It has become increasingly apparent that Region V needs an additional means of communication beyond the occasional information that the Officers share with us, as they receive notices from Headquarters regarding DMORT deployments, threat levels, online training, etc.

The National DMORT Newsletter is currently delayed, due to prolonged review by FEMA. In response to numerous requests, Region V Officers have chosen to distribute a monthly Region V newsletter. For the time being, we are referring to this newsletter as the “Voice of Region V,” however all Region V members need to have a “voice” in naming our region’s newsletter. Therefore, we are announcing a contest for a new name for the newsletter, which will involve submissions of potential titles and a vote for the final title. To make this contest more fun, there are PRIZES involved: the submitter of the name (other than “Voice of Region V”) receiving the most votes will receive a $50 gift certificate for use at D-Mart. The second place winner will receive a $25 gift certificate, and there will be five $5 gift certificates for the runner ups. Even if the “Voice of Region V” remains the top choice, the gift certificate winners will be the second, third, and runner up choices.
Please send your submissions for the newsletter titles to r5news@dmort.org by June 1.

UPDATE ON DHS/FEMA/NDMS FROM THE DALLAS MEETING, APRIL, 2004

From your Region V Officers

As you know, DMORT (along with DMAT and the rest of NDMS) was transferred from Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, to the Department of Homeland Security in March a year ago. FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) then became the management organization for NDMS - in other words our "bosses."
This has resulted in many changes involving everything from personnel shifts to contracts on through uniform labels and patches - and it is not done yet.
These changes have been accompanied by shared communication problems and confusion. For instance, many of our NDMS administrators did not know which agency they would be part of and where they would be located from day to day - that is, at NDMS Headquarters in Maryland or "downtown" (FEMA Headquarters in DC). They know now. They packed their "stuff" before leaving for Dallas, and they were moved while they were in Dallas. Also, their email addresses were changed from fema.gov to dhs.gov.
The NDMS meeting in Dallas gave your Officers many opportunities for updates on these changes, both through presentations to all NDMS Officers, especially Administrative Officers, and perhaps more important – personal interactions in the FEMA-NDMS Administrative Office set up on the 37th floor of the Central Tower of the Adams Mark Hotel.
Specific changes will be passed on to you in the future, but they range from annoying changes, like the removal of DMORT and DMAT patches from our uniforms on through the addition of pay to Team members for participating in training sessions.
We have also learned through personal interaction that our senior administrative boss, Michael W. Lowder, Director of Planning and Operations for FEMA's Response and Recovery Directorate, is very supportive of DMORT and Richard Braddock, Director of the Response Division, is doing a great job in pulling things together for us and the rest of DMORT.

2004 NDMS ANNUAL CONFERENCE
DALLAS TEXAS

Congratulations!!!

The 2003-2004 NDMS Awards were held in Dallas on April 18, 2004. The following DMORT members were honored with the NDMS Response Team Distinguished Member of the Year Award:

DMORT I Byron K. Kelly
DMORT II Scott Schmidt
DMORT III Paul S. Sledzik, M.S.
DMORT IV Fred O. Berry, Jr.
DMORT V Michael Gedert
DMORT VI Terry Edwards
DMORT VII Michael Henderson
DMORT VIII Capt. Alan Siddoway
DMORT IX James Wood, D.D.S.
DMORT X Penny Englert
DMORT FAC Gary A. Daugherty
DMORT WMD Melissa Moeckel, D.M.D.
DMORT DPMU Shannon Dotson

DMORT Region V was also recognized at the awards ceremony for participation in these events:

Crash of US Airways Express Flight 5481 – January 2003 DMORT IV, V, IX, X,
FAC
Rhode Island Night Club Fire – February 2003 DMORT I, II, III, IV, V, VII, IX

Congratulations to all of the recipients and anyone else who was recognized at this event!

CONGRATULATIONS MIKE AND SHANNON

Congratulations to our region’s members Mike Gedert and Shannon Dotson for their 2004 Distinguished Member of the Year Awards: Mike was recognized by our team - DMORT Region V, and Shannon was acknowledged by the DMORT DPMU Team.

Mike Gedert has been an Ohio licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer since 1981. He earned his degree from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. In 1989, he joined the Ohio Funeral Directors Association Mortuary Response Team, which eventually influenced him to become a member of DMORT in 1997. His involvement in DMORT advanced with his appointment as DMORT Region V Training Officer in September 2002. And in March 2003, he became a member of the DMORT DPMU Team.
Mike has been involved in a number of training exercises, including Disaster Coordinator Training, Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) Basic Level Training, Mass Fatality Incident Response Training, Training Officers’ Instruction Course on Centre Learn Online Training, and DMORT/DPMU Team Training at TOPOFF 2 in Seattle. He has been deployed on numerous DMORT missions: Hurricane Floyd, North Carolina (1999), World Trade Center, New York (2001), Flight 587 Crash, New York (2001), Walker County Crematory, Georgia (2002), Flight 5481 Crash, North Carolina (2003), and Providence Night Club Fire, Rhode Island (2003). In all of these deployments, he was appointed to leadership positions on the Information Resource Team.
Mike currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio. He has two children: Katie – a sophomore in college, and Joey – a freshman in high school. Besides work, family and DMORT business, Mike enjoys a leisurely game of golf, and patiently waits for any winning Cincinnati sports team.
Region V recognizes and appreciates the efforts of Mike.

