If you started with Brandi in Grand Rapids, MI, and drove to each of our hometowns (with the order determined alphabetically by last name) and picked us up, it would take 12,762 miles and 188 hours to get to FEMA Headquarters.
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Otter Six will be participating in the 2014 National Capstone Exercise as facilitators for FEMA Headquarters during the exercise and as FEMA Corps players in the Alaska Shield exercise.
Jessica will be playing as the Alternate Special Assistant to the Directors, making sure that the Directors are able to perform their Mission Essential Functions in and out of the office. Kendra will be playing as a Private Sector Liaison, a role she filled last round ensuring that our stakeholders in the Private Sector are functioning and able to assist in any way they can. Courtney will be staffing the FEMA News Desk responding to inquiries on the Capstone exercise as well as real-world disasters. Brandi, Eduardo, and Shane will be facilitators, making sure that the exercise itself runs smoothly by escorting VIPs into the National Joint Information Center hosted here at Headquarters. National Exercise Program (NEP) - Capstone Exercise 2014 “The Capstone Exercise, formerly titled the National Level Exercise (NLE), is conducted every two years as the final component of each NEP progressive exercise cycle. The Capstone Exercise 2014 will examine the nation’s collective ability to coordinate and conduct risk assessments and implement National Frameworks and associated plans to deliver core capabilities. The Alaska Shield 2014 exercise, sponsored by the State of Alaska to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Great Alaskan Earthquake, will provide the central scenario elements: significant damage from both the quake and the tsunami it triggers will affect the greater Pacific Northwest. Capstone Exercise 2014 incorporates several preparedness activities sponsored by other departments and agencies and is designed to educate and prepare the whole community for complex, large-scale disasters and emergencies.” National Exercise Program Capstone Exercise (NEPCE) Fact Sheet One of the best days of the week in social media is Thursday. Mainly because all over Instagram and Twitter you're able to find embarrassing pictures of everyone you know. This week, we have a throwback to our first round in Colorado, all combined into a really awesome video. (Just kidding, it's kind of terrible. But still awesome.) During our 2nd round in Washington D.C. we were able to experience something that was truly amazing. The U.S. Botanic Garden is offering an extraordinary exhibit: The Orchid Symphony There is something to say about the flowers that are part of this amazing exhibit. The Orchid ( scientific family: Orchidaceae) is a flower that is present in every habitat (except for glaciers) This is proven by an estimated 25,000 different types existing naturally and more being discovered each year, orchids are of the largest flowering plant families. “Experience the incredible elegance of an orchid symphony. The U.S. Botanic Garden will feature exuberant displays of orchids nestled among whimsical topiaries and musical fountains. Illuminated by an orchid chandelier, the Garden Court will sing the praises of beautiful orchids. The Conservatory will feature orchids from all over the world in a multitude of environments. Come see desert orchids, jungle orchids and even orchids used in medicine and cooking against the gorgeous backdrop of the U.S. Botanic Garden collections.” For more information on this beautiful exhibit, visit http://www.usbg.gov/orchid-symphony. Contributed by: Shane Miller One of the busiest women on the entire Perry Point campus, our Regional Director LaQuine, took an hour to sit down with Shane and Jessica to answer their questions. It was an extremely insightful conversation that truly inspired us to continue doing the best that we can for each other, our unit, and the Corps as a whole.
Question: What is your dream job in NCCC? LaQuine: My dream job is what I'm doing now, as Regional Director. I like to see my Corps Members thrive, especially with the diversity of the Corps itself, coming from different backgrounds. Sometimes you never know their walks of life, you don't know their stories. They really want to be somebody and they just need somebody to believe in them. It gives me a sense of pride. Before I was Regional Director, I was the Program Director, giving projects to the Corps and being able to see more of the impact members had on communities. Question: What is your dream job at FEMA? LaQuine: Being able to advocate for members to be gainfully employed. Members take their jobs seriously and are capable to be on a multitude of projects. It's also a matter of understanding the role of members and their commitment to service. Question: You have mentioned previously that you are ex-military. What was your MOS? LaQuine: I was in ROTC in college, became an Ordinance Officer in Logistics. Question: How did your military service prepare you for the position you hold now? LaQuine: It prepared me by giving me the ability to listen to people and respect the decisions of leadership, regardless of whether or not I agree with them personally. Decisions are made in order to carry on a specific mission, and we all are mission-centric. You may not agree with senior leadership decisions, but in the end you have the same goals; to accomplish the mission. Question: What is your favorite song of the moment? LaQuine: "Happy" by Pharrell Williams. It goes with the theme of my personal life. Life has its ups and downs and I need to be able to appreciate all of them. Question: What is your favorite number? LaQuine: Three. One is the top, two is next, three is just a great place to be. Three is the person that will intertwine in all. Question: What is your favorite place to eat? LaQuine: Any place that has seafood. I love shrimp and lobster. Question: What is the one thing you think society needs? LaQuine: Compassion. Society is so hard on groups without knowing their stories or where they come from. Question: What would you like to improve about FEMA Corps? LaQuine: Providing members with shorter rounds. Rapid Fire Questions: Coke or Pepsi? Coke iPhone or Android? iPhone 80s or 90s music? 90s Cake or Brownies? Cake Madonna or Cher? Madonna Living with the same nine people for ten months, we have gotten to know one another exceptionally well! One funny thing I have noticed is the frequently used phrases amongst our team and how humorous it is when we catch each other quoting someone else. As we enter our final round together I thought this would be an amusing side of our team to share with the world.
