Regional Faith Community Summit on Pandemic Preparedness and Response
Members of the Public, Private and Faith Sectors came together to facilitate the Regional Faith Community Summit on Pandemic Preparedness and Response in Calgary, AB on May 14/15, 2008. The Summit was the starting point for gathering 'like-minded' individuals with a common focus that together we could build stronger communities. The Coordinator of this initiative is Marg Pollon and to date we have 19 members. Public Safety of Canada initially challenged Marg to build a template which could be duplicated across Canada. We are in our second year of developing the foundation. We have appreciated having the Public Sectors involvement and continued support.
The Advisory Council is a work in progress as we build relationships of trust across the various sectors. We are jumping the trust hurdles one step at a time with a common vision and goal of building communities which have stronger resilence through any emergency. This is a 'ground-breaking' endeavour where the faith community has an opportunity to be integrated into the Municipal Emergency Management Structure. Traditionally Christians help when needed but this initiative affords a coordinated approach to care for our neighbours. We appreciate the Public Sector's encouraging support of the Faith Emergency Preparedness Initiative.
Jim Amsing - Chaplain, Calgary Police
Dean Blue - Manager,Public Health Emergency Planning Alberta Health and Wellness
Troy Collett - Pastor, Edmonton Centre Victory Church
Mike Cook - Emergency Management Officer/Operations, City of Edmonton
Dr. Wayne Elford - Professor Emeritus, U of C
Fred Friesen - Pastoral Care, Bonavista Evangelical Missionary Church
Ken Hoffer - Business Continuity & Recovery Planner,
DSS Calgary Emergency Management Agency
Tytus Kociszewski - Emergency Preparedness and Response Officer,
Public Health Agency of Canada
Dr. John Lucas - Fellowship Coordinator, Director, Maranatha Evangelistic Assoc.
John MacDonald - Director of Pastoral Care and Life Initiatives,
Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton
Jack MacDonald - Fire Chief, City of Red Deer
Karen Mann - Coordinator, Emergency Management Agency City of Red Deer
Kevin McInnes - Chaplain, Calgary Police Service
Chris McKiernan - Director, Calgary & South/Central Emergency/Disaster Preparedness
Alberta Health Services, Calgary
Marg Pollon - Founding Director, Bridges of Love Ministry,
FEPI Advisory Council Administrator
Deanna Schroeder - Executive Administrator, Alberta Funeral Service Association
Major Stephen Sears - Pastor, The Salvation Army, Berkshire Community Church
Randy Tiller - District Officer, Alberta Emergency Management Agency
Dr. Wayne Whitbourne - Canadian Director, ACTION International Ministries
Resource Partners
Brent Davis - Disaster Team Coordinator, Vice-Chair Samaritan's Purse Canada, Alberta NGO Council
Walter Twiddy - CEO/President, NeighbourLink Calgary