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| OHCC LIVING | MARCH 2022 | 7 Do you have "The Luck of the Irish?" March is upon us, and I have been thinking about St. Patrick's Day and the saying "The Luck of the Irish." I have a little Irish in my family tree, but I'm not sure if I have the Irish luck or if I am just prepared, which makes it seem like I'm lucky! Take the phrase "Your Safety… Your Responsibility." Are you hoping to be lucky when a natural disaster strikes or are you increasing your odds by being prepared? Not being much of a gambler, I have chosen to be prepared and hope I will be lucky, too. The SERT Club's purpose is: Promote the safety of the OHCC community by providing an opportunity whereby residents can enhance their knowledge, skill, and ability to prepare for and respond to local incidents and natural disasters that may adversely affect their standard of living. So how does the Club support this statement? If you look at Major League baseball and the way they are organized, you have the fans (Club members), the minor leagues (Neighbor-Helping-Neighbor) and the major leagues (Emergency Response Team). 1. Club members – offer financial support that provides information and programs that promote personal and community safety. These are the fans of the organization. They support the underlying structure of the Club. The SERT website has information that you can review and implement if you wish. I say, "if you wish," because it is "Your Safety … Your Responsibility." 2. Neighbor-Helping-Neighbor (NHN) Safety Coordinators are entry level league members are integral and very important cog in the SERT wheel! As volunteers Safety Coordinators: • Encourage neighbors to get to know each other and contribute to a friendly and helpful environment with random acts of kindness; promote socially distanced gatherings of neighbors. • Keep neighbors apprised of SERT safety presentations, training sessions and promote an overall safer atmosphere; share safety related information so that everyone will be prepared for disasters. • Participate in their street's SERT Club orientation and/ or social events; keep informed of SERT activities, efforts, and resources via the SERT website and encourage residents on their assigned street to do the same. 3. Emergency Response Team (ERT) is a team of OHCC SERT Club members who are the major league players. They volunteer to function as the "First Responders" in the first 72-hours following a major event until professional firefighters, law enforcement, and other agencies arrive. The Club provides ERT members with specialized training which has been customized from OHCC, FEMA, The American Red Cross, and other agencies' materials. As residents resign from SERT for health reasons or leave OHCC, new residents move in. This turnover creates openings that must be filled. Major league players retire or are injured, minor league players move up, and fans become advocates and support various committees. We are always looking for new Club members and for existing members to step up and volunteer to become more involved. SERT needs you to support our community effort of preparedness! Please stay safe and let the luck of the Irish be with you. By Tom Porter, SERT President The newly assigned Committee for 2022 met for the first time on Feb. 9 where we welcomed new members Jana Fa-lej, Julie Baumer and Roberta Peters. Continuing members are Tom Murphy, Judith Caston, Jeff Mowers and Christy Cooper. We express our thanks and gratitude to outgoing members Nancy Trimino, Chris Ross and Marcy Samoiloff. Our new members bring fresh ideas and talents. We look forward to working together to serve the community. The new Front Entry Project is moving forward. A contract has been finalized for plantings and we are working with the vendor, Landscape Committee and management to choose plants, arrange for installation and add lighting. We are almost there and looking forward to the unveiling and celebrating our long-awaited enhanced entrance. We continue to work with clubs and committees at their request. We also work closely with the HOA to enhance and improve our community image, to ensure consistency of our message and protect home values. The Committee welcomes all residents' observations and comments.

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