'Professional Volunteer Disaster Survey Team (PRO-V-DST)'

Essay One: Write a clear and well thought out essay on the following problem: “Your County Manager has just gone to a federally sponsored program on getting volunteers to support the management and administrative side of disaster and recovery portions of emergency management. The Manager attended a seminar on a program called ‘Professional Volunteer Disaster Survey Team (PRO-V-DST)’ which had been developed in Texas in the mid-1990’s. She was quite enthusiastic about the program as it provides a network of professional building inspectors, structural engineers, and architects who form damage survey teams that could be used by State and local governments in need of help surveying damage and evaluating structures following a disaster. In assessing post disaster flood damage to structures in one county, PRO-V-DST impressed the county engineer of that county engineer, who had been overwhelmed by the number of structures requiring a determination of substantial damage, by completing its evaluation in just 2 days. The last tornado your county suffered took weeks to get the survey done and then some of it had to be done over. The County Manager was sold on this program because it would provide professional damage survey resources at what appears to be no expenses as the teams provide volunteer labor, and FEMA provides the funding for meals, lodging, and travel expenses. What difficulties would you have to overcome in implementing a similar program in your county? Would this program really be an asset? How would you handle the County Manager?”