Winamac Scouts tour EMA office

One of the requirements for the emergency preparedness merit badge is to find out who the county’s EMA director is and to learn what this person does to prepare for, respond to, recover from and lessen or prevent a higher degree of damage from various emergency situations. Instead of simply learning this information, the Scouts of BSA Troop 229 decided to tour the local emergency management agency’s (EMA) office and meet the director in person.
Sheri Gaillard is the director of the Pulaski County EMA and explained that her office does so much more than simply wait for a tornado to hit or for the Tippecanoe River to flood. During the tour, the Scouts learned about the various types of equipment available for use like high-powered radios and a drone that can view storm damage from above or be a part of a search and rescue situation. 
The Scouts also learned about the constant training required and all of the resources available to handle the vast array of possible emergencies. By the end of the presentation, the Scouts felt much safer knowing that there are people trained to handle almost any situation in our community.