association of state floodplain managers...executive director, shawn putnam, region 2 rep., ward...
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Chapter Report - District 3 - 1 - May 2013
ASSOCIATION OF STATE FLOODPLAIN MANAGERS
Chapter Director Annual Report 2013
District 3 (FEMA Region IV and VI)
Diane L. Calhoun, CFM, ASFPM Chapter Director
District 3 Chapters
Region IV:
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee
Region VI:
Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
REGION IV: CHAPTER ACTIVITIES
Alabama:
Alabama Association of Floodplain Mangers (AAFM)
Report not submitted as of May 17, 2013
Florida:
Florida Floodplain Managers Association (FMMA)
Florida Floodplain Managers Association (FFMA) had a great year in 2012. FFMA held
its 2012 Annual Conference in St. Augustine, Florida, from March 27 - 30 with 213
attendees, up from 104 attendees the previous year.
This year, 2013, we held our Annual Conference in St. Petersburg, FL and topped 230
attendees who all enjoyed world class education and a beautiful setting. Having been
organized in 2003, FFMA also celebrated a “Decade of Resilience” and recognized
members that started this organization and continue to support it as it grows. Both
FEMA and the Florida Department of Emergency Management (FDEM) supported both
conferences. Watch our website for updates and information.
Next year, FFMA will be at Hutchinson Island in Stuart, FL from March 25 - 28.
Everyone is welcome to join us for a
little R & R (and “E” Education) in beautiful sunny Florida.
With the new website www.flfloods.org in full operation, FFMA has been able to host
several training events with ten different classes held in 2012. We trained 231 members
and non-members and of the 48 people who sat for the CFM Exam, 38 passed.
Membership continues to grow under the leadership of our Executive Committee and
Board:
Chapter Report - District 3 - 2 - May 2013
Chairman Desiree Companion, CFM
Vice-Chairman James Linkogle, CFM
Treasurer Chris Zambito, CFM, GISP
Secretary Sandy Shook, CFM
Past Chairman Mike Gambino, CFM
Past Chairman Nancy Witty, CFM
Associate Director, Education Sally Cook, CFM
Associate Director, Membership Nancy Witty, CFM
Associate Director, Legislative Frank Skarvelis, CFM
DHS/FEMA Representative (Ex Officio) Brad Loar, CFM
FDEM Representative (Ex Officio) Miles Anderson
Executive Director Cece McKiernan, CFM, LEED AP
Region 1 Director Christine Mehle, PE, CFM
Region 1 Director Carrie Aurit, CFM, GISP
Region 2 Director Leroy Marshall II, PE, CFM
Region 2 Director Katrina Myers, PE, CFM
Region 3 Director Richard Benton, CFM
Region 3 Director Jonathan Bilby, MCP, CFM
Region 4 Director Aleem Ghany, PE, CFM
Region 4 Director William Bucklew, CFM
Region 5 Director Delton Schwalls, PE, CFM
Region 5 Director Donald Beaton, Jr., CFM
Since the inception of the website which now facilitates membership renewal,
membership has grown from 338 in
November 2012 to 402 on May 11, 2013.
FFMA’s bylaws are currently undergoing membership approval of revisions and
specialty committees are forming including a governance committee, scholarship
committee and of particular note, a coastal committee which is headed by FFMA Chair
Des Companion and FDEM leader Steve Martin. This committee has gained attention by
FEMA and continues to address important issues related to coastal construction.
FFMA looks forward to future growth and continued prominence in the floodplain
management world.
Chapter Report - District 3 - 3 - May 2013
Georgia:
Georgia Association of Floodplain Management (GAFM)
2013 GAFM Board:
Garrett Skinner, Chair
Tom Shillock, Vice Chair
Michael Burgess, Secretary
George Thompson, Treasurer
Members: 245
Annual Conference: 158 Attendees
Regional Symposia:
The 2012/2013 fiscal year was one of change and transition. Due to the decreased
demand, we eliminated our fall conference and have implemented Regional Symposia.
These one-day sessions allow each region to have a day of focused topics and trainings to
meet the unique needs of our members in different areas of the state. Although we had
some struggles getting these kicked-off statewide, we are well positioned to fully
implement these symposia within each GAFM region after a successful pilot run in the
North Region. North Region Representative Rodney Buckingham did an excellent job
putting together a day of mitigation plan training. If you have comments or topic
suggestions, please contact your regional representative.
GAFM Selected to Host ASFPM Foundation Flood Policy Forum:
In March 2010, the first Gilbert F. White Flood Policy Forum was conducted at George
Washington University with the topic, “Managing Flood Risks and Floodplain
Resources.” The Forum Act on Agenda that arose from this Forum reflected the
participant’s recommendations that there is a need to capture flood risk indicators at the
state, regional and local levels of government to complement the national level indicators
developed at the Forum.
In 2011, CO and IN chapters were selected as hosts and prepared an invitational list of
about 80 individuals from a variety of disciplines including floodplain and stormwater
managers, transportation and development planners, elected officials, natural resource
specialists, researchers, social science and/or public engagement specialists, and
professionals from the insurance, real estate and other industries. Invitees were both from
public and private sectors, NGOs, academia, “in-state” state and local officials, and
federal officials with state or regional responsibilities.
The Texas Floodplain Management Association and GAFM have been selected to co-
host with ASFPM and the ASFPM Foundation for 2013.
