October 27, 2004

When a person is reported missing in Montgomery County, in Magnolia, Texas, law enforcement officials often need help searching the brushy, wooded areas that skirt the northeastern perimeter of Houston.

Sometimes Greg Storch, CEO of USE Credit Union, is right there with them. Since 1998, he has served as a member of the Montgomery County Search and Rescue Team, leading horseback searches for people who have run away, been abducted or injured, or gotten lost.

Storch is one of 150 professionally-trained volunteers who are on-call 24/7 to conduct search missions. In addition to horse teams, MOCSAR has ground and ATV (four-wheeler) units, search dogs and a search boat. The organization's mobile command center formulates search plans and deploys strike teams as needed, depending upon the nature of the case.

Storch has funny stories to tell – like the boy found asleep under the covered breakfast bar in his kitchen – but others are somber, like the girl presumed a runaway, but actually abducted and murdered. Her attacker is on Death Row today.

He recruited his wife, Elaine, their two kids, three other USE Credit Union employees, and eight or nine of his neighbors as MOCSAR volunteers. The Storch family owns six horses trained in search-and-rescue methods.

“Trained means the horse is okay with being loaded into a trailer, sometimes traveling for two hours, saddling up at night with police sirens blaring, and hitting the brush with a floodlight,” he said. “You have to have a good trail horse that is comfortable with strange places, strange noises and darkness.”

Balancing search-and-rescue duties with credit union responsibilities isn't that difficult, he said. “It's a rewarding avocation, and the group has a great esprit de corps.”

Laskos Puts Neighborhood First in Event of Emergency

July 14, 2004

SAN DIMAS, Calif. – WesCorp Manager of Corporate Communications Walter Laskos wants to help his neighborhood take charge in an emergency because every second counts.

Laskos is part of an innovative new program developed by the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the Federal Emergency Management Agency that puts the first response to an emergency in the hands of neighborhood volunteers. The idea is that neighborhood volunteers can be on the scene faster than anyone, so anything they can do to assist the community in some type of potential disaster can only help the situation.

In major catastrophes, it can take emergency crews days to get on the scene.

“A lot of times the fire departments and emergency services are overwhelmed and can't get into a local neighborhood for two or three days. This volunteer group can put out small fires, do light search and rescue and give first aid in the mean time,” Laskos said.

Laskos found out about the program through his homeowners association. So far having worked on a number of exercises, something interesting, yet scary strikes Laskos.

“I guess the thing I learned is how unprepared many people are in terms of making your house earthquake safe, preparing for a fire. Also in how people react. You think of people running inside a burning building to save people, but how do you do that safely and not cause more problems,” he said.

Laskos isn't just making this a neighborhood project. He's hoping to extend the preparedness to WesCorp, which already has an extensive safety program in place. In the community, the name of the program is called Community Emergency Response Teams and is expected to be a model that will be used around the country.

The business side to this is called the Business Emergency Response Team, which WesCorp may embark on. In one of his most recent exercises, Laskos learned how volunteers can help people trapped under heavy rubble like concrete by using a technique called “cribbing”, where things like two by fours and other objects are used to inch by inch lift a very heavy object enough so people can escape.

Laskos' public relations skills may also come into the mix. He said he may volunteer to coordinate some media exposure around future exercises to help spread the word about the program.

PR for Free: Klavitter Lends His Skills to Red Cross

August 13, 2003

Following Louisiana's Hurricane Lili in October 2002, CUNA Vice President of Information Services Dave Klavitter was on the scene as the storm subsided.

Klavitter was one of 14 public relations volunteers of more than 3,000 total volunteers for the American Red Cross, which was assisting in the clean up. It is unusual for some one with a full-time job to do this type of volunteer work, Klavitter said, noting that many of his colleagues were retired or college students.

Prior to leaving Madison-where he was stationed with CUNA at the time-for Louisiana, Klavitter was already doing interviews with WIBA Radio, NBC-15, and Channel 3 News. During his time in Louisiana, he helped provide the public, including those affected by the hurricane, with up-to-date information about Red Cross' efforts, ways to help, and types of assistance available to those affected.

The team Klavitter worked with also coached other volunteers about media interviews. The public affairs volunteers also worked with a state senator's office, the lieutenant governor's office, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and the Louisiana National Guard, he said.

