Chancellor Sharp Thanks Harvey Responders With Memento
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Following a tradition among first responders, Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp is distributing special vinyl stickers for Hurricane Harvey responders who conducted rescue operations under the auspices of the A&M System.
“There is no way to adequately thank our men and women who answered the call,” said Chancellor Sharp. “This is a small token of appreciation given in the tradition of first responders who wear stickers on their helmets showing which disasters they have worked.”
The stickers, adapted from a design worn by the Texas A&M University football team, will be distributed to Texas Task Force 1 and 2 members, the Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team, the Texas A&M Forest Service, and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension workers, among others.
The work of people throughout the Texas A&M University System has been – and remains – multi-faceted.
Perhaps most well-known, are the efforts of Texas Task Force 1 and Texas Task Force 2. Urban search & rescue, water, and helicopter teams are continuing searches and evaluations throughout the affected areas.
Meanwhile, students and faculty from Texas A&M College of Medicine’s Houston campus have volunteered at a shelter for evacuees, and resident physicians from the Texas A&M and DeTar Family Medicine Residency Program, a three-year program in collaboration with the Texas A&M Health Science Center, worked under extreme conditions to provide medical care in Victoria during Harvey.
Texas A&M Forest Service crews also have been deployed to multiple locations along the coast, and the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System has provided local fire trucks and firefighters to support state emergency response operations. The program, run through Texas A&M Forest Service, has mobilized more than 500 firefighters with several boats and dozens of fire engines from across the state.
It isn’t just humans that A&M System officials have sought to help. The Veterinary Emergency Team out of the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences partnered with Texas Task Force 1 to provide care for animals that may have been injured by the storm as well as service dogs in the field.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension personnel also have been very busy, as nearly 200 employees have worked on recovery efforts. A total of 13 animal supply points have been established to provide food and supplies for affected animals, and five strike teams have been deployed to provide assistance to local agents.
And, in College Station, System officials have opened the RELLIS Campus to FEMA for supply distribution, and welcomed military pilots and their aircraft to the Texas A&M Easterwood Airport.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the efforts of the Texas A&M System employees during Harvey,” said Chancellor Sharp. “As we move forward into the recovery and reconstruction phase, I know Texas A&M System will do its part to help the Gulf Coast rebuild.”
About The Texas A&M University System
The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, with a budget of $4.55 billion. Through a statewide network of 11 universities and seven state agencies, the Texas A&M System educates more than 148,000 students and makes more than 22 million additional educational contacts through service and outreach programs each year. System-wide, research and development expenditures exceeded $972 million in FY 2016 and helped drive the state’s economy.
Contact: Laylan Copelin
Vice Chancellor of Marketing and Communications
(979) 458-6425
(512) 289-2782 cell
lcopelin@tamus.edu