A Message from Don Emes, MAMEC President

The Manitoba Association of Municipal Emergency Coordinator’s (MAMEC) was created in 2018 to share information, and best practices with all MEC’s in Manitoba. The idea was born from by a group of long-serving MEC’s who saw a need to help professionalize and advance our roles in community emergency preparedness. The ever changing responsibilities that were taking place along with the heavy workloads placed upon the shoulders of the MEC were felt by all of us around the province.

We have watched our Association grow from strength to strength in the ensuring years, and our membership has been increasing each year. We have grown to over 100 municipal members and it is our hope that in the near future each and every municipality will become a member of MAMEC.

We work hard to ensure there is benefit to your membership. MAMEC was given a generous grant from TC Energy in 2018 to help municipalities during emergencies. We used it to purchase a trailer and filled it with emergency equipment such as pumps and generators (the complete list of what we own can be found on the website). As a member you are able to utilize the truck and trailer of equipment upon request for no-charge. In 2022 the trailer was deployed to several municipalities to aid in their flood fighting efforts. We are the only association in Canada that provides this type of support to its membership. MAMEC is working with additional stakeholders to find funding to enhance our impressive offering of equipment to ensure we have what we need for you when you need it. This equipment saves your municipality thousands of dollars in rental costs, is available to you by simply calling our office and filling out the lending agreement. Please take a moment to look at the listing of what we own in the event you need it.

In 2020 during the early days of the global pandemic, MAMEC through another grant from Enbridge Pipelines were able to hire a company to put together a pandemic emergency plan and get it to each of our members. This plan was comprehensive, contained all the information needed to deal with this unprecedented emergency and helped each of our communities work through knowing we had a plan in place to guide us.

When we started our Association our members made it clear that they wanted a training program that was specific to them; they asked to have courses developed that would provide them with knowledge to do their jobs more efficiently. In 2021 we were proud to be able to offer a training program written specifically for Municipal Emergency Coordinators that has been produced by one of the top emergency managers in Canada with a Ph.D. in Emergency Management. The materials incorporate best practices in Emergency Management and are reviewed and audited by practitioners and academics from coast to coast. This ensures that all legislation, regulation and standards are present in the materials being offered. The training program is made up of 8 modules of practical, appropriate information that helps you as you work through the complex world of emergency management. To date we have been offering our training on a quarterly basis and teaching it in communities across the province.

MAMEC hosts an annual conference every June. This one day event encompasses speakers from all areas of emergency management and topics are geared to Municipal Emergency Coordinators and the role they perform. The conference gives us the opportunity to get together, share what has been happening in our communities and go away with information we can incorporate into our own programs. We learn best from each other and we need to have time set aside each year to learn, network, mentor and grow. The conference agenda and all advertisements are sent out in March of each year, we endeavor to keep this day enjoyable and affordable to all attendees.

We have developed a positive working relationship with other Associations in our Province such as the Manitoba Municipal Administrators (MMA) and the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM). Information is shared between all of us and we are able to call for advice, support and assistance. This is a benefit to each and every one of our members should issues arise that need to be discussed with Council’s and CAOs. MAMEC has a good working relationship with Manitoba EMO and have engaged in discussions on emergency management legislation and requirements whenever we have concerns.

We are excited to move forward, continuing to build a strong association that works for each and every one of you. Let’s work together to provide the professional development and recognition that we all deserve.

Regards,

Don Emes, President, MAMEC