Volunteer Fred Hoth, OEM

Fred shared a story with us to illustrate his origin and experience with the Borough OEM.

“During hurricane Sandy we were without power for 10 days and were thankful to receive ice and bottled water from the Borough, distributed by the Office of Emergency Management. While grateful for the supplies, I didn’t know anything about the group, let alone that all members were volunteers.

Fast forward several years and as I planned for upcoming retirement, I started looking for ways to give back to the community. A town newsletter included an article on Middlesex Borough OEM and called for volunteers. Remembering the impact they had on us in Sandy’s aftermath I decided that was the organization I wanted to join. Just as I was ready to inquire about becoming a member, Covid hit and shut down much of our world.

Thanks to the prolonged shutdown, volunteering was put on the back burner. Shortly after the world re-opened, I signed up for a CPR class at the library, which I found out was sponsored by our OEM team. That re-ignited the spark the original article had created and after the class I spoke to a couple of the officers about joining. Hearing from them what the OEM organization does confirmed to me that this was the group I wanted to be part of.

In the time since I joined, we thankfully haven’t been called on for any major incidents, but OEM has partnered with MedicZero to provide CPR and first aid courses for community members, expanded the CPR program to home Blues Jays football games, and is working with other community organizations and the school district on additional educational programs to help residents be better prepared in an emergency.

I hope these are the only types of activities we are involved in, but it’s reassuring to know that Middlesex Borough OEM is ready and able to assist residents in any emergency situation thanks to dedicated volunteers, and I am proud to be part of the organization.”

Visit our Volunteering Contact page here to get in touch with our volunteer coordinator and talk about how you can get involved to make our community the best it can be.