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State disaster specialist pitches youth preparedness program to Midland County commissioners
Summary
Curtis Martin of Disaster District 9 introduced 'My Preparedness Initiative,' a youth‑focused, CERT‑aligned preparedness program (ages 13–19) that includes ham‑radio and NOAA radio training and a community graduation requirement; Martin did not request county funding and seeks support for pilot outreach.
Curtis Martin, disaster assessment and recovery specialist for Permian Basin Disaster District 9, presented the My Preparedness Initiative (My PI), a youth‑focused preparedness program designed to complement Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) by teaching household and neighborhood resilience skills to ages 13–19.
Martin described the program as a three‑part course that totals roughly 36–40 hours: an introduction to CERT, a technology component (ham radio operations and NOAA radio) and a graduation phase that asks students to work with six households in their community to complete preparedness tasks. Martin said the program originated with Mississippi State University and is now offered via AgriLife Extension; he emphasized the initiative is intended as a pilot outreach and said he is not requesting county funding. Martin also said he plans library presentations and a public educational event on wildfires and the wildland‑urban interface, timed near the two‑year anniversary of a local wildfire.
Commissioners and staff thanked Martin for the information and offered to connect him with local organizations; Martin said he would share flyers and coordinate scheduling. No action was required from the court at the meeting.
