The North Carolina Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NC VOAD) has been honored as 2017 State/Territory VOAD of the Year by the National VOAD organization for the rapid and coordinated response to Hurricane Matthew. The award was recently presented to Ann Huffman, president of NC VOAD and NCCUMC disaster response readiness coordinator, at VOAD’s 25th Annual Conference in Houston, Texas.
Presented annually, the award honors “organizational excellence that reflects the best of the best in service and support within the entire VOAD movement.”
VOAD brings together its voluntary member organizations, helping them work together effectively during all stages of disaster response and recovery. VOAD’s guiding principles are referred to as the 4Cs: cooperation, communication, coordination, and collaboration.
National VOAD was formed in 1970 after Hurricane Camille slammed into the southern coast of the US as a Category 5 storm. Although voluntary organizations were working hard and long, their efforts were often duplicated and uncoordinated. The creation of National VOAD addressed many of those issues and established a framework for member organizations to share activities and concerns.
Now, in addition to National VOAD, almost every state in the US has a VOAD organization. NC VOAD, founded in 1999, comprises 33 member organizations, including the North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church.
The award recognizes the state VOAD organization that has best:
- Demonstrated the promotion of optimal effectiveness of voluntary organizations in preparing for, responding to, and/or recovering from disasters;
- Increased the growth and strength of the VOAD movement in their state; and
- Made extraordinary progress in advancing one or more of the core 4Cs of the VOAD movement.
Congratulations and many thanks to Ann Huffman and the NC VOAD!