Growing up in Oregon, the act of being “ready” for the “big one” I think was always part of my parents daily conversation. In 1989 The Loma Prieta earthquake, hit San Francisco. I was 9 at the time and lived in Oregon City, my bedroom was a addon that was a build off of the 2nd story deck that rested on stilts. After the quake the “urgency” of getting prepared hit my family like a freight train, as we moved from the house where my bedroom was on stilts. (In fact I think I was never allowed to sleep in in it again.)
Thanks to my mom and the boy scouts I developed a sense of preparedness, and thanks to my grandfather I have always been ready willing and able to help those in need. Be it stopping at a traffic accident to help those in need or teaching others how to prepare, “being” prepared has been an active part of my mindset for many years. In addition to the Pacific Northwest and it’s inevitable earthquakes, I have lived in Florida, where you learn to be prepared for hurricane winds, floods and powerful lightning; and in the Midwest where you learn to prepare for long heavy snow, and a variety of other life’s adventures have given me the opportunity to learn to prepare for just about anything.
I volunteer with Portland’s Neighborhood Emergency Teams or NET which is the Portland Oregon version of CERT Community Emergency Response Teams.
I am also fortunate enough to be the Operations Manager at Portland’s ONLY emergency preparedness store The Portland Preparedness Center.
And now this website will give me the ability to help YOU prepare for the things that lay ahead of all of us.