Chapter Report - District 3 - 4 - May 2013
Year Ahead:
We look forward to a great 2013/2014 fiscal year with the implementation of our Region
Symposia, participation in the ASFPM Annual Conference in Hartford, CT and
relocation of the 9th Annual GAFM Technical Conference to downtown Atlanta in
preparation for 2015. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions please free to
email me at [email protected]. We look forward to providing the best training,
professional development and networking opportunities that we can for you.
Kentucky:
Kentucky Association of Mitigation Managers (KAMM)
Report was not submitted as of May 17, 2013
Mississippi:
Association of Floodplain Managers of Mississippi (AFMM)
The Association of Floodplain Managers of Mississippi (AFMM) held its Annual Spring
Conference in Natchez, MS on April 29- May 2, 2013, with 93 in attendance. During this
conference, we were honored to have Mr. Robert Latham of MEMA as our keynote
speaker. Mr. Latham is the Executive Director of MEMA, who spoke in regards to BW-
12.
During our spring conference membership meeting, we created a Biggert-Waters 2012
Committee and appointed Jerry Beaugez (past-president) as the Committee Chair. We
also created an SDE Training Committee and appointed Stacey Ricks (State Floodplain
Coordinator), as the Committee Chair.
In the month October, we will hold our Annual Winter Conference in Philadelphia, Ms.
At this conference, we will update/revise our Constitution and By-Laws, as well as, elect
new officers to the Board of Directors at our membership meeting. Currently, our Board
of Director members are as followed:
President - Allison Brand, CFM - Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Ins. Co.
Interim Vice-President - Tara Coggins, CFM - Lamar County
Interim Secretary - Teresa Dobbs, CFM - City of Ocean Springs
Interim Treasurer - Rob Blackman, CFM - City of Ocean Springs
Interim State Representative for AFMM - Stacey Ricks, CFM - MEMA
District Representatives for AFMM are as follows:
District 1 - Brian Grissom, CFM - City of Saltillo
District 2 - Cathy Lummus - Lauderdale County
District 3 - Reggie Pinkston - Humphreys County
District 4 - Rick Stickler, CFM - City of Biloxi
Chapter Report - District 3 - 5 - May 2013
We currently have 130 members with AFMM, with a total of 75 CFMs, which includes
22 new CFM's in Region IV since 2012. This gives us a total of 140 CFMs in the State of
Mississippi and hope to see those numbers continue to rise with every passing year!
North Carolina:
North Carolina Association of Floodplain Managers (NCAFPM)
Report not submitted as of May 17, 2013
South Carolina:
South Carolina Association of Hazard Mitigation (SCAHM)
The South Carolina Association of Hazard Mitigation held their annual conference in
Greenville, SC the week of March 11-13, 2013, with the CFM exam, administered by our
Executive Director, Shawn Putnam, with the City of Camden. We had two and a half
days of great sessions and lots of information was available. We also had a great turnout,
with approximately 130 attendees.
Board Elections were held at the Conference and they will be as follows:
Chair: Terri Hancock, Berkeley County
Vice Chair: Chris Stone, Lexington County
Secretary: Alisia Hunter, Anderson County
Treasurer: Angela McJunkin, City of North Charleston
Regional Representatives:
Region 1: Jessica Chapman, City of Greenville
Region 2: Ward Braswell, City of Newberry
Region 3: Tom Brooks, Town of Saluda
Region 4: Tripp Ward, Florence County
Region 5: Patrick Brown, Edisto Beach
Executive Director: Shawn Putnam, City of Camden
Corporate Liaison: Daryl Fontenot
SCAHM will send 3 representatives to this year’s National Conference in Hartford,
Connecticut. Executive Director, Shawn Putnam, Region 2 Rep., Ward Braswell and our
Secretary, Alesia, Hunter.
SCAHM held the CFM training session, approximately 3 weeks prior to the conference,
to help those taking the exam at the beginning of the conference next year. SCAHM’s
2013 conference and training sessions were creditable for CFM certification CEU’s.
Chapter Report - District 3 - 6 - May 2013
The SCAHM board donated a Pawley’s Island Hammock for the silent auction at the
National Conference
The 2013 annual conference was a success.
Our new Floodplain Manager of the Year Award went to Keith Drummond of Greenville.
There are a few Counties in the Map Mod Mode and are anxious to view and receive
those maps.
Tennessee:
Tennessee Association of Floodplain Management (TN AFPM)
The Tennessee Association of Floodplain Management (TN AFPM) completed 2012 with
an outstanding year of training and outreach. The Association continued building on its
founding in 2010 and was able to accomplish all of the goals established during its
second year of existence. The Association instituted its vision of conducting Regional
Training Days (Three Regional Trainings conducted once annually in each of the
Association’s regions East, Middle, and West Tennessee). These training opportunities
provide outreach to communities who are not able to attend the Annual Conference and
make training accessible to our smaller more rural jurisdictions. The training was
conducted free of charge in 2012. The Association exceeded all requirements to become a
Chapter of ASFPM and completed its application for Chapter status. TN AFPM was
awarded Chapter Status on February 22, 2012. The Association conducted outreach to
agencies and organizations that play a part in floodplain management through the normal
course of their duties, i.e. storm-water management, building officials, elected and
appointed officials, planners, etc…to attempt to approach floodplain management from a
holistic perspective. At year’s end the Association is in a great place for major
accomplishments in the coming year.
