Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service receives emergency management award
Media contact: Blair Fannin, 979-845-2259, b-fannin@tamu.edu
SAN ANTONIO – The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service received the Texas Emergency Management Council Agency of the Year Award recently for its work in response to Hurricane Harvey.
The award recognizes outstanding support provided by an agency to the communities of Texas during disasters. It includes providing public awareness to the community and actively participating in local and statewide exercises.
“We are privileged to receive this award for serving the state of Texas during one of the state’s most catastrophic natural disasters,” said Dr. Parr Rosson, interim AgriLife Extension director, College Station. “AgriLife Extension is committed to serving Texans during times of need, and our experiences during Hurricane Harvey will only enhance our preparation and recovery efforts moving forward.”
Dr. Andy Vestal, AgriLife Extension special assistant, College Station, accepted the award at the 2019 Emergency Management Council Conference in San Antonio recently.
“Our AgriLife Extension agents put forth a tremendous amount of time and dedication to helping those impacted by Hurricane Harvey, and they continue to play an integral role as part of Rebuild Texas,” Vestal said. “AgriLife Extension is committed to working with all state agencies and council partners through not only recovery efforts but enabling rapid response to any emergency assistance needed statewide.”
The state Emergency Management Council, which is composed of 36 state agencies, the American Red Cross, Texas Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster and the Salvation Army, is established by state law to advise and assist the Governor in all matters relating to disaster mitigation, emergency preparedness, disaster response and recovery.
During major emergencies, council representatives convene at the State Operations Center to provide advice on and assistance with response operations and coordinate the activation and deployment of state resources to respond to an emergency. State resources are deployed to assist local governments that have requested assistance because their own limited resources.
The council is organized by emergency support function — groupings of agencies that have legal responsibility, expertise or resources needed for a specific emergency response function.