Shannon Dotson has been a licensed funeral director and embalmer since 1990, licensed to practice in Ohio, Maryland, and South Carolina. Shannon’s educational background includes associate degrees from Southern State Community College and from Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science; a bachelor’s degree in Mortuary Science from Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science (1990); and a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Xavier University (1990).
Shannon has served his country honorably in the United States Marine Corps Infantry/Mortuary Affairs for thirteen years. Shannon has attended numerous disaster trainings and exercises. From 1997-1999, he was the Mobile Morgue Chairman for the National Foundation for Mortuary Care. Shannon is currently Co-Chief of the Ohio Funeral Directors Association Mortuary Response Team. Since joining DMORT in 1997, he has been deployed numerous times: Floods, Del Rio, Texas (1998), Amtrak Crash, Bourbonnais, Illinois (1999), Hurricane Floyd, North Carolina (1999), Egypt Air, Newport, Rhode Island (1999), Alaska Air, Ventura, California (2000), World Trade Center, New York (2001), and Walker County Crematory, Georgia (2002) are among the many missions in which he has participated. As a member of the DMORT DPMU (Disaster Portable Morgue Unit) Team, Shannon is responsible for assisting in the setup, maintenance, inventory, tear down and repack of the DPMU. Shannon specializes in the inventory management of the DPMU.
Shannon recently accepted a position with Penn Care Public Safety Technology - Disaster Incident Response Division, which includes WMD response.
Shannon resides on a farm in Ripley, Ohio. He has two children: Cole is six years old, and Chase is three years old. When he is not preoccupied with family, work, or DMORT, Shannon enjoys farming and rodeos. However, he is not a mere rodeo spectator: he has been an active participant in rodeo competitions, and his favorite event is steer wrestling!
Our warmest congratulations to Shannon! (Bob was taking photos during the awards and his camera or he, malfunctioned during Shannon’s presentation – Sorry! But we are able to include Shannon in NYC throwing out the first pitch representing DMORT at the first game after 9/11)

THE COMMANDER'S AWARD FOR MERITORIOUS SERVICE TO REGION V

Each year, as I conduct the Distinguished Member/Volunteer of the Year
election for the NDMS Award, I wish that I could honor more of the worthy
people on our team.

I have therefore created the Commander’s Award for Meritorious Service to
Region V.

Note: This Award is a gold and silver pin that may be worn above the name strip on the right hand side of the BDU shirt/jacket (whereas the Distinguished Member/ Volunteer of the Year Award is worn above the left pocket) and “anywhere” on civilian clothes.

The first group of awardees (chosen by me alone to minimize the perception
of conflicts of interest) consists of previous recipients of the Distinguished Member/ Volunteer of the Year Award as follows:

Susan Atwood
Don Bloom
Mike Gedert (this year’s Awardee)
Julie Saul
Bob Shank, Jr.
Robert (Bubba) Stevens
Brad Targhetta

And others who have made important contributions to Region V DMORT as
follows:

Gary Berman Mark Haskins
John Callahan Joyce deJong
Mary Cimrmancic Matt Naujock (DMORT patch artist)
Bill Crawshaw Robert Shank, Sr.
Shannon Dotson Tom Stachowiecz
Mary Fischer Allan Warnick
Brent Harley

And last, but definitely not least, three spouses who make continuing but
usually unrecognized contributions to our work:

Tonya Shank
Sue Stevens (co-proprietor of DMART)
Ronda Targhetta

In addition to the members of Region V who received the above Award on April
14, 2004 the following individuals who are not members of the Region V Team have
also received the Commanders' Award for Meritorious Service to Region V.

Carl Adrianopoli, FEMA V
Bill Ambler, Commander, DPMU
Dutchess Balloon, NDMS
Duane Bigoni, Commander, Region X
Frank Ciaccio, formerly NTSB
Dale Downey, Commander, WMD
Todd Ellis, Commander, Region VI
Carol Gregory, our Program Officer, NDMS
Cotton Howell, Commander Region IV
Dr. Fred Jordan, Chief Medical Examiner, Oklahoma also Region VI
Dr. Pat Kauffman, Commander, Region III
Dr. H. Gill-King, Region VI
Dr. Jim McGivney, Region VII
Dr. James R Patrick, Lucas County Coroner and the longtime "host" of our
Region V Office
Paul Sledzik, former Commander, Region III
Dr. Corrine Stern, Chief Medical Examiner, El Paso, TX also Region VI
Christie Whitaker, Commander, FAC
H. James Young, NDMS and our TOPOFF II Chicago leader

Although most of the above are not known to most of the Team, each of them
has played a very important role in helping the Region V Team to achieve its
goals.

