 volunteer members.
Serve Washington leaders said via press release they congratulate all award recipients and expresses gratitude for their selfless contributions, which enrich the lives of Washington residents and strengthen communities statewide. Read more about the winners here: servewashington.wa.gov/volunteer/washington-state-volunteer-service-awards.
For more about CERT, contact Cindy Zechenelly at cert@ccfd3.org, visit ccfd3.org or call 360-683-4242.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Diane Klontz, deputy director for Division and Program Alignment with the Washington State Department of Commerce, presents the 2023 Washington State Volunteer Service Award for the Peninsula/ Coastal Region from Serve Washington to the Community Emergency Management Team (CERT) on April 16 in Carlsborg.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Clallam County Fire District 3 fire commissioners Mike Mingee, Jeff Nicholas, and Bill Miano congratulate Blaine and Cindy Zechenelly and the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) for its continued success in supporting the community.
