Ramsey August 15, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 5 The International Association of Emergency Managers recently confirmed that Glen Karpovich, deputy coordinator of the Ramsey Office of Emergency Management, has successfully maintained his designation as a Certified Emergency Manager ®. At present, only 1,199 individuals hold this international designation, which is the highest honor of professional achievement available from the IAEM. The IAEM created the CEM ® program in association with the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a means of raising and maintaining professional standards for emergency managers. The first CEM ® designations were awarded in 1993. In a letter to Ramsey OEM Coordinator Ralph Venturini, Dean Larson, USACEM ® Commission chairman, wrote, “Previously, Glen qualified as a CEM ® by submitting an extensive credentials package giving personal and professional background achievements and successfully completing a management essay and a written examination. In order to maintain certification, he must continue a program of professional development of successive five-year periods. Thus, this is an honor neither easily earned nor maintained…As a CEM ®, Glen Karpovich demonstrated a high level of competence and ethical fitness for emergency management. Your organi- Karpovich retains international CEM designation zation is to be commended for having a professional of this caliber on staff.” In order to achieve the CEM ® designation, applicants must demonstrate their contributions to their profession, and pass a peer review. Additional requirements include 100 hours of emergency management training and 100 hours of management training. Those who achieve the CEM ® designation demonstrate a level of proficiency that is recognized nationally and internationally. Larson urged Venturini to share the news of Karpovich’s achievement, noting that the maintenance of the CEM ® certification reflects well on the Ramsey OEM and on Karpovich. “As a member of the IAEM, I have been working on my CEM ® for years. Firsthand experience tells me that this certification is very difficult to attain, and therefore elevates Glen to an elite group of professionals,” Ramsey OEM Coordinator Venturini said of Karpovich’s achievement. “Ramsey is fortunate to have Glen serve the borough as deputy emergency coordinator and OEM’s public information officer. His skills and training are paramount. “On both a personal and professional level, Glen has been very helpful to me during my transition period as coordinator. I can always count on him for sound, well thought out advice.” Karpovich is a retired Ramsey police sergeant. He currently serves as the regional emergency management specialist for the Region II U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families. “I’m glad I was able to maintain this certification and continue to help the Borough of Ramsey,” Karpovich told Villadom TIMES. “It’s an honor.” In addition to being a CEM ®, Karpovich is also a COOP Level I Professional Continuity Practitioner. He has over 35 years of emergency service experience. After retiring from the police department, he worked as a consultant in the private sector before joining ACF in November 2006. He worked on projects for the Department of Defense and the new Yankee Stadium. He was assigned to FEMA’s National Response Coordinating Center as HHS’s Human Services Liaison during Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008, and for the January 2009 Presidential Inauguration. During the emergency repatriation after the Haitian earthquake in January 2010, he served as the lead for ACF at Maguire Air Force Base in New Jersey and received the ACF’s Assistant Secretary’s Honor Award. He was the lead ACF Liaison for Disaster Case Management in the Albany region for Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee from October 2011 to June 2012, with over 5,000 people receiving assistance. For his Glen Karpovich work there, he received the HHS Region II Regional Director’s Award for Excellence and letters from HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Acting Assistant Secretary Sheldon. Karpovich holds a master’s of social science from Long Island University and a graduate certificate in public management from Farleigh Dickenson University. Tom Hewitt, John Trobiano, and Michael Vigneron, representing TD Bank of Ramsey, relax at lunch before taking to the links at the Ramapo College Foundation’s 25th Annual Golf Outing. The event was held at the Tuxedo Club. The Prestige Skills Challenge, Hole-in-One Cars, specialty holes, Scholarship Challenge, and fundraising events provide additional funding for student scholarships, faculty development, and campus capital projects. (Photo courtesy of Carolyn Herring.) TD’s talented trio