TN AFPM Membership stood at 122 representing 47 unique Tennessee Communities as
of December 31, 2012.
TN AFPM Annual Conference 2012
There were 60 attendees at this year’s Annual Conference in July, down from 81 of last
year. TN AFPM continues to promote the annual conference, membership, and training
opportunities.
Chapter Report - District 3 - 7 - May 2013
Conference Presenters
Presenters
• Alan M. Armstrong, Plans and More, LLP
• Sharon Armstrong, Plans and More, LLP
• Clay Campbell, AMEC, Inc.
• Patrick Dobbs, AMEC, Inc.
• Mary Lynn Gillingham, TEMA Mitigation Branch
• Christina Groves, ISO/CRS
• Kitty Harding, FloodSmart
• Stanley Harrison, TN ECD
• Sandra Knight, Bradley County, TN
• Roger Lindsey, Metro Water Services, Nashville, TN
• Roy McClure, FEMA Region IV
• Tom Palko, Metro Water Services, Nashville, TN
• Cindy Popplewell, AMEC, Inc.
• Mark Vieira, FEMA Region IV
• Britton Wells, AMEC, Inc.
• Josh Wickham, TEMA Mitigation Branch
• Suzanne White, TN OIR GIS
Chapter Report - District 3 - 8 - May 2013
Conference Sponsors:
• AMEC
• Bradley County, TN
• Plans & More, LLP
TN AFPM Board Members:
Alan M Armstrong, Chairman
PLANS & MORE, LLP
2508 Pleasant View Road
Pleasant View, TN 37146
(615) 746-2229 (H)
(615) 426-8556 (C)
Sandra Knight, Vice Chairman
Bradley County Engineer
P.O. Box 1167
Cleveland, TN 37364-1167
(423) 728-7107
(423) 478-8884 (Fax)
William Veazey, Treasurer
Tipton County Planning Department
220 Highway 51 North, Suite 3
Covington, TN 38019
(901) 476-0255
Cindy Popplewell, Secretary
AMEC Earth & Environmental
3800 Ezell Road, Suite 100
Nashville, TN 37211
(615) 333-0630 (W)
Stacy Morrison, East TN Regional Representative
City of Chattanooga, Public Works Department
1250 Market Street, Suite 100
Chattanooga, TN 37402
(423) 634-5840; (423) 421-5268
Chapter Report - District 3 - 9 - May 2013
Sharon Armstrong, Middle TN Regional Representative
Plans & More, LLP
2508 Pleasant View Road
Pleasant View, TN 37146
(615) 934-7883 (C)
Tom Skehan, West TN Regional Representative
Southwest Tennessee Development District
Regional Planner
27 Conrad Dr., Suite 150
Jackson, TN 38305-2850
(731) 668-6429
TN NFIP EX-OFFICIO
Roy B. McClure, CFM
Mitigation Branch
3003 Chamblee Rd.
Atlanta, GA 30341
(770) 220-8835
Stanley Harrison, TN NFIP
3211 North Roan Street
Johnson City, TN 37601
(423) 434-0158
2011 -2012 Activity:
• Conducted TN AFPM 3nd Annual Conference (12 CECs awarded by ASFPM,
hosted the CFM Exam) with two concurrent sessions, 12 Classes each side; 3 annual
regional trainings in East, Middle and West TN Regions with 3 presentations at each
location.
• Updated Constitution, Bylaws, and Membership Application and dues.
• Completed the process for CECs for ASFPM, TN Department of Commerce and
Insurance, TN Chapter of the American Planning Association, and TN Association of
Professional Surveyors
• Produced 4 Quarterly and 2 Special Edition Newsletters.
• Attended the TN GIC Training Course, FEMA L273 Course, May 14-17, 2012,
Jackson, TN
• Conducted TN AFPM East, Middle and West TN Regional Training.
• Renewed Non-Profit Corporate Status with the TN Secretary of State.
Chapter Report - District 3 - 10 - May 2013
• Chairman Alan M. Armstrong attended the ASFPM Conference in San Antonio,
TX.
• TN AFPM Chairman Mike Armstrong completed the two day TNGIC Middle
Tennessee Forum on GIS held on Wednesday & Thursday, Nov. 2-3, 2011 at the
Rutherford County Lane Agriculture Park in Murfreesboro, TN.
• TN AFPM Chairman Mike Armstrong and Middle TN Regional Representative
Sharon Armstrong presented at the West Regional Training session on December 2, 2011
held at the UT Institute of Agriculture in Jackson, TN. Mike and Sharon recently
completed the Hazard Mitigation Plan update for Augusta, GA and the Pre-Disaster
Mitigation Plan update for Heard County, GA
• TN AFPM Treasurer William Veazey is wearing one of his many hats as Vice-
Chairman of the West Section of the Tennessee American Planning Association (TAPA).
William is working on the TAPA Fall Conference in Memphis on October 17-19, 2012 at
the Doubletree downtown.
• Revamped TN AFPM Website to post all training classes, links to local, state, and
federal resources.
• Established a working partnership with the TN LIDAR Project, USACE, TN
Stormwater Association, TN Board of Regents Continuing Education Program, and
multiple media outlets to promote TN AFPM Events.
