The Adair & Guthrie County LEPC’s (Local Emergency Planning Committee) were presented with two awards last weekend, at the recent Region 7 LEPC/TEPC (Tribal Emergency Response Commission) 2015 Conference in Nebraska City, Nebraska. Nominees for the awards were comprises of LEPCs from the states of Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and TERC from Nine Tribal Nations.

Awards are given to recognize LEPC’s/TERC’s that are actively involved in their community risk reduction, planning, and prevention activities involving hazardous materials and other hazards. Award are presented in the following categories: Small LEPC (population under 20,000), Medium LEPC (population between 20,000 and 80,000), Large LEPC (population over 80,000), Website, Social Media and Industry Participation.

From left to right are: Ginny Renslow – Chairman of the Guthrie County LEPC, Robert Kempf – Coordinator for the Adair and Guthrie County Emergency Management Agencies and Stephanie Claussen – Chairman of the Adair County LEPC (Photo courtesy Bob Kempf)

The Adair & Guthrie LEPC’s were nominated by The Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The first award received was the Small LEPC Award for outstanding achievement in planning, prevention and risk reduction in the community. The second award was the Social Media Award for the use of Social Media in risk reduction and prevention in the community.

Bob Kempf, Adair/Guthrie County Emergency Management Coordinator, said the Adair & Guthrie County groups have been active for many years conducting training and planning for hazardous materials and other natural hazards that may affect the counties. They use social media for every day engagement with the communities within both counties. Their social media presence is managed by Kempf.

The Adair & Guthrie County LEPC’s are comprised of two dozen representatives from various and industries. Additional information about representing your organization on the Adair or Guthrie County LEPC’s can be found by contacting the Adair or Guthrie County Emergency Management Office at 641-332-3030 or agcema@guthriecounty.us.