The Southwestern Regional Meeting of the NCORP Advisory Council was held in Galveston, Texas on January 18, 2007 hosted by NCORP and Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas and City Council of the City of Galveston. Co-hosts included Galveston County, the Galveston Economic Development Partnership, the University of Texas Medical Branch, the Port of Galveston and the Galveston Chamber of Commerce.  This Southwestern Regional meeting was attended by members of the business community, responders, academicians, faith-based and relief-based organizations and city & county elected leaders to highlight the Galveston "Readiness for Recovery" model. To read more, click here... and each headline below.

This meeting of the NCORP Advisory Committee highlighted the Galveston evacuation model as a best practice for the National Blueprint. Presentations on evacuation, port continuity, and special needs were made by local sector leaders that describe these best practices. National Blueprint Best Practice Award Ceremony on January 18th recognized the Mayor for the city's best practices.

The National Blueprint is a real-time resource of readiness best practices for all communities and will be an important tool used during the National Congress for Secure Communities in Washington, DC in December of 2007.

The National Council on Readiness and Preparedness (NCORP) had asked the city of Galveston to host this working regional meeting with key community leaders on January 18, 2007 to develop a model of Mayor Thomas' Citizen Response Teams/Special Needs Evacuation that has been designated by NCORP as a community best practice during the first 72 hours of crisis.

Outlined during Mayor Thomas' address at the Kennedy School of Government in March of 2006, the Citizen Response Teams (CRT) concept integrates public and private/community sector assets, personnel and volunteers in one coordinated and cohesive initiative that allowed neighborhood canvassas to evacuate all Galveston residents ahead of Hurricane Rita in 2005.

Since then, the city of Galveston independently negotiated a point-to-point interlocal agreement with the City of Austin assuring a pre-determined evacuation destination specifically for the Island's special needs population. This agreement has become a model for cities along the Texas Gulf. This regional meeting by the Galveston community was a working meeting to develop a CRT/Special Needs Evacuation and overall readiness and response description for inclusion in the National Blueprint, to be highlighted at the National Congress for Secure Communities in Washington, DC.

The Galveston Working Group (GWG) has outlined the major structure and procedures of CRT/SNE which can be adapted by other cities. The program for the GWG included a brief opening session led by Mayor Thomas and Governor Gilmore, followed by a short community/press briefing and award ceremony, ending with a working session and box lunch. Other co-hosts include the Economic Development Committee, UTMB, the Coast Guard, the Port of Galveston and key Galveston civic and business organizations.

The GWG is continuing to develop the model in consultation with the Kennedy School of Government and NCORP.

We would like to thank the following organizations for their generous in-kind contributions to the Southwestern Regional Conference: American National Life Insurance Company and DRC Emergency Services.

For program or sponsorship inquiries, please call Ms. Wyatt at 703-399-6929.