Episcopal Relief and Development announces winner of Emergency Preparedness Plan Competition

June 25, 2008 [ERD] Lutheran Episcopal Services in Mississippi is the winner of Episcopal Relief and Development's first ever Emergency Preparedness Plan Competition. LES will receive a $25,000 grant to implement the winning plan.

A second prize of $10,000 was awarded to the Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee. The Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania won the third prize award of $5,000. Both the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas and the Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia were given Honorable Mentions.

"We are so pleased to congratulate all the winners.  In the United States, our dioceses often face a range of disasters from wildfires and hurricanes, to tornadoes, ice storms and floods," said Abagail Nelson, Senior Vice President for Programs at Episcopal Relief and Development.  "The diocesan planning, scenario staging, and interactive networking with government and voluntary agencies described in these submissions were excellent.  We hope that these plans and exercises will help the churches fulfill their critical role of care to the community if dioceses are impacted." 

Entries were judged by a panel that included the Rt. Rev. George Packard, Bishop Suffragan for Chaplaincies; the Rev. Canon Phillip Rapp, executive director of Episcopal Community Services in America; Ken Curtin, liaison to the Federal Emergency Management Agency Region II Voluntary Agency; and Linda Reed-Brown, former associate director, Church World Services Emergency Response Programs, Domestic Division.

The submitted plans were evaluated on several criteria, including how well they were integrated into community and governmental networks, partnerships created with other organizations and Episcopal dioceses and after action programs.

"This initiative was designed to inspire dioceses to think creatively about their response to disasters. Houses of worship are often the first place people turn to in times of need," said Robert W. Radtke, President of Episcopal Relief and Development. "We are pleased with the response to the competition and heartened that dioceses of the Episcopal Church make it a priority to carry out their ministries, even in times of crisis and emergency. We encourage any diocese interested in disaster preparedness to be in touch with us for guidance about how to prepare for disasters."

A new call for submissions will be announced in 18 months to spark even more awareness of and interest in disaster preparedness within the 100 domestic dioceses of the Episcopal Church.

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