I would like to begin by welcoming Judy Kioski to the AESA Executive Board. Judy replaces Karen Hauca as Public Relations Chairman. Judy is the Public Information Officer and AZ-211 Administrator for the Arizona Division of Emergency Management. She brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the position and will be a great addition to the Executive Board. I would also like to congratulate AESA past-president Jeff Clark on his promotion to Chief of the Chandler Fire Department. Jeff is an active proponent of Emergency Management in the State of Arizona and will serve the citizens’ of Chandler well.

Mark your calendars and save the date! The 2009 AESA Mid-year Conference will be held at Embry –Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott on February 26, 2009. We have a great line-up of speakers and the Embry-Riddle campus offers us an excellent facility for the mid-year conference. Make plans to attend. Detailed information will be posted on the website in December. Thanks to Sheri Gibbons for all her hard work in getting the Embry-Riddle campus for us.

The results of the October membership survey are included in this month’s edition of the AESAlert. Thanks to all the members who answered the survey. We will continue the mid-year conference and work on integrating more training opportunities as well as your suggestions for topics into the Annual Conference. If you have any suggestions for speakers, please let the Executive Board know. We want to make the conferences as beneficial to you as we can.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Application Guidance has been released. More than $3 Billion in federal funding is available to assist state and local governments. Applications are due January 13, 2009 with the exception of the Homeland Security Grant Programs which are due March 20, 2009. Detailed information is contained in this month’s newsletter.

As we come to the end of 2008 we find ourselves in a different world than that in which we started. The economic downturn and budget crises facing the Emergency Management community in both the private and government sectors will present us with difficult decisions in the months ahead. This is the time to reach out to the members of the association and share the information, experience and resources that we have. We will continue to plan, prepare, respond to, and mitigate emergencies; however we will have to do so much more efficiently. Our challenge to remain ready to respond to disasters will become more difficult but it will never be as important.

On behalf of the Executive Board I would like to wish all of you and your families a happy and healthy holiday season.