From this point on, the Award will be known as the "Commanders’ Award for
Meritorious Service to Region V", and selections will be made by the
Commander and Deputy Commanders together.
Members may make nominations by contacting Frank, Bob or Brad.

Dr Frank P Saul (PhD, DABFA)
Regional Commander
DMORT V

saul@dmort.org

NDMS ANNUAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE
APRIL 17-21, 2004
FAMILY ASSISTANCE TRAINING

Approximately 40 DMORT members from all 10 regions participated in a one-day training session at the NDMS Annual Training Conference in Dallas on April 18, 2004.
Region V was represented by Robert Shank, Sr., Todd Grisier, William Crawshaw and Robert “Bubba” Stevens.
In a DMORT deployment, the difficult and sometimes awkward task of interviewing victim family members to collect ante-mortem information is skillfully handled by the Family Assistance Center (FAC) personnel. This team requires expertise and training to obtain important and sensitive information necessary to aid in victim identification.
The training session included an exercise in data entry into the VIP computer program, a class regarding the importance of DNA gathering, and a role-playing session demonstrating how information is obtained from victims’ families for the VIP program.
Much gratitude is owed to the FAC staff that devoted their time and energy in instructing participants of this training

NDMS ANNUAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE
APRIL 17-21, 2004
DENTAL TRAINING

On Tuesday, Dr Bryan Chrz, Dr. David Senn, and Dr. Richard Weems hosted a full day of dental training. The topics included dental imaging (Dexis), digital photography, and digital scanning. Dexis representatives were present to aid in the training of approximately 25 dentists and other dental personnel. The exercises were “hands on,” using computers, digital camera, digital scanner, and a Dexis x-ray unit. Post-mortem specimens were present for the digital imaging and the digital photography portions of the exercises.
Dexis is a dental imaging system which eliminates the need for conventional dental x-rays. The system enables the operator to take an image of the teeth, which is then transferred directly into the hard drive and viewed on the computer monitor. The Dexis images then can be interfaced with the WINID3 program, thus enabling the operator to easily compare ante-mortem and post-mortem x-ray images.
The digital camera is used to photograph the dental specimens and transfer the images onto the computer monitor.
The digital scanner allows the operator to view conventional dental x-rays on the computer monitor.
This training session introduced the DMORT dental professionals to the latest imaging technology. The speed and accessibility that this process provides will greatly enhance the performance of the dental team.
Our many thanks to the training team for providing a very valuable training session.

REGION V ANNUAL TRAINING SESSION
MINNEAPOLIS OCTOBER 21-24, 2004

Team members should plan to arrive on Thursday, October 21 late afternoon-early evening for registration and socializing.

There will be training sessions in the morning of Friday, October 22 for newcomers, and advanced training with special tracks for odontologists and others. The afternoon will include sessions on rail disasters, etc. in anticipation of the all-day Saturday, October 23 mock disaster exercise that is scheduled to involve a light rail train in a tunnel that runs to the airport. The exercise should be unusually realistic in that we will be under the jurisdiction of the Hennepin County Medical Examiners Office as we would be in a real MFI, and we will participate to the extent that we are needed by the ME's Office.

Sunday morning, October 24 will include a debriefing on the Saturday exercise and an update on our new Homeland Security FEMA-NDMS relationship.

More details will be provided in early June.

ATTENTION REGION V MEMBERS

Sue Atwood, Region V Administrative Officer, is requesting your assistance in maintaining the accuracy of your files, especially in case of a deployment.

ALL team members need to forward the following information to Sue AS SOON AS POSSIBLE:

1. Copy of your most current professional license
2. Recent curriculum vitae
3. Two completed FEMA Direct Deposit Forms with two voided bank checks. The form is available for download at www.dmort.org . Be sure to include your email address at the bottom of the form.
4. Completed FEMA Identification Card Form and Old ID card – After completing, return the form along with your old ID card (red and white) to Sue via certified registered mail. She will send you the new FEMA ID Card via certified registered mail.

Thanks for your help!

Sue Atwood
Region V Administrative Officer
8269 Golfside Drive
Jenison, MI 49428
Sue@dmort.org
CONDOLENCES

The DMORT Region V Team would like to express its deepest sympathy to Jack Kenney, DDS (Region V).
Jack’s mother, Nellie Kenney, passed away on May 2, 2004.
If anyone would like to send a personal message to Jack, his address is:

101 South Washington
Park Ridge, Illinois 60068
Email: FRNSCDDS@aol.com

NEW FROM DMART

Region V has come up with a cap design. An American made khaki adjustable cap with full color embroidery of the DMORT Patch. This cap can be personalized with your name, region, or both. Cap cost is $15.00 and personalization is $5.00 plus shipping and handling. For more information, please contact Bob “Bubba” Stevens at bubba@dmort.org.

 

 

 

 

Next Month in “Voice of V”:

Illinois Emergency Management Course
DMORT Online Training
“Should the Unimaginable Happen” by Brian E. Albrecht
And More!