The Dawson County CERT Organization holds monthly meetings on the first Tuesday of each month at 7PM. These meetings are held at the Dawsonville City Hall in Room 7 located at 415 Highway 53 East, Dawsonville, GA. Educational classes are held monthly at the meetings. All interested citizens are encouraged to attend.

The topic for the March 4th meeting will be “Environmental Medical Considerations.”

This class will cover environmental hazards encountered during outdoor/wilderness deployments, how to identify the hazard, as well as how to treat it. The class will be taught by Lanier Swafford, Chief of Emergency Services for Dawson County, a Nationally Registered Paramedic.

This class was originally developed by Ray Polk, PA who has served in private practice as well as many years as a Medical Officer assigned to a Ranger Squadron in the U.S. Army.

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates citizens about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help.

For additional information concerning the Dawson County CERT program contact Richard W. Sims at 706-579-0496 or send an email to CERT@dawsoncounty.org.