Pinellas County Floodplain Coordinator receives award from FEMA
Pinellas County Public Works Floodplain Coordinator Lisa Foster has received the 2017 CRS Award for Excellence from the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Association (FIMA)—a division of FEMA. The award is presented to individuals who provide outstanding leadership in the Community Rating System (CRS).
In a letter of notification from FIMA, CRS Coordinator Bill Lessor summed up the importance of Foster’s commitment and leadership.
“Your work helps people to insure their most important investment—their home. It provides survivors peace of mind that they will receive an insurance claim payment for their losses. It brings stability to households. And, you enable the cost of insurance to be reduced! Congratulations Lisa.”
Foster’s work has reduced flood insurance premiums for unincorporated Pinellas County by 25%.
“Lisa’s work has saved more than $5 million on an annual basis for flood-insured county residents and businesses,” said Rahim Harji, assistant county administrator. “Her work ethic is tremendous. She believes so strongly in helping people understand their flood potential and getting the word out about purchasing flood insurance to protect families and businesses from financial hardship.”
The CRS Award for Excellence is presented to individuals who are actively involved in a CRS community, knowledgeable about the risk of local flooding, promote the use of flood insurance as a key preparation tool, engage community leaders to continually improve the community’s safety and resilience, and promote programs to alert the public to the risk of flooding.
The work of the CRS, as a whole, has made communities across the nation more aware of and resistant to the dangers of flooding and natural disasters.
Flooding can happen anywhere. Residents are encouraged to access flooding information and preparation resources by visiting www.pinellascounty.org/flooding. Residents are also encouraged to sign up for Alert Pinellas to receive emergency notifications via text, voice and email. Visit www.pinellascounty.org/alertpinellas for more information.
