Blue Water Woman--Summer 2020--Interactive

MANAGING
emergencies
BY PATTI SAMAR
If Pam Baunoch and Becky Mayes are nothing else, they are ready.
Ready and willing to serve, at the drop of a hat, the citizens of St. Clair County.
Baunoch is the Homeland Security Planner for the St. Clair County Office of Homeland Security
and Emergency Management Department, and Mayes is the office coordinator there.
Together, they have been among the women helping lead the county through the Coronavirus 19
pandemic.
When the Coronavirus 19 pandemic hit St. Clair County in mid-March, the St. Clair County
Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
was activated.
And while the pandemic certainly presented all emergency planning agencies and partners in St. Clair
County with new challenges, activation of the EOC for the pandemic was not something unusual for
Baunoch or Mayes; the EOC is activated on a regular basis throughout any given year.
The EOC activates during weather-related emergencies such as tornados and flooding; during
transportation disasters such as train derailments; and other large-scale incidents that have the potential
to endanger the environment such as oil spills, among others.
Both women noted that, during their normal day-to-day work life, they both complete emergency
preparedness training regularly.
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