Glen Ellen’s HALTER Project gets White House recognition

Next week, Julie Atwood will find herself a first-time visitor at the White House, not as a tourist but a recipient of a prestigious national award from FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Her Glen Ellen-based organization, the HALTER Project, for Horse and Livestock Team Emergency Response, is receiving the 2016 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Award in the Awareness to Action Category – and an honorable mention in another category, Community Preparedness. The awards will be presented Sept. 13 and 14 in Washington, D.C., by representatives from FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security.

While she doesn’t know if President Obama will be present – “I have no idea, they guard those secrets and his whereabouts pretty closely,” she laughed – she’s looking forward to the honor. “It’s gratifying to have our emergency preparedness efforts recognized by the nation’s top agency responsible for responding to natural and man-made disasters,” said Atwood.

The HALTER Project is among 11 recipients of the honor nationwide out of a total of 160 applications from local and state governments, nonprofits, the private sector, community-based organizations and individuals.

Although the award is from an agency that is virtually synonymous with emergencies, Atwood made it clear that HALTER’s mission is not emergency rescue. “We do not actively go out and get animals from either emergencies, disasters or salvage situations such as abuse; we provide resources for first responders.”

Instead, HALTER raises awareness and promotes preparedness, coordinating response in emergency situations and educating people and agencies how to respond. “It’s acting, not reacting,” she said.

“Our primary goal is to help people be prepared and as educated as possible, so in emergencies and disasters – and they are two different things – they are able to take care of themselves and to help the first responders save their animals and them. We provide the resources to train first responders and community volunteers how to do all these things.”

According to the FEMA website, “These awards highlight innovative practices and campaigns that have made outstanding contributions toward making communities safer, better prepared and more resilient.”

There were 160 applicants, and HALTER won not only an award in the Awareness to Action category, but an honorary mention in the Community Preparedness category as well.

“It’s quite an honor to be recognized in two categories,” said Atwood. “Awareness to Action – that’s really what we’re about. It’s providing awareness so communities can take action. We started this project to help create the services we need to be able to take care of ourselves and enable others to help us during emergencies and disasters.”

For more information about the organization, visit halterfund.org.

Email Christian at christian.kallen@sonomanews.com.