Outstanding Service Award

Winner: Hannah Stambaugh, KEMA

For the past four years, Hannah has served as KEMA’s representative to the Kansas Assoc. of Counties Governing Board.  She was first asked to serve by Vaughn Lorenson, and even though it would cost her many hours above and beyond her regular duties, she was willing to accept the appointment and represent her fellow EM’s across the state.

I’m not sure anyone could have predicted, though, how well she would serve our Association and our profession.  Through her tireless efforts, County Commissioners and other local officials throughout Kansas now have a much better understanding of the role EM plays in normal operations, and in disaster response.  When it was discovered a member of the League of Municipalities was falsely teaching cities across our state that they could deal with KDEM and FEMA directly, without going through their county, Hannah used her position with the KAC to work with the League’s leadership to correct this misinformation and repair the damage that had been done.

The Executive Director of the KAC, Randall Allen, agrees that Hannah has been an exceptional liaison between the two organizations: “Hannah Stambaugh has been an outstanding board member of the Kansas Association of Counties.  She actively participates in board discussion, offers ideas and solutions to organizational challenges, and exercises her board responsibility conscientiously and seriously.  For example, when affiliate organizations like KEMA were challenged to provide ideas for workshop topics and speakers for the KAC Annual Conference(s), Hannah stepped up and provided both topics and presenters to deliver information on emergency management and related topics.  She continually looks for a way to inform and influence persons and groups about the importance of emergency management in our society. Moreover, she “gets” the importance of connecting with other groups and finding areas of common interest and mutual concern. I know of no one with better board member skills than Hannah Stambaugh.”

OUTSTANDING EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL AWARD

Winner: Abbigail (Abbie) Doherty, Barber County

It is with great pleasure to nominate Abbigail (Abbie) Doherty for consideration for the 2018 Outstanding Emergency Management Support Professional, in recognition of her support of emergency management in Barber County.  It is difficult at times in a small department to keep up with all that is tasked especially when the emergency manager and deputy wear other hats in the county.

Abbie volunteers for Barber County Emergency Management as an administrative assistant, and was instrumental with the development and revamping the spotter network, and storm ready process in Barber County.  Abbie strives to minimize the impact of emergencies and maximize the effectiveness of Barber County's response to, and recovery from emergencies. She demonstrated this by many long hours putting together battle books not only for emergency management, but other responding agencies.

She continues to take lead in projects that truly reflect the four phases of emergency management. Abbie is one of the hardest working, most dedicated people I have ever met.  She's very conscientious about her work, and always ensures that her tasks are complete efficiently and to the very best of her ability.

INSTRUCTOR OF THE YEAR 

Winner: Nathan Brown, KDEM

What makes Nathan such an excellent instructor you may ask? The following are just a few examples that come to mind when thinking of why he deserves this honor. Nathan has work ethic that does not quit, always giving 100% to provide top quality training and instruction for every class he teaches. He is very approachable and connected with his students and has gifted and unique abilities when instructing and relaying concepts to adult learners. Nathan demonstrates that being a great instructor is a constant work in progress to always improve. He looks critically upon his own instructional practices, reflects upon them and finally, ask why something worked and why it didn’t to both enhance the material quality and gain student comprehension. His professionalism and willingness to go above and beyond to help others succeed is evident to his students in every class he teaches.

Nathan is also a gifted facilitator and has quality skills in exercise development. He shares his ideas and technical knowledge with others and reaches out to anyone who needs his expertise. Nathan also understands the team approach when instructing and in the development of exercise plans. His willingness to work and collaborate with others and his flexibility to change and grow makes him a respected team member to his peers.

As well as being an exemplary instructor, Nathan has put in a great deal of effort into building strong relationships with all disciplines of the Emergency Response Community. He has earned the respect of Kansas Emergency Management Professionals state wide and we feel he is truly the best candidate for this award.

OUTSTANDING NEW EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL AWARD 

Winner:  Jenni Cravens, Cheyenne County Emergency Management

Jenni Cravens started as the assistant EM director for Cheyenne County in May 2017. Cheyenne County Emergency Management also covers the counties of Rawlins and Sherman. Jenni always has a positive attitude and not afraid to handle any task given. She also wears many hats and assists with emergency preparedness and Haz Mat team at Cheyenne County Hospital and serves on Cheyenne County EMS.

Cheyenne County was is the process of EOP review when Jenni joined the EM team. She hit the ground running and played a valuable role in updating the county EOP, and coordinating planning meetings.

Within her first year Jenni took on the task of establishing a community shelter team. She worked hard recruiting community volunteers, coordinating training, and establishing shelter procedures. Once the team was established, along with Jenni’s leadership, received grant funding to outfit a community shelter with a generator and worked with Red Cross for needed supplies. 

This past winter our county was hit with a blizzard/winter storm that crippled travel and stranded motorists for 2 days. She not only fulfilled her role in the County EOC but also got to activate the shelter team for the first time. Her leadership, and efforts paid off as the shelter team was a huge success and much needed response capability.

She is always willing to jump in and help where needed, including assisting in other counties.