TN AFPM Committees
Conference: Cindy Popplewell, [email protected]
IT/Media: Sharon Armstrong, [email protected]
Membership: Sandra Knight, [email protected]
Newsletter: Sharon Armstrong, [email protected]
Training and Education: Sharon Armstrong, [email protected]
Website: Jenna McGee, [email protected]
TN CFMs.
Armstrong, Alan, Pleasant View
Atkins, Christopher, Cedar Hill
Baskin, Darek, Covington
Bass, Daniel, Knoxville
Bass, De'an, Brentwood
Boles, Brendan, Nashville
Brashear, Thomas, Lebanon
Buchanan, Erin, Thompson Station
Buchanan, Jeffrey, Thompson Station
Burns, Chan, Dickson
Coffey, Marilyn, Knoxville
Coulson, Gregory, Nashville
Crouch, Michael, Nashville
Crowley, Amy, Nashville
Doss, John, Clarksville
Edwards, David, Kingsport
Chapter Report - District 3 - 11 - May 2013
Fuquay, Whitney, Nashville
Graham, Justin, Nashville
Hearn, Daniel, Nashville
Heeney, Kevin, Nolensville
Heflin, Floyd, Franklin
Heilwagen, Bradley, La Vergne
Helwa, Amro, Signal Mountain
Irwin, Michael, Nashville
Johnson, Sara, Nashville
Kashelikar, Ashwini, Nashville
Knight, Sandra, Cleveland
Lawalin, Nicholas, Nashville
Lindsey, Roger, Franklin
Little, Brandy, Nashville
Madsen, Keld, Antioch
McCoy, Shanna, Chapel Hill
McGinley, David, Maryville
Meshkat, Masoud, Brentwood
Miller, Elizabeth, Louisville
Moore, James, Antioch
Morkert, Andrew, Ooltewah
Murr, Andrew, Knoxville
Nelson, Donald, Cornersville
Owen, Candice, Nashville
Owen, William, Murfreeaboro
Palko, Thomas, Nashville
Pearson, Marcus, Dickson
Popplewell, Cynthia, Nashville
Quinn, Barry, Franklin
Rennhack, Joan, Hixson
Rennhack, Matthew, Hixson
Rote, Russ, LaVergne
Sarappo, Inger, Nolensville
Smith, Dwight, Franklin
Stevens, Brian, Nashville
Veazey, William, Covington
Ward, John, Fairview
Warren, James, Morristown
Wells, Britton, Hendersonville
Whittinghill, Keith, Dickson
Williams, Alicia, Nashville
Williams, Tyler, Clarksville
Willis, Joey, Clarksville
Wolfe, Kenneth, Gallatin
Zgonina, Eric, Nashville
Zoeller, Benjamin, Nashville
Chapter Report - District 3 - 12 - May 2013
We are currently planning our 4th TN AFPM Annual Conference, 2013 in Gatlinburg,
TN at the Glenstone Lodge.
REGION VI: CHAPTER ACTIVITIES
Arkansas:
Arkansas Floodplain Management Association, Inc. (AFMA)
The Arkansas Floodplain Management Association, Inc. (AFMA, Inc.) has 208 members.
The AFMA, Inc. Board of Directors is as follows:
Officers:
Chair - Troy Davis
Vice Chair - Sherman Smith
Secretary - Karen Knebel
Treasurer - Shawn Jackson
Past Chair - Richard Penn
Executive Director - Conrad Battreal
NFIP Coordinator - Mike Borengasser
Regional Representatives:
Northwest - Jeanette Hale
Northeast - Tom Black
Southeast - Vacant
Southwest - Denny McPhate
Central - Jack Fleming
Committee Chairs:
Awards - Conrad Battreal
Certification - Mike Borengasser
Communication - Danny Straessle (Web Master)
Legislative - Jack Fleming
Technical - Conrad Battreal
The Arkansas Floodplain Management Association, Inc. has 174 Certified Floodplain
Managers.
The AFMA, Inc. Fall Conference was held 23-26 September 2012 in Hot Springs, AR
with 150 in attendance. Representatives of cities, counties, State, Federal, and
professional organizations were in attendance. Tom Black was awarded the “Floodplain
Manager of the Year Award”.
Chapter Report - District 3 - 13 - May 2013
Conference attendees were presented with a seven hour “Legal Workshop for Floodplain
Management” by Ed Thomas, Esq., Natural Hazard Mitigation Association, Inc. The
workshop included:
a. Protecting the Property Rights of All
b. Floodplain Management Higher Standards for river Communities.
c. What is My Liability?
AMEC Earth & Environmental sponsored a wonderful Monday evening meal and
entertainment at the Hot Springs Train Depot.
The AFMA, Inc. Spring Workshop was held 18, 19 April 2013 in Jacksonville, AR with
an attendance of 102. The workshop was highlighted with a presentation by Vaughan
Hankins, Esq. Eight Intentional Torts were described in detail as applicable to
Floodplain Managers within the State of Arkansas. In addition, the workshop included
presentations on Floodplain Management, Flood Insurance, Risk Map, Wetlands, and
Endangered Species.
The following actions by the AFMA, Inc. Board were accomplished within this reporting
period:
Federal Income Tax 2012 - filed.
Liability insurance for the AFMA, Inc. Board members was renewed.