AmeriCorps NCCC/FEMA Corps is unlike any other AmeriCorps program mainly because as a team of 18-24 year olds, we live our lives communally (approximately 92.78% of the time). Not only do we work together, we exercise, prepare meals, sleep and organize activities together. This combination can easily make or break a team. And although we have had some tough times, at the end of the day we always come back together, much stronger and wiser than before. I am entirely grateful to have spent the past eight months with this remarkable group of people. I have become much more patient, open-minded and successful because of everyone’s positive influence. We have such a diverse, intelligent, creative and fun-loving team and I’m sure I can speak for everyone when I say that what we have together is truly unique and special. Cheers to how extraordinary we have all been so far and here’s to our final two months at FEMA Headquarters! Much love Otter 6! Contributed by: Grace Simoneau Transition Week is often a busy time for NCCC Leadership, especially on the campus level. We managed to find a minute to ask the Deputy Director for Unit Leadership, Dave Beach a few questions. Thanks, Dave for taking the time to talk with us! We really appreciate it!
Question: What is your dream job at NCCC? Dave: I'm doing it. If I had to pick, it would be a team leader position. (Note: there's no age cap on Team Leader positions!) Question: What is your dream job at FEMA? Dave: Being a Voluntary Agency Liaison (VAL). Question: What is your dream job overall? Dave: Being the Commissioner of MLB. Question: What do you think are the main improvements that can be made to FEMA Corps? I think it would be having better projects and work assignments for teams to do during times where there aren't active disasters. Question: What is your favorite place to eat? Dave: Any place that has barbecue. There's a place, I don't know if it's still open, but it's called Country's Barbecue in Columbus, GA. Question: What is your favorite song of the moment? Dave: It's an older song, but it's "How Do You Like Me Now?" by Toby Keith. Question: How did your military career prepare you for what you do now? Dave: It taught me leadership. In the military, it's either you learn to lead or you fail. Question: What is the one thing you think society needs? Dave: Society (as in the United States' society) needs to reevaluate what fiscal responsibility means. You can't spend more money than you make and we need to come up with an idea of how to better manage things. Question: What is your favorite number? Dave: 77. Or anything having to do with the number 7. My dad drove a race car for a while that was the number 77, my favorite movie is 007, and so 7 is a recurring theme in my life. Rapid Fire Questions: Coke or Pepsi? Coke. iPhone or Android? Neither. Cake or Brownies? Brownies. 80s or 90s music? 80s music. Madonna or Cher? Cher. After a week of transition at our Atlantic Region campus in Perry Point, Maryland, we were ready to get back to work and back to DC. Transition week occurs after the end of every round. It is a time for all 16 of the Atlantic Region teams to reunite for one week of presentations, trainings, and all Corps fun!
Some Otter Six transition announcements include: - Kendra Eull is our elected Round Three Assistant Team Leader - Eduardo Venancio received the Otter Six P.A.C.E. Award (Positive Attitude and Consistent Effort) - Brandi Briones received the Otter Unit Corps Member of the Round Award Congratulations to the three of them! They make the team extremely proud! Round Three begins today for us as we are deployed back to FEMA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. for our final project site. We could not have asked for a more welcoming first day back. Walking into the FEMA HQ External Affairs office, Otter Six had a huge banner and balloons as well as many smiling faces to start off Round Three. We laid out our candy gifts as well to share with the office. Share the sugar! This is going to be a wonderful 7 weeks! And before we know it, graduation! Thank you to everyone at FEMA HQ External Affairs who helped welcome back Otter Six today! We appreciate each and every one of you and we look forward to what this round has to offer. It's been a great round here at FEMA Headquarters working in External Affairs! We aren't saying our official goodbyes until Thursday morning, but it's nice to say thank you a little ahead of time. Yesterday, we went to lunch with our team POC, Marty, and we were very fortunate to get him to take a selfie with us! He has done quite a bit for our team and he is working to see if he can get Otter 6 back in HQ for Round 3! As of now, nobody knows what will happen, but we know that we are grateful for this opportunity and the things we have learned while here. Thoughts from one Otter to anotter – Kendra Eull
This team is full of a lot of very able people doing great things. We’re all learning every day. Since coming to DC though, I’ve realized something that’s proving to be a lot more important than I ever thought it would be. As a program, FEMA Corps is a partnership between AmeriCorps NCCC and FEMA, two organizations determined to impact people’s lives and change things for the better. Both have strong missions statements that they work very hard to keep at the forefront of everything they do. AmeriCorps NCCC’s mission is to “strengthen communities and develop leaders through team-based national and community service” while FEMA’s mission is to “support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards”. These missions, noble and bold as they may be fail to grasp the greater the mission I’ve found in this team. My team is growing and pushing and changing and busting at the seams. And maybe I shouldn’t speak for the team as a whole but here’s my mission. Take Pride Take pride in everything you do. If you aren’t proud of it, something must change. Take pride in your work. Always do your best. You are responsible for everything you put out. If you aren’t proud of your work, make it better. Take pride in your relationships. Brag about your friends, your coworkers, your girlfriend. If you aren’t proud of being in these relationships, make better ones. Take pride in what you represent. Things you’re involved in reflect immediately back to you. If you aren’t proud to tell people your profession, religion or political party, maybe they aren’t right for you in the first place. Take pride in yourself. There is only one of you. The choices you make have the mind-blowing and terrifying ability to actually change things, especially people. Everything is so tied together and if you forget the power your actions have, either for good or for bad, it’s easy to lose sight of the inherent worth human beings possess. Spend every day striving to make yourself proud of you because in the end you’re the one held accountable. So Otters, this is my charge to you, now and going forward. Take Pride. |
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