CEM Corner: Professional Contributions, Part 3
By Daryl Lee Spiewak, CEM, TEM, CFM, CEM® Commissioner and ASPEP President Emergency Action Coordinator, Brazos River Authority, Waco, TX
In Parts One and Two, I discussed some tips and ideas for submissions in the first 10 categories of Section V, Professional Contributions in the Field of Emergency Management. This month I will discuss some tips and ideas for the four remaining categories. These categories are awards, honors or special recognition; state/province certification; legislative contact; and other.
A candidate may submit any award, honor or special recognition received within the emergency management community in conjunction with an emergency preparedness activity. To receive credit in this category, the award, honor or special recognition must be personalized; that is, it must be addressed specifically to the candidate or inscribed with the candidate's name. Ideally, the award, honor or special recognition would come from an external source rather than from within the candidate's own organization.
Some examples of awards, honors or special recognitions that are not accepted by the CEM® Commissioners include awards for longevity (25 years of service), routine performance awards, certificates of participation and mass-mailed or routine thank you letters.
Be sure to properly document the award, honor or special recognition and the date it was awarded/received. A copy or photograph of the award, honor or special recognition is acceptable documentation. You may also include a copy of a newspaper or other published article describing the award, honor or special recognition as proof.
Don't forget to describe the award, honor or special recognition for the CEM® Commissioners. Also, describe your role and contribution that led to your selection as the recipient.
IAEM offers its members an opportunity to compete for a large variety of awards, honors and special recognitions. IAEM has the Clayton R. Christopher Award, Presidential Citations, Regional Executive Citations, Certificates of Appreciation, Honorary Citations, Membership Awards, Registration Scholarships, Board Attendance Award, Business and Industry Preparedness, Partners in Preparedness and five categories of Media Awards.
It may be too late to make your submission for the 2001 Media Awards, but don't despair – you can begin working on your submissions for 2002 right now! Be active and support your association. You will get more out of your participation than merely a submission category for the CEM®; you will be helping your fellow emergency managers, too.
This certification must come from a government agency, state association or other professional organization and be related to emergency management.
Some acceptable emergency management related certifications include the Certified Business Contingency Professional, the Master Business Contingency Professional, the professional certifications from the Disaster Research Institute International, and the "R" Prefix and Special Experience identifier for the Air Force Contingency Planners. An example of a certification that is not accepted by the CEM® Commissioners is FEMA's PDS Certificate. PDS is training and not certification, as required by this category. If you are not certain the CEM® Commissioners will accept your certification, then include enough details about the program so we may make an informed judgement.
For all submissions in this category, include an outline of the certification requirements and a copy of the certificate or a letter from the certifying officials.
To satisfy this category, a candidate must have contacted an elected official at the national or state level regarding an emergency management issue. While a personal visit can be very effective, a written letter works best here because of the documentation requirement.
Be sure to provide the CEM® Commissioners a copy of your original correspondence and the elected official's response. A candidate cannot receive credit unless both copies are provided.
One way to meet this requirement is to review the IAEM website and look up IAEM's Position Papers in the IAEM News Room. Select one or more topics that you feel strongly about and write a letter of support or nonsupport to your elected official. You can also look up legislative issues discussed in past issues of the Bulletin , in the Member's Only Section of IAEM's website, on FEMA's web site and on http://thomas.loc.gov.
As with all the other categories, your contact with the elected official cannot be part of your job requirements. Verify this for the CEM® Commissioners by providing a statement to that effect from your supervisor.
This is our final category and one in which the candidates are encouraged to be creative with their submissions. That is, doing something that clearly demonstrates a commitment to the emergency management profession above and beyond that normally expected in the course of your job responsibilities. Prior to making a submission in this category you must send a request to and gain approval from the CEM® Commissioners. This will prevent a delay while reviewing your certification package.
Examples for this category include going on a volunteer disaster assignment outside of your state or country and military candidates receiving an official military identifier in contingency planning during the time periods for certification or recertification. Examples of submissions that are not acceptable include any assignment indicated in your job description or any assignment that is part of your organization's mission.
In your verification documentation, you must describe the activity or program you are claiming credit for. Provide the dates, names of the association or program sponsor, program audience, and other pertinent information that will assist us in evaluating your submission. Then go on to describe your role or involvement in the activity or program. Finally, tell us why this activity makes a contribution to the field of emergency management.
Candidates must make submissions in six different contribution categories. Multiple submissions in the same category counts only as one submission. Many successful candidates make submissions in more than six categories to ensure they meet the requirements for this portion of their certificate package. While not necessary, this technique prevents a delay in the process in the event the CEM® Commissioners reject a submission.
Note : This third part ends our discussion of the 14 professional contribution categories. Next month we will discuss training requirements.
September 2001, IAEM Bulletin
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Awards or Special Recognition.
