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5 <br /> 1 WHEREAS, this year's theme is "Preparing for Older Adults"and Orange County has over 32,000 <br /> 2 persons aged 60 and older in Orange County; and we know that older adults can face greater <br /> 3 risks when it comes to the multitude of extreme weather events and emergencies we now face, <br /> 4 especially if they are living alone, are lower-income, have a disability, or live in rural areas; <br /> 5 <br /> 6 NOW,THEREFORE, we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, recognize Orange County <br /> 7 Emergency Services - Emergency Management Division, along with the Orange County <br /> 8 Department on Aging, and emergency managers throughout the nation, who have collaborated <br /> 9 to recognize September as National Preparedness Month, and the Board joins them in <br /> 10 encouraging Orange County residents to stay informed and prepared; <br /> 11 <br /> 12 FURTHERMORE, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners hereby declares <br /> 13 September 2023 as "Orange County Preparedness Month." <br /> 14 <br /> 15 This the 5t" Day of September 2023. <br /> 16 <br /> 17 Jamezetta Bedford, Chair <br /> 18 Orange County Board of Commissioners <br /> 19 <br /> 20 Sarah Pickhardt, Emergency Management Division Chief, thanked the Board for their <br /> 21 words of support of the response to the shooting at UNC last week. She said their agency and <br /> 22 partner agencies would not have been able to do what they did without the Board's leadership. <br /> 23 Regarding the proclamation, she said preparedness is easy to forget about and it sometimes <br /> 24 takes a tragic incident to draw attention to its importance. She said Emergency Managers across <br /> 25 the country come together in September to try to highlight the need for personal preparedness <br /> 26 plans. She said it takes the entire community including government, non-profits, the private sector, <br /> 27 businesses, and individuals to have a whole community disaster preparedness. She thanked the <br /> 28 Board for their support of this Proclamation. <br /> 29 Chair Bedford said she has been putting a lot of proclamations on consent as Chair but <br /> 30 saw an article about the fires in Maui and the unique impacts on aging and disabled community <br /> 31 members and it seemed vital to bring attention to this issue. She said emergency preparedness <br /> 32 is also relevant to the Climate Action Plan, which the Board will review later in the meeting. She <br /> 33 said there are a lot of older adults and residents with disabilities in the county who may not receive <br /> 34 emergency alerts and stressed the importance of reaching those folks in an emergency and to let <br /> 35 them know about resources offered by the county. <br /> 36 Janice Tyler said she read the same article as Chair Bedford, and it was heart-wrenching <br /> 37 to hear the stories of the victims in Maui. She said there is a health fair on September 21 st at the <br /> 38 Seymour Center, and they will be spreading the word on the importance of preparedness. <br /> 39 Additionally, she said there are so many older adults who will not leave their pets during an <br /> 40 emergency, so having a plan in place is vital. <br /> 41 Sarah Pickhardt said that is a lesson learned from Hurricane Katrina, so now all shelters <br /> 42 in Orange County are co-located so pets can come with residents seeking shelter during a <br /> 43 disaster. <br /> 44 <br /> 45 A motion was made by Commissioner Hamilton, seconded by Commissioner Fowler, to <br /> 46 approve and authorize the Chair to sign the proclamation. <br /> 47 <br /> 48 VOTED: UNANIMOUS <br /> 49 <br /> 50 <br /> 51 <br />