He and the rest of the public affairs volunteers devoted 14-16 hours each day, with one day off during the entire two weeks. Klavitter said he personally gave or coordinated over two-dozen electronic or print media interviews and numerous call-in radio shows.

Based on his work, Klavitter's team leaders helped promote him from technician to specialist, which put him in charge of two other technicians. Hurricane Lili was Klavitter's first national assignment, though he had volunteered for his local chapter in Madison, Wis. so often (for local fires and other disasters) that he was honored with the Wisconsin Badger Chapter's `Direct Impact Award' in 2002 for more than 1,000 hours logged with the organization from 1999-2002.

Since he has transferred to CUNA's Washington, D.C. office a month ago, he has not gotten involved in Red Cross again, but plans to once he's settled into the new job and city.

“I could join the Lions Club or Rotary Club, but this suits my desire to give back in a different way,” Klavitter commented, who also served as a volunteer fire fighter when he lived for a year in Alaska. He said CUNA has been very supportive of his volunteer PR work.

Harvey Squashes Out Gang Activity As Reserve Officer

November 19, 2003

While most CEOs look forward to calling it quits on Fridays for a quiet evening at home or a leisurely jaunt on the town, Robert Harvey is preparing himself for an all-night patrol of notorious gang hangouts for drug deals and other illegal offenses.

For the past 10 years, Harvey, president/CEO of Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union, has patrolled the city's streets as a fully-accredited reserve officer with the Seattle Police Department's gang unit. Every other weekend, from 6:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m., Harvey dons his officer's uniform complete with a department-issued gun and heads out into the unknown.

“There is a danger aspect to this, I'm very aware that things can happen,” Harvey emphasized. “(My partners) count on each other for help and what can I say, I love the work.”

The bulk of Harvey's time on patrol is spent looking for persons with outstanding warrants, disrupting illegal activities and talking to gang members trying to convince them their way of life will only lead to a dead end. The city's pool halls are a frequent hangout for suspicious goings-on so Harvey patrols those at least three times each night.

If someone gets assaulted during a scuffle, Harvey and others do the detective work trying to piece together what happened and why. Harvey cut his teeth as a Marine Corp officer in Los Angeles nearly 20 years ago. Through the Marines, he signed up for a reserve office position there and has been hooked since.

The most rewarding part of his officer service is talking to the young “gang bangers” ages 13 to 18 and reminding them that “their choices of alcohol, drugs – all of that leads to bigger crimes that lead to jail or death.”

Harvey and other officers from the department's gang unit are frequent visitors to area schools working closely with guidance counselors to reach the most vulnerable. Harvey recalls a young man from Los Angeles who moved up to Seattle to get away from his former “gang banging” environment, determined to make a fresh start. That man got “knifed at a club” and even after a talk from Harvey and others, he chose to get revenge.

“We feel bad about the times we try and reach out to as many (youngsters) as we can only to see some of them end up in the city morgue,” Harvey said.

His wife of 15 years, BernaDean, is “very supportive” of Harvey's work as is the credit union's board of directors. “I love the work that I do,” Harvey said. “It's a gratifying use of some extra time every other weekend.”

Louisiana Dow Credit Union Returning Hurricane Favor

September 11, 2008

When Edward Speed, CEO of the $1.3 billion Texas Dow Employees Credit Union and a private pilot, heard that the $150 million Dow Louisiana Federal Credit Union desperately needed cash in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the answer was obvious.

He packed $600,000 in his small plane and, with another Texas Dow executive flew it to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where Dow Louisiana CEO Jeff Hendrickson accepted it and put it to vital use in the recovery effort.

Now, with Hurricane Ike bearing down on the county where Texas Dow has its headquarters, Hendrickson and Dow Louisiana FCU are returning the favor, not with cash but with something perhaps even more important: practical help to bring Texas Dow back on line and their experience in hurricane recovery.

“You all were here in a moment's notice when we needed you — and we are going to be there for you,” Hendrickson wrote in an email to Speed, who has evacuated with 250 of Texas Dow employees. Hendrickson has offered Texas Dow office space, phone centers, help with ACH and other transaction problems and even sending employees if necessary,

“We will be glad to provide any information to help you all make the best choices for recovery,” Hendrickson wrote.