Ventura County Sheriff's Department

At the Ventura County Board of Supervisor’s Meeting held on September 21, 2010, the National Weather Service recognized the County of Ventura as an official StormReady County and presented a recognition letter along with StormReady signs to the Board of Supervisors.

The StormReady program is designed to help community leaders and emergency managers strengthen their local operations in preparation for future storms. To achieve this recognition, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services worked closely with the National Weather Service to meet rigorous criteria, which included:
- Establishing a 24-hour center for receiving National Weather Service warnings;
- Having redundant ways to receive weather forecasts and warnings;
- Creating a system that monitors local weather conditions;
- Promoting the importance of public readiness through community seminars;
- Developing a formal hazardous weather plan for training severe weather spotters.

In addition, communities that participate in activities such as StormReady receive Community Rating System (CRS) points, which may lower residents’ flood insurance premiums.

The group of individuals that worked on the County of Ventura StormReady project were also nominated and selected to receive a Certificate of Special Recognition for Partnership in Preparedness presented by the California Emergency Services Association, statewide organizations of emergency management professionals. Those individuals included:
- Cynthia Elliott, Public Information Officer, Ventura County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services
- Erin Edinger, Alert and Warning Coordinator, Ventura County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services
- Dale Carnathan, Program Administrator, Ventura County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services
- Deborah O'Malia, Disaster Preparedness Coordinator, Oxnard Fire Department
- Eric Boldt, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, National Weather Service

For more information on the StormReady program, please visit the National Weather Service website at www.stormready.noaa.gov.

Date & Time: September 21, 2010 10:00 AM
Unit Responsible: Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services
Administrator Preparing Release: Cynthia Elliott, OES Program Administrator (805) 654-3655
Follow-up Contact: Erin Edinger, OES Program Administrator (805) 654-3843
Approved By: Laura Hernandez, OES Assistant Director
Date of Release: September 21, 2010