Giving FEMA a good name

Josie Pritchard, a retired 70 year-old Division Public Affairs Manager for GTE in Hershey, Pennsylvania, has eschewed a rocking chair in favor of roaming the world to lend a hand after natural disasters.  Josie retired in 1993, ran a home renovation business for three years, then signed on with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 1996.  She began with a flexible schedule working as a local hire in Harrisburg before joining the public affairs cadre in September of that year.

She’s on call to help with media relations and communications after natural and man-made disasters.  In the last two years, Josie was on the road approximately 22 months, taking a week’s reprieve whenever work permitted.  In fact, she celebrated her 70^th birthday helping in FEMA’s Montgomery, Alabama office.  She spent two months in New York City after 9-11 and provided on-site support for Hurricanes Ivan, Katrina and Rita.  She also spent nine months in Guam after two typhoons, which included regular visits to the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianna Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia.

“I’ve learned that you have to put a wall around yourself and not get emotionally involved, or you can’t do your job,” Josie observed.  “There’s a special satisfaction working with disaster victims. When you’ve finished your 12-14 hour day, you have every right to contemplate the sheer magnitude of the destruction, and say ‘there but for the grace of God, go I’”

Josie stated that it takes a lot of people to accomplish the job – and that includes volunteers from every walk of life.  “I’m not just talking volunteers like Red Cross, Salvation Army and numerous church groups – I’m talking every day concerned people who want to make a difference. In many disasters there are never enough.”  Josie is a member of the Verizon West Chapter of the Verizon TelecomPioneers.