When Paul Williams called Don Hamilton on Thursday, Sept. 8,
it wasn’t to chat about Hurricane Katrina. Mississippi
needed Georgia’s help.
In just two business days, they had 13 people ready to go.
Williams is a veterinarian and Georgia Emergency Management Agency
program manager, and Hamilton is a University of Georgia Cooperative
Extension specialist and agrosecurity expert. They led a state
agricultural response team that consisted of veterinarians, livestock/poultry
specialists, an animal health technician and Extension specialists.
UGA’s contribution included Hamilton, Bill Thomas, Don
Shurley and Curt Lacy. Other agencies involved were the Georgia
Department of Agriculture, USDA and GEMA.
On Sept. 12, the Georgia team arrived in Hattiesburg, Miss. On
Sept. 20, they came home. Between those dates, the group added
disaster response to their list of expertise.
The chaos following Hurricane Katrina “affirmed that there
is a need for a county-by-county plan in each state,” said
Bill Thomas, the team’s safety officer. Thomas, a retired
Extension economist, is a grant coordinator for the Georgia Department
of Agriculture.
“Every county needs to know what you’re going to
do with 12 dead cows should the need arise,” he said. “They
need to know who’s doing what, who’s bringing the
backhoe to the party.”
Over in Mississippi, the Forrest County Multi-Purpose Center
lived up to its name as it became the Mississippi Emergency Management
Operations Center staging area. The Georgians joined Mississippi’s
Board of Animal Health, Extension Service and Department of Agriculture,
and the Humane Society of the United States as they took care
of companion animals at the center.
For Hamilton, that meant 12 to 14 hours of daily situational
reports and paperwork. Thomas spent long days making sure workers
were healthy and didn’t keel over in the mid-90 degree
heat. Others worked with operations, loaded and unloaded supply
trucks, did agricultural damage assessments, oversaw livestock
and poultry carcass disposal and took care of animals.
Before the hurricane, Mississippi “was not trained on an
incident command system,” Hamilton said. That was one of
the Florida team’s first jobs. “When Mississippi
started using it, they were sold on it.”
When Georgia’s group arrived, Mississippi Extension agents
were just getting involved in the recovery process. By the time
the Georgia team left, they were arranging the agricultural supply
depot of everything from fencing to cat food, Thomas said.
“It’s very important that agents be involved in the
assessment of need,” he said, “even if they’re
just supporting the community’s mental health.”
Competing
in a Global Economy
The University of Georgia is at the forefront of the globalization
movement in higher education with a wealth of opportunities for
international experiences. Our students are flocking to study-abroad
programs, thriving on the challenges inherent in confronting a
new cultural environment. More and more, students on campus are
also making choices that reflect an understanding of the importance
of global awareness—from living in a residence hall-based
language community to starting a radio program in another language
to minoring in a foreign language. These experiences, whether at
home or abroad, influence how our students perceive the world and
their place in it. We’re producing graduates prepared to
be world citizens—well informed, culturally sensitive and
technologically sophisticated. They’re ready to take on the
challenges of our global society, and they’ll be equally
at home whether in the Peach State or the Republic of Georgia. |
