The hurricane season will be here SOON on June 1 st ! This spring, our Emergency Preparedness Program has been incredibly busy ensuring individuals with disabilities in the communities we serve are fully informed and prepared.

Kevin Towles, CIL Consumer Specialist, represented the CIL at several events during the past couple of months: presenting at the 37 th Annual Governor’s Hurricane Conference in West Palm Beach, participating in three hurricane expos at Stone Creek in Ocala, The Villages and at the Fairgrounds in Lake County, and participating in a table top hurricane drill in Citrus County and a cyber-attack drill in Hernando County. CIL staff member Terri Poucher joined Kevin in Stone Creek, and CIL staff Andrea Melvin and Ken Sanders joined him at The Villages. During the Governor’s Hurricane Conference, Kevin spoke about the CIL’s role in assisting before, during and after an emergency, as well as what can be done to fill the gap between emergency personal and CIL’s throughout Florida. During the hurricane expos, CIL staff spoke about CIL services, and how we can assist and prepare people with disabilities in emergency situations. During the annual drills, the purpose was to make sure all of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) personnel and partners are up-to-date about procedures and how to work together during an emergency.

Thank you so much to our Emergency Preparedness Team and all that you do for people with disabilities in our local and surrounding communities!

ID: The first pic is Kevin at the Governor’s Hurricane Conference (GHC) being silly, posing in front of a lightening storm backdrop.

The second pic is from the GHC. Pictured from left to right are Tammy Skinner with disAbility Solutions, Ciawanda McDonald (sitting), CEO, disAbility Solutions, Chris Littlewood, Center for Public Safety, Beth Meyer, Executive Director FILC, and Kevin Towles, Consumer Specialist, CILNCF.

The third pic is from the Stone Creek Hurricane Expo and shows Kevin (left) and Terri (right) sitting at the CIL table with brochures and giveaways. The CIL standing banner is to their left.

The fourth pic shows all participants sitting at tables in a large room at the Emergency Operations Center, Citrus County Table Top Hurricane Drill.