OBU to Host Disaster Relief Training Nov. 1

October 21, 2014

Students, faculty and staff at OBU are invited to attend disaster relief training Nov. 1 from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on the OBU campus. The training will be held in the Mabee Suite in the Noble Complex. Registration will take place in the Noble Complex lobby the morning of the event.

President David W. Whitlock (center) discusses temporary housing and feeding options with members of the Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief of Oklahoma during response to the Shawnee tornado in May 2013. Sam Porter (left) is the state director of Southern Baptist Disaster Relief. Trainees will be equipped to respond to similar disasters.

Those who attend the training will be certified to work disaster relief efforts through the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief team. The training will be conducted by the Disaster Relief team from the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. Attending a training session does not obligate you to serve, but is necessary before serving during disaster response.

When a request for assistance comes to the BGCO Disaster Relief office, individual team members will be contacted to check on their availability for service during the specific response. Length of service could be one day to a week or more.

Those who attend the event will be trained in emergency food service, as well as either emergency child care, mud-out/ash-out or chain saw crew. Attendees will be given useful information in regards to maintenance, sanitation, cooking and health and safety hazards. Those who go through the chain saw training will also be given safety instruction in heavy equipment and serve a local land owner that was affected by the tornadoes last year.

To register for the training, please visit the BGCO website. For more information, contact Odus Compton at (405) 585-5702 or odus.compton@okbu.edu.