Dear Friend of Unity Through Creativity,
This week we would like to honor the men and woman in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) who have attended to Americans suffering from disasters. For three years, starting in 2017, Unity Through Creativity attended FEMA's annual three-day Higher Education Symposium at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Year after year, we witnessed a gathering of dedicated first responders, high level researchers and passionate educators, as they discussed how to solve real world challenges. Some of the questions the Symposium consistently addressed included how to train enough people well enough to mitigate upcoming disasters, how to save lives as disasters are happening, and how to rebuild for decades afterwards.
Unity Through Creativity facilitated The FEMA Singing Tree of Learning over two summers. Each branch of the tree stands for a focus of the Higher Education Symposium - Scholarship, Teaching, Learning, Experience, Research and Administration. Participants at the Symposium added stories, dreams, and goals to mural through imagery and words.
Below is one story portrayed on a leaf: "Sheriff Erik Weaver of Madison, Virginia, found jobs for 50 family members whose loved one was swept away in a flood. He was inclusive and creative." The sheriff could have sent the distraught relatives home, but instead, he enrolled them in the search. That level of care and agility is what we hope for in a public servant.
Another story is written on the leaf below - "My greatest sense of pride occurred during a response involving a bomb on a vessel in the Caribbean. I arrived on scene and knew not a single responder. I was put in charge. Within minutes, we came together, over 100 respondents from 18 different organizations. We quickly came together, saved lives, contained the event and protected what we value. I did not know the answers, but simply put a decision process in place that included all interests." What skill and professionalism!
The people who gather summer after summer to improve their knowledge and skills in the Symposium have seen more devastating destruction, loss, suffering and pain than most of us can imagine. We honor their commitment, sacrifice and gifts to our nation.
With gratitude,
The UTC Team
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