Services were obtained from the following professional within this reporting period.
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) – The 2012 AFMA, Inc. Federal Income Taxes were
prepared and submitted by a CPA to the Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue
Service. Filing of State Income Taxes is not required in AR since we are a “Public
Charity” under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
Louisiana:
Louisiana Floodplain Management Association (LFMA)
The Louisiana Floodplain Management Association submits the following information
concerning its activities from June, 2012 through mid May, 2013.
1. LFMA has about 350 members.
2. We recently held our 30th annual Technical and Business Conference in Hammond,
Louisiana on April 17 through April 19. There were about 200 participants. The effects of the
Biggert-Waters Act were the highlight of the conference presentations and the networking
sessions. Other presentations included:
● Foundation Walls and Enclosures
● Mapping Update
● HMGP
Chapter Report - District 3 - 14 - May 2013
● Impacts of the South Lafourche Levee
● Permit Official responsibilities
● Environmental division of FPM
3. 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners in the calendar contest were awarded cash prizes at the
noon luncheon.
4. Melissa Becker of the Rapides Area Planning Commission was awarded the Rodney
Emmer Award for her behind the scenes activities at all conference and workshops plus the
fantastic job that she does on the LFMA quarterly newsletters. It now is published regularly and
contains both local storm water activities and federal guidance.
5. The newly elected board of directors includes:
Chair - Darla Duet
Vice Chair - Melissa Becker
Secretary - Kara Moree
Treasurer - Alex Guillory
Regional Reps - Wayne Berggren, Jim Ferguson, Juanita Fowler,
Lisa Ledet, Lisa Richardson, Sandra Turley,
Bonnie Anderson
Alternate Reps- Michael Hunnicutt
Coordinators - Pam Mattingly, James Demouchet, David Brauner
6. LFMA board voted to reimburse its officers and executive director for travel, lodging and
registration for the 2013 ASFPM conference.
7. The fall workshop was conducted in October, 2012 in Carencro, LA with over 60
registrants:
Presentations included:
● Elevation certificate trivia
● Flood insurance
● Community Rating System
● Critical facilities
● Development Permits
● Baton Rouge Floodways
8. The summer workshop was conducted in July, 2012 in Gonzales, LA with about 50
registrants.
9. The board voted to assess a fee of $30 for non-LFMA members at workshops.
Chapter Report - District 3 - 15 - May 2013
10. The board voted to amend the by-laws to clarify the election of regional representatives
and their alternates.
New Mexico:
New Mexico Floodplain Managers Association
The NM Chapter has held two workshops since last June. The first was our Fall
workshop in Las Cruces, NM. JD Padilla, CFM for the City of Las Cruces and John
Gwynne, P.E., CFM were the Conference director and Program director for the
workshop. The program theme, “Are We the Expert?” offered the presenters an open
field for the subject matter of their presentations. Patt Stovall, with Smith Engineering
Company, taught a HEC-RAS Basic 1-day course on Monday prior to the workshop. JD
Padilla arranged a room at the City of Las Cruces offices and provided morning and
afternoon breaks for the 16 attendees. Diane Calhoun, with Calhoun Consulting, LLC,
gave the FP 101 one day course and Dave Turk and Eric Nemeth, with URS, held the
CFM Refresher Course on Tuesday prior to the workshop. The CFM exam was
proctored on Wednesday morning prior to the beginning of the workshop. The workshop
attendance was 78 and included Ed Thomas with the Natural Hazard Mitigation
Association, Inc and Ian Dunham with the Floodplain Managers Association of Australia.
We had 112 attendees at our Spring workshop in Los Lunas, NM. Hoss Foster, CFM
with the City of Los Lunas, organized the workshop and Loretta Hatch, CFM with the
Village of Bosque Farms, put together the program with the program theme “Everything
Under the Yellow Moons”. Diane Calhoun, with Calhoun Consulting, LLC, taught the
FP 101 course and Dave Turk and Eric Nemeth, with URS, held the CFM Refresher
Course on Tuesday prior to the workshop. The CFM exam was proctored again on
Wednesday for a gain of 8 more CFMs in NM. The workshop in Los Lunas was a great
success.
Dale Hoff and Jack Gramham, FEMA Region 6, came from Denton, TX to teach the
E273 course in June in Las Cruces, NM. 21 people attended the course and we gained 6
new CFMs from the exam proctored on Friday. Having the E273 course presented in
local communities around New Mexico has really been a great benefit for small
community CFMs who don’t get a chance to educate themselves in other ways.
This year we added 22 new people from the proctored CFM exams to the list of NM
CFMs and gained 1 CFMs from transfers from other states. But we also lost 18, so the
total CFMs in NM is now 180, up only 4 from last year.
We held our annual Board Retreat on August 10 and 11 at the Route 66 Casino west of
Albuquerque. Topics of discussion included following; Committee updates and goals for
the coming year, Website updates and changes, Discussions on member training
opportunities, Outreach and communications with our membership, A mentoring
program, Code of ethics and ethics training and need of liability insurance, a New
Chapter Report - District 3 - 16 - May 2013
Mexico Flood Insurance Program, and a Specific curriculum for FM’s to follow before
/after taking the Certification Exam.
