Preparedness in Transition

By Joni Johnson

I’ve been on campus since 2019.  During that time, we have had a fire evacuation and a worldwide pandemic.  Who woulda thought?  All that’s left is the…  I will leave it to your imagination.  I take the Resident Preparedness Group (RPG) for granted, but before 2019 there was no resident organization concerned with preparation for emergencies and disasters, and responses when they happened.

   Bob Buddemeier

Bob Buddemeier has been involved with RPG from the beginning, when I asked him how it got started.  He said that there had always been some interest in preparedness – “Resident Jim Macmillan had been working on it for some time, and Scott Tucker (Jens Larsen’s predecessor) was interested, but when he left the efforts declined.”  Bob said that the real start came about when the California wildfires drew attention, and in public meetings both Sarah Lynch (previous Executive Director) and Jim Van Horn (Previous Facilities Services Director) were heard to say that in an emergency like the Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake, cottage residents would be on their own.  WHAT????

“That really got people’s attention,” Bob said, “and a group of us got together to see what residents could do to safeguard themselves.”

Fortunately, our current administration is much more in tune with the needs of everyone here at the Manor including those in the cottages.  The fire/evacuation was a major wake-up call, and  the RPG has grown substantially from a new organization concerned with emergency supplies to a network of neighborhood and floor coordinators with walkie-talkies and a designated role in RVM emergency responses

As usual, there is always change afoot and needs that must be addressed.  Bob Buddemeier has been involved with the RPG since its inception and has served as its head for much of that time.  However, he recently decided to turn over the reins.  When I asked what led to that decision, he explained that he feels that he is no longer able to provide what the organization needs to continue to function and develop.

“I’ve fallen behind, and I’m not catching up.  The bad news part is that it has been a rough year for me, and I still have problems to deal with.  The good news part is that RPG’s growth and success has made it more than one person or a few people can hope to manage effectively.  And, it is much too important not to have the support that it needs.”

“Fortunately,” he said, “we will not lack for ongoing leadership.  Bob

   Bob Berger

Berger, who has been serving as vice-chair, will take over the chairmanship, Dan Curtis will continue as Communications Lead, and I’ll remain on the Leadership Team working on information development and dissemination”

Bob feels that he will be able to help the revised leadership team and other interested individuals get their feet wet and move the organization to where it needs to be.  He thinks that RPG is at an important transition point, and that new eyes and energy will find a way to make it more effective and more satisfying to everyone.

“RPG needs to develop a more distributed leadership and ways to piece that together into a unified whole,” Bob said.  Many people have contributed in the past and others are still heavily involved in the operation.  However, it needs more people, greater involvement, and a process of identifying the activities that need to be supported and the people who are willing to participate so that the organization can continue to build its capacity to serve the residents.  A planning group has been formed to help provide that.

I asked Bob about his future plans.  “I’m still committed to the project,” he said, “and I want to continue contributing. I’m really happy with this rearrangement of responsibilities; I started out with a focus on the information side – in fact that was part of the reason for starting The Complement.  That hasn’t yet fulfilled the goal of having an easy-to-use informative website on preparedness, and I want to get back to working on that.”

Bob sees the function of the Preparedness Group as two-fold. First and foremost, it is the only real way residents have to support themselves in an emergency.  “RVM is well-intentioned and reasonably well prepared, but it is not an emergency response organization.  In a major crisis it will not be able to do or provide all that residents want or need,” he said.

And secondly, but of equal importance, RPG is a major way to make our community stronger- by increasing communication and the potential for mutual assistance.  In order for this to help in an emergency, we need to get to know each other better, neighborhood by neighborhood.   This has always been true but even more so with the recent problems we have had in staffing and resident isolation because of the pandemic.  When Carolyn Bennett, et al, started the Neighbors Together program last year, one could see how much the RVM community needed ways to meet and get to know each other.  In fact, when interviewed during one of these events, most residents commented on how wonderful it was to see people in their neighborhoods again.

The Emergency Preparedness Group has been a major social force to that end.  Cheerie Howse gathered neighborhoods together for informational meetings that got neighbors talking and which became the driving force that eventually helped address getting the cottage garage doors fixed for easier handling during a power outage.

Neighborhood Coordinators have been responsible for gathering information on the needs of everyone of the street.  This has meant in-person greetings, telephone calls and emails to make sure that neighbors and coordinators knew each other’s contact information and their needs in case of an emergency.  Once the pandemic is on the decline, the hope is to get people together for other purposes- emergency-preparedness as a result of fun and socializing.

So this article is not only informational.  It is an appeal to everyone to understand that we are all unique and important parts of our community. There is a need for all of our input and involvement in emergency preparedness. RPG needs participants.  Are you interested in playing a part?

For more information, contact Bob Berger at x6579, mbberger03@gmail.com, or
Bob Buddemeier at x6820 or buddrw2@gmail.com,