NEWSLETTER March, 1997
**Hello, again. It's time for another update of F1 2. **The training exercise in early December at Withlacoochee (sp) State Park, as we know it, has been changed. It will take place in Oct or Nov this year and will probably be staged from two locations, most likely Tampa and Tallahassee. We will probably be sent to Tampa. The exercise is still in the planning stage at this time at the state level, but consensus seems to be that there will be a concentration on BiOHAZard/terrorist disruption this year. There will be team training prior to attending. Please check your news letter for forthcoming dates for training. There will be certificates of attendance/CEUs available.
Some of the training being offered will be mandatory, so remember to watch for your newsletter and plan your attendance.
**The March 1 training exercise was extremely poorly attended. From a 100 member team, only 12 members attended. Please remember the team bylaws, given to everyone when they join the team, which state that all are required to attend 1 major exercise per year and at least 2 local exercises. Not only are these meetings informative, there is a purpose to training with the equipment, before we need to use it! Anyone not meeting these requirements will not be deployed in the event we are activated.
**Our team is still in need of financial sponsorship. It is hard enough to get sponsors, but we have a problem with many members who won't carry their own weight with the team.
Your team dues are $12.00/ year dues will now be due for all team members on Jan 1, prorated for new members when they join the team. Anyone whose dues are 90 days past due will be placed on inactive status, and will not be called in the event of activation. This policy will go into effect Apr 15, so please, PLEASE, if you want to remain on the team (and we hope you do!) make arrangements to get your dues to Connie.(ll53 SE 32nd Terrace, Cape Coral,Fl 33904). Her phone # is 941-549-7893 if you have questions about your dues status
**The next 2 exec committee meetings are Apr 7 (at the Am Red Cross office in Port Charlotte) and May 12 (at Cape Coral Hosp Meeting Rm b) . It is mandatory that all members attend one of these meetings. The meetings begin at 7pm and usually last 2-3hrs. Please make your plans to attend
. **There will be an orientation meeting Apr 5, Saturday from 0900-1200 at Cape Coral Hospital. If you know anyone who is interested in joining, please have them call 941-549-7893. Remember, orientation is required to be a member. Spread the word.
Also, we need more physicians on our team. Talk it up with the does you know. Anyone expressing an interest should be referred to Gary or Connie know so they can pursue it.
**The national conferences for NDMS is being held in Tampa from May 3-7. If you'd like to attend and want more details, please call Gary. He will be renting a room at the conference hotel (Hyatt Regency) . The door to his room will be open as a hospitality suite and he encourages all who can to attend. There are going to be preconference classes offered May 3-4, and the conference itself is May 5-7. Preconference classes are 1/2 the late fee price for DMAT team members, but if you're going, you must wear your DMAT badge to get the discount, so please let Gary or Connie know. The conference costs $75/ day or all 3 days for 5150. You can get conference material and info by calling 1-800-USA-NDMS,ext 444. Several people are willing to share rooms so please let Gary or Connie know ASAP.
**The next exercise is scheduled for June 7. It's the PreHurricane/ family recognition Party, with training for families, to show them what we do as team.
It's a "potluck/picnic" and we will be having a raffle of a donated new car (a Lexus) to the winner, but you must be present to win! Hope you all mark your calendars now!
**Sept 6 is the date for the 3rd exercise. We hope to be able to have a full scale triage exercise. We would like to invite other DMAT teams to join us. More on that in future letters.
**We still have plenty of sports bottles w/ our team logo on them for sale. They are $3.50 each. If you think you can sell some (please do), please contact Rich Holdsworth at 941-7641393. These are to help put some money in our coffers, so please sell all you can!
**Once again, anyone interested in receiving the newsletter via computer, please send me your e-mail address. Not only will you get your news faster, it will save the team money in paper and postage.