Club Express continued to work well as our web server this last year. We did all our
workshops and course registrations online with the option to pay by credit card. We
again conducted our elections entirely online via our web site, and for those who had not
voted by the last day of voting, we had a netbook at the workshop registration table
dedicated for elections only. This worked out great for the fourth year. Our committee
pages on the web site have given the committee chairs the opportunity to communicate
with their members thru the web site. Similarly, we have given our regional directors the
capability to email their members from the web site so they can better communicate with
NMFMA members in their regions.
Michele Truby-Tillen, our Secretary, created a Face book page and a LinkedIn discussion
for the group. There is a follow widget on the NFIP Home page to promote the Face
book page. We are in the process of starting a discussion blog on the NMFMA website.
We held elections at our Spring workshop in Albuquerque and elected new officers. The
new NMFMA Board includes David Turk, CFM, Chair; Kelly Romero, CFM, First Vice
Chair; Curt Temple, CFM, Second Vice Chair; Michele Truby-Tillen, CFM, Secretary;
Paul Dugie, CFM, Treasurer; Nicole Friedt, CFM, Region I Director; JD Padilla, CFM,
Region II Director; Joe Barela, CFM, Region III Director; and Carlos Bustamante, CFM,
Region IV Director. A complete list of the Board of Directors and their contact
information can be found on our website, www.nmfma.org , under Contact Us.
Oklahoma:
Oklahoma Floodplain Managers Association (OFMA)
OFMA’s current membership is 473 members. Of those 302 are CFMs.
The OFMA Annual Conference was September 15th through 19th in Tulsa. There were
218 members in attendance. The three tracks at the conference were Mapping and Risk
Assessment, Hazard Mitigation/Case Studies, and Stormwater Quality/Low Impact
Development.
The officers elected at the annual business meeting were:
Chair: Bill Robison, City of Tulsa, Lead Engineer, CRS Coordinator
Vice-Chair: Todd McLellan, City of Norman
Secretary: Monica Cardin, City of Del City
Treasurer: Carolynn Schultz, USACE
Region I Rep.: Leslie Lewis, ODOT
Region 2 Rep.: Bill Smith, HISINC
Region 3 Rep.: Brenda McCarty, SODA
Chapter Report - District 3 - 17 - May 2013
Region 4 Rep.: Max Boothe, Washita County EM/FPA
Region 5 Rep.: Mike Galloway, Custer County EM/FPA
OFMA was fortunate to get one of two field deployed E-278, CRS courses to be offered
this year. Twenty-nine people attended. Everyone in attendance thought the course was
very beneficial.
OFMA’s Outreach program is moving forward with a Middle School program aimed at
teaching basic hydraulics, hydrology and floodplain management principles. This is in
conjunction with the State Department of Education’s goal of increasing student’s
interest in math and science. The five lesson plan module, with experiments, should be in
Oklahoma classrooms this fall.
In addition OFMA is working on an interactive link on their website help.okflood.org
that will have answers to most floodplain management related questions. OFMA is also
developing approximately twenty standalone videos that can be used by members at
various venues such as insurance agents, city councils, civic groups and other groups
specifically targeted at what their interests might be.
Bill Robison, Chair, has stated this year’s mission is to gain the involvement of water
quality professionals due to the ever increasing requirements for Stormwater discharge
permits being placed on communities by the EPA. Low Impact Development has been
one of the main tracks in the last two year’s annual conferences.
His other main focus is on increasing the membership by reaching out to the Indian
Tribes in Oklahoma. Special thanks to Cynthia Kitchens who stepped up to the plate and
took on the position as Tribal Liaison. She has seen to it that letters were sent to all tribal
nations in the State informing them of the importance of sound floodplain management
principals and offering OFMA’s assistance. This outreach has received a very favorable
response.
OFMA has also been instrumental in assisting several other states set up Disaster
Response Teams. Through this program OFMA volunteers assist communities
throughout the State with damage assessment in the event of a natural disaster. This
greatly helps to prevent rebuilding substantially damaged floodplain structures after a
disaster.
Texas:
Texas Association of Floodplain Management Association
The Texas Floodplain Management Association has enjoyed another very successful year in 2012 to 2013 with our membership continuing to grow and our Certified Floodplain Manager Program experiencing phenomenal interest. Since TFMA started our own CFM Program in 1996 (long before ASFPM established a “National Certification” Program), we have certified to date, 2241 Certified Floodplain Managers. Of course, over the years we have lost CFMs due to changing of jobs, retirement and in some cases even death.
