Happy October Galveston County CERT Family!
We have been lucky to have a quiet hurricane season so far, but stay diligent and prepared to protect yourself, your family, your property and pets, your neighbors, and your community by having supplies, having a go bag, and being current in as much emergency training topics as possible.
I want to remind everyone that the countywide evacuation drill that was scheduled for Friday, October 2nd, has been cancelled by the Office of Emergency Management. They hope to reschedule the drill in March of next year as we approach the next storm season.
We have our last CERT Academy of the year starting on October 15th, and it runs for 4 straight days and they graduate on Sunday, October 18th. We need volunteers to be force multipliers for their drill and victims for their drill on the 18th starting at 1430 hrs. at the Pioneer House next to Carbide Park. We also need you to share the registration link with everyone on your social media to get people to register! Please post this link to your social media pages! https://forms.gle/wFqASXFN6LFD4Pmm9
We are conducting a Search and Rescue Academy starting on October 27th (Tuesday evening), then meeting on November 7, 10, 12,13, 14, 15. You can attend the SAR academy to learn more about Search and Rescue to help you work with our CERT team in SAR activations without taking the online open-book certification test and skills tests, or you can attend and purchase the classes from NASAR for their current fee plus the cost of their membership and textbook, and become a FunSAR and SAR Technician Level II certified responder. Please follow this link to register.
Here are some upcoming training opportunities:
Oct. 10 – Drone Team Training - Walter Hall South Pavillion
Oct. 13 – Chat (CERT HAM Action Team) – Pioneer House
Nov. 21 – CERT All Members Drill – Jack Brooks Park
Dec. 8 – AHA Heart Saver CPR/AED – Bayside Regional Park
Dec. 10 – DART Team – Location TBA
Ben Keith, one of our CERT family members was recently honored at the La Marque City Council meeting and received the Community Life Saver Award for Uncommon Bravery in saving the life of a young man who was involved in a motor vehicle accident in which he became entrapped in his vehicle and his vehicle caught fire. Ben pulled the young man from the vehicle and distanced him from the fire and provided care until help could arrive. Please view the video of the award ceremony from the link here, and please congratulate Ben when you get the chance!
We are looking for a couple of CERT members to staff a Public Information Table at the Galveston West Beach Lions Club ‘Tis the Season Craft Fair and Market in Jamaica Beach on Saturday, October 24th, from 9am – 3 pm. Setup time is from 8 am – 8:45 am. The event is at the park at 16721 Jolly Roger Rd., Jamaica Beach, TX. Please follow this link to register!
The Wings Over Houston 2026 event has requested our operational support at 3 access gates for pilots and the general public.
We are being asked to support a special show on Friday, October 30th, from 1:30 pm – 4 pm. We are looking for up to 10 volunteers, and it is first come, first serve. Please contact Tony Poynor via Email at tpoynor1@yahoo.com with your request to work on Friday at the Airshow. On Saturday and Sunday, we will have shifts from 5:30 am to 5:00 pm. We still need to cover a few available shifts. If you are available to participate, please click the link below.
Location: Ellington Field, Houston, Tx 77034
Dates: October 31 & November 1, 2026
If you wish to be a part of our CERT Team, please complete the registration form below:
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/5e0RVt8aZ7
*Limited spaces available, advance registration required.
Instructions will be sent to all registered volunteers as soon as possible
Our November meeting will be a social and awards meeting for the end of the year. The meeting will be at the Walter Hall Banquet Hall in League City, and we will have food, drinks, and fellowship, as well as an end of the year meeting and awards ceremony. We also will have a fun silent auction as a fundraiser to help with our social fund, and we are looking for fun items to auction off! If you can donate items for our auction, we ask you to contact Karen Booren at 713-705-6126 and let her know what you have and plan to get the items to her by mid-October.
We are encouraging all our CERT members to purchase a license to use our new radios which have some GMRS frequencies programed into them. These frequencies are regulated by the FCC and require a license. The license cost $35 and covers everyone living in your house. I have placed a link here and under the documents tab on our website to help you complete the online application to get your license. Here is the link to the instructions and other links to complete the process.
Our next meetings:
Oct. 7 (Wed) – Walter Hall Park (Main Banquet Hall) Starts at 6:30 pm
Nov. 4 (Wed) - Walter Hall Park (Main Banquet Hall) Starts at 5:00 pm with social
No meeting in December