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Commissioner’s Message

Dear Neighbors,
I
want to start off by reminding you that we are now heading into the height of
hurricane season and urge you, if you haven’t already done so, to make your
preparations NOW for emergency and possibly life-threatening conditions that
a hurricane strike brings. We have many new residents among us who need to
understand what those of us who’ve been through hurricanes here already know:
preparing ahead of time is the most important and responsible way to protect your
family, your pets and your property from the devasting effects these storms can
have on our lives.
Warren Sturman, MD Long before getting involved in city politics and being elected as your District 4
Vice Mayor Commissioner, I saw a need for a coordinated community response to hurricanes
District 4 Commissioner and other emergency situations, and with the help of like-minded others, I organized,
City of Fort Lauderdale founded and led our city’s CERT Team (Community Emergency Response Team) of
wsturman@fortlauderdale.gov
volunteer first responders. As it turned out, we did face another kind of emergency
beginning in 2020 with COVID. During the COVID pandemic, I led the Broward
MRC (Broward Medical Reserve Corps), recruiting, training, and deploying 1700
volunteers working with the Department of Health for testing and vaccinations.

So please remember: ‘being prepared’ is not an option. It’s an absolute necessity
of life here in our community.

As if it’s not bad enough that we’re heading into the height of hurricane season,
we’re also heading into the turbulent times of a major election season. With that,
as your current Commissioner and candidate for reelection, I was recently asked at
City of Fort Lauderdale
1 E. Broward Blvd., Ste. 444 a candidate’s forum how and why I came to be so involved in our community.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 I moved to Rio Vista over 30 years ago. My four children were all born and
raised here. My introduction to community involvement started as Vice President
of their PTA, followed by scout’s leader and soccer coach. Those interactions

Office Contacts
Jeri Pryor
Chief of Staff
jpryor@fortlauderdale.gov
Renee Manchoy
Community Outreach
rmanchoy@fortlauderdale.gov
954.828.5028

12 rio vista civic associartion • www.riovistaonline.com

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