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Unfortunately, some CFMs have been decertified due to lack of interest in renewal or because they failed to submit CECs. Current numbers of CFMs are stated below. TFMA continues to manage our CFM Program and remains one of only six accredited states by ASFPM to do so. TFMA continues to develop special partnerships with various federal, state and local agencies as well as the private sector to promote sound floodplain management, hazard mitigation and flood safety awareness. One special partnership is with the 13 National Weather Service Offices that serve Texas. Working together, we have now developed additional promo items for the Turn Around Don’t Drown campaign and have taken our flood safety awareness and education efforts to adults and children all across the State. TFMA is an official sponsor or supporter of various NOAA projects including SkyWarn Storm Spotter Training, NOAA All Hazards Radio, StormReady, CoCoRaHS, and of course TADD. The following is a summary of TFMA accomplishments and successes for 2012 and 2013: Membership and Certified Floodplain Manager Program: At the close of 2012, TFMA had a total membership of 1871. Of those, 1589 were active Certified Floodplain Managers. During the year, we added 170 new CFMs and 192 new members. As of April 2013, TFMA now has a total membership of 1901 with 1575 active Certified Floodplain Managers. For reference: TFMA Annual Membership Fee is $40 and Annual CFM Renewal Fee is $45. CFMs are required to pay both annual fees as well as submit proof of at least 8 hours of Continuing Education Credits (CECs) to maintain their professional certification. TRAINING, CONTINUING EDUCATION & CFM EXAM OPPORTUNITIES TFMA continues to work our special partnerships with FEMA Region VI staff and the staff of the Texas Water Development Board (the State NFIP Coordinating Agency) to provide training opportunities for the TFMA members to gain more experience and expertise in our chosen profession of floodplain management. Various workshops and classes offer the opportunity to gain continuing education credits for the CFM and also opportunity to learn more about the NFIP prior to taking the CFM exam. However, due to a substantial loss of State funding for the NFIP at the TWDB and overall budget cuts in FEMA, our workshops and training efforts have taken a big hit in 2012-2013. The FEMA E273 4‐Day “Managing Floodplain Development Through the National Flood Insurance Program” Training Course continues to be the stalwart of TFMA’s CFM program. But again, budget cuts have reduced the number of these important courses. At the conclusion of the course, the CFM exam is offered to course attendees as well as others who have pre‐applied for the exam. A person must be an active member of TFMA and must complete a CFM Exam Application and pay a $100 exam fee prior to being place on the list of approved exam takers.
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TFMA continues to work with our federal and state partners on development and delivery of training in Texas, and through our Training and Education Committee, we are looking at options for TFMA to pick up the slack in training delivery. One new activity added is a Quarterly Meeting with TWDB and the TFMA Training Committee to improve communication and cooperation, develop a training schedule and determine role of TFMA in the training process. FEMA 4‐Day Course and CFM exam opportunity February 6‐10, 2012 – Corpus Christi, Texas, Exam Takers: 24, Passed: 17 April 2, 2012 – TFMA Spring Conference, Corpus Christi, TX, Exam Takers: 9, Passed: 6 May 25, 2012 – ASFPM National Conference, San Antonio, TX, Takers: 13, Passed: 9 June 4-8, 2012 – Las Cruces, NM, Exam Takers: 6, Passed: 4 June 25‐28, 2012 – Conroe, Texas, Exam Takers: 33, Number Passed: 31 August 6‐9, 2012 – Longview, Texas, Exam Takers: 20, Number Passed: 19 September 19, 2012 – TFMA Fall Conference, Rockwall, TX, Exam Takers: 26, Passed: 19 November 14, 2012 – Richardson, TX, Exam Takers: 17, Passed: 14 November 26-30, 2012 – Arlington, Texas, Exam Takers: 28, Number Passed: 27 December 3-7, 2013 – Victoria, TX , Exam Takers: 22, Passed: 15 December 12, 2013 – Austin, TX, Exam Takers: 6, Passed: 4 “Flood Insurance For The Floodplain Manager” – G282.3 As a reflection of the mentioned budget and funding cuts, TWDB training has decreased dramatically as evidenced by the 2012-2013 Training schedule. In 2011, there were 13 one day training events and so far in 2012, there have been only been two training class conducted. 2012: March 27, 2012 Basic Floodplain Management 101 April 2‐3, 2012 Two part one‐day Basic Floodplain Management 101 Workshop Held in conjunction with TFMA Spring Conference – Corpus Christi, Texas September 17‐18, 2012 Will conduct two part one‐day Basic Floodplain Management 101 Workshop In conjunction with TFMA Fall Conference – Rockwall, Texas 2013: February 28, 2013 – Region 5 Luncheon and Training, Austin, TX April 3, 2013 – North Texas Event, Grapevine,TX April 16, 2013 - Stormwater Conference, South Padre Island June 24 – 27, 2013 – Waco, Texas, FEMA/TWDB August 26-30, 2013 – Galveston, Texas, FEMA/TWDB September 10 – 13, 2013 – TFMA Fall Conference, Austin, TX
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NCTCOG – Arlington, TX – TBD CONFERENCES AND OTHER ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED BY TFMA TFMA annually hosts two conferences a year. Our annual Spring Conference serves as our Awards and Recognition Conference and also hosts a number of private sector vendors/exhibitors. Every two years, the Spring Conference is also our Election Day for Directors and Officers of the TFMA Board of Directors. The 2013 Spring Conference will feature the election process. The Spring Conference provides Early Bird Training workshops as well as numerous concurrent Technical Session Tracks. TFMA also hosts its Annual Banquet at the conclusion of the Spring Conference. This year is also very special to TFMA as we are celebrating our 25 year anniversary since we founded in 1988. A lot of special activities celebrating this mile stone have been added to this year’s Spring conference. TFMA hosts a slightly shorter annual Fall Technical Conference. This conference also features Early Bird Training Workshops as well as Concurrent Technical Sessions. At both conferences, the CFM Exam is offered