Nominate an Outstanding Volunteer

LISA DOIG Pierson , FL Daily Point of Light No. 3899 January 13, 2009

Lisa Doig leads a community organization that was established to improve communications and disaster preparedness and response in the Hispanic community in northwest Volusia County in the state of Florida.

Working with community leaders, she was the driving force in creating the GCRD in 2007. The GCRD includes members from major groups in the northwest Volusia County area: United Hispanics, Farm Workers Association , Community Foundation, Battered Women Advocates, Catholic Charities, Nation Farm Working Ministry, Volusia County Schools and others.

The GCRD is activity planning and preparing for disasters by arranging community education events, organizing citizens to quickly spread crucial information and increasing the training and participation of many of the citizens. To increase the group's preparedness efforts, Lisa organized trainings (in Spanish) in the nationally recognized CERT program.

Lisa coordinated many programs for the community through GCRD including: Red Cross preparedness, Pandemic Flue awareness, and Skywarn Radio training from National Weather Service (in Spanish). She facilitated with the Volusia Interfaith Networking in Disaster group, current efforts to bring mobile homes to eligible people still suffering from the 2004 hurricanes and the tornadoes of 2006 and 2007.

Lisa has provided the enthusiasm, leadership and organization for the community to withstand the next disaster. She has a personal love and passion for helping the citizens in the northwest area of Volusia County to be better prepared for an upcoming disaster. Lisa's life philosophy describes her motivational drive, which is simply put, "Don't pass up opportunities."