Josh Creamer

Hi, I'm Josh Creamer and I serve as the Recruitment & Retention Coordinator for the Boone County Fire Protection District.

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I currently serve as the Recruitment & Retention coordinator for a 250 member volunteer fire department in Boone County, Missouri. This position was created in July 2011 following a successful FEMA SAFER Grant application that I wrote totaling more than $500,000. This position oversees the marketing/branding/recruiting for the department and has a goal to increase our recruitment by 25% over the next three years. I also coordinate retention activities which include corporate communications and a quarterly agency newsletter. I still maintain involvement in the training division for the Fire District. My primary focus is on the entry-level and continuing education training of firefighters and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT). This training effort incorporates computer based training, practical skill assessments, and even the affective domains. I also remain active with the operational side of the Fire Department and regularly run calls for service each week. I received my Master's Degree from Oklahoma State University focused on the administration of Fire Departments and Emergency Management Agencies. My interest is in all phases of emergency management. In my current organization, I deploy to national incidents as a Rescue Squad officer and also deploy to state level incidents as an Incident Management Team (IMT) member. I also coordinate the local CERT program, as well as assist local schools with their emergency preparedness programs. My goals are to continue to broaden my knowledge base into other training modalities and topics. I also hope to marry my experience and knowledge with Occupational Safety & Health and my training background to assist other agencies with their training needs.

Training Officer - Lieutenant at Boone County Fire District

July 2003 - July 2011

I coordinate the recruitment and training program for the 300+ member volunteer department. The training provided spans three months and is accredited by the State of Missouri Division of Fire Safety as a certified Firefighter I & II program. I also work to actively recruit new members to the department, from utilizing traditional public relations events to including social media forums. I also work with ESRI ArcGIS software to review and analyze the department's pertinent data. Each month, all calls are geocoded and analyzed. I am currently working on creating a new map book of the entire county, switching from the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) grid to the US National Grid (USNG). Capitalizing on my Emergency Management degree from Oklahoma State University, I also work to advance the emergency management interests within the department and the county. I now coordinate the local CERT program and training. I also deploy as a member of the department to State level disasters as a member of the State's Incident Management Team.

Nuclear Medicine Technologist at St. Mary's Health Center

September 2007 - November 2008

Perform Nuclear Medicine exams. Prepared and reviewed radiation safety materials and minutes. Member of hospitals Emergency Planning Committee

Nuclear Medicine Technologist at Boone Hospital Center

May 2004 - September 2007

Perform Nuclear Medicine exams. Prepared and reviewed radiation safety materials and minutes. Member of hospitals Emergency Planning Committee

Recruitment/Retention Coordinator at Boone County Fire District

2011

I serve as the Recruitment & Retention Coordinator for a 250+ member volunteer fire department. I am responsible for a $500,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) SAFER grant program. Our goal is to increase our volunteer membership while also increasing the overall retention.

Rescue Squad Officer at Missouri Task Force 1

June 2005

I am trained as a Rescue Squad Officer to supervise 5 Rescue Specialists in the search and removal of trapped individuals in collapsed structures. I have deployed in this capacity nationally to Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Ernesto, and the Republican National Convention (2008). I have also received training and maintain deployability as a Planning Section Chief to coordinate the activities of the rescue team and to develop the Incident Action Plans (IAP).

Oklahoma State University

2007 – 2009

Master of Science

University of Missouri-Columbia

2000 – 2004

BS

Concentration: Nuclear Medicine

Training, reading, computers, mapping