after a one day NFIP refresher course. Both conferences also provide ample opportunities for our CFMs to earn Continuing Education Credits. The following is a summary of the 2012-2013 Conference schedule: TFMA Spring Conference 2012 – April 2‐5, 2012 “Mitigation and Outreach – Stemming the Tide of Flood Losses in Texas” Corpus Christi, Texas Number attending: 275 Number of Exhibitors: 15 Number of Sponsors: 9 CFM Exam Takers: 9 Number Passing Exam: 6 TFMA Fall Technical Conference 2012 – September 17‐20, 2012 “Steering A Successful Floodplain Management Program Across Troubled Floodwaters” Lake Ray Hubbard – Rockwall, Texas TFMA SPRING Conference – May 21-24, 2013 25th Anniversary Celebration Sugar Land Marriott Town Square, Sugar Land, TX TFMA FALL Technical Conference – September 10 – 13, 2013 Omni South Park Austin, Texas TFMA often co‐sponsors or otherwise supports other conferences and agency activities. The following is a list of those activities: FEMA Region VI CAP Meetings – Denton, Texas
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(All Five State Coordinating Agencies as well as all Five State Floodplain Management Associations attend the annual CAP meeting to obtain state and federal agency updates. Region VI CAP Meeting October 23-25, 2012 – Denton, Texas May 1-3, 2013 – Denton, Texas TEXAS DRIVERS SAFETY ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE March 30‐31, 2012 ASSOCIATION OF STATE FLOODPLAIN MANAGERS TFMA was one of the first State Floodplain Management Associations to become a State Chapter of ASFPM and our Chapter support of ASFPM continues to this day. To date, we are the largest Chapter organized under the purview of ASFPM. TFMA Annually supports ASFPM conferences by promoting and encouraging Chapter members to become individual members and to attend out of state conferences. Travel scholarships are offered to TFMA Board Members to assist in attending national conferences. In 2012, TFMA hosted the ASFPM National Conference in San Antonio, Texas on May 20‐25, 2012. From all indications, the conference was well attended, well received and was an outstanding success. CONTINUED SPECIAL PARTNERSHIP WITH NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND OTHER AGENCIES FOR FLOOD SAFETY AWARENESS AND OUTREACH As part of Flood Safety Awareness Week, TFMA co‐sponsors with the City of Austin TADD Flood Safety Poster Contest in the Austin Independent School District. TFMA provides ribbons for 1st through 4th place poster winners and provides Gift Cards for 1st through 4th place winners. Winning posters become part of the TFMA’s annual TADD Calendar. 10,000 calendars were published and distributed in 2012 and 2013. TFMA, working with National Weather Service co‐founded and co‐chairs the Texas Flash Flood Coalition. TFFC has grown in popularity and now includes a number of federal, state and local agencies working together to reduce the risk of flood deaths in Texas. We have achieved a number of successes including having flood safety information and TADD placed in the State of Texas Drivers Handbook. TADD is also being taught in Defensive Driving and Drivers Education classes. TFMA continues to develop new flood safety outreach materials for use in flood safety education program for school kids. The program includes a Tex Anna TADDpole Coloring and Activity Book and a Power Point presentation. Also utilize a Power Point on Natural Hazards in Texas for school kids. TFMA participated in a special Austin area “Weatherfest” the State of Texas History museum in Austin, Texas on February 23, 2013. It was a free event for kids and adults
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and drew in over 2500 participants. TFMA sponsored an exhibit booth with TADD outreach materials. OTHER TFMA ACTIVITIES TFMA continues to publish a quarterly Newsletter – “The Lightning Rod”. The newsletter improves and grows with each issue and now features numerous colored pictures, graphics and excellent articles. In addition, TFMA now generates additional revenue by selling ads in the newsletter. TFMA maintains an active website that serves as a data base for membership, certification and tracking of continuing education credits for CFMs. Members/CFMs can join or renew membership and certification on‐line and pay fees by credit card. Registration and payment by credit card on‐line also helps facilitate our conferences and training activities. Our much needed “facelift” of the TFMA website has been completed. Check it out at www.tfma.org TFMA sent out a “Freeboard” survey to determine how many TFMA member communities are practicing floodplain management with higher than FEMA minimum floodplain development criteria. We have responses from 255 Texas communities and that number continues to grow as we track “Higher Standards “ in Texas communities. 83% (226) of the responding communities have adopted freeboard requirements. The survey is posted on the TFMA website and is utilized by many communities to justify going to higher standards in their local floodplain management program. This survey and the fact that TFMA and member communities promote higher standards, especially freeboard, was very helpful when International Residential Building Code decided to add 1 foot freeboard requirement to the regulations. TFMA Regional Directors from TFMA Regions 4 & 10 (Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex) started hosting quarterly Regional luncheon meetings. The success of these meetings continues to grow and at the meeting held on April 3, 2013, over 225 attended. This type of outreach is critical to TFMA’s service to membership and continues to bring in new members. TFMA has purchased a Ward’s Stormwater/Floodplain Simulator Model. The model is now loaned out to TFMA communities for use at fairs, schools and other public outreach and educational activities. The City of Pasadena has made fantastic use of the model and other TFMA flood safety outreach materials. They have monthly outreach activities for kids and adults. TFMA facilitated a special demonstration of this model at the ASFPM national conference on Sunday, May 20, 2012. The model was also demonstrated at the AMS National Conference “Weatherfest” held in Austin, Texas on January 6, 2013. Over 1500 adults and kids attended the event. The TFMA Board has authorized the purchase of an additional watershed model as funds become available.