[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 132 (Thursday, September 8, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1571]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING SANDY COVALL-ALVES

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 8, 2011

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, together with my colleague, 
Congressman Mike Thompson, to recognize Sandy Covall-Alves who is 
retiring after 30 years in the emergency management field, the last 16 
of which was as Emergency Manager for Sonoma County's Fire & Emergency 
Services Department and the Sonoma County Operational Area. For those 
30 years, she dedicated herself to making sure that people in her 
charge were safe and received the resources they need in the wake of 
natural disasters.
  During her tenure in Sonoma County, Ms. Covall-Alves coordinated the 
response, recovery and mitigation efforts for the 1995-1999 and 2006 
winter storms and floods, the 1996 Cavedale fire, and the 1998 Rio Nido 
debris flow. In total, she oversaw the implementation of 14 local 
emergency proclamations, 12 Emergency Operations Center activations, 8 
gubernatorial proclamations and 6 events that were designated by the 
President as national disasters. Our offices appreciated working with 
her, knowing that she knew how to pull all her connections together for 
a coordinated response.
  Ms. Covall-Alves was also the guiding force in establishing, 
implementing and coordinating emergency programs for the county, its 
cities and special districts. Her commitment to improving emergency 
management did not stop at the county line. She is a founding member 
and current Chair of the California Operational Area Coalition (COAC), 
a forum for information exchange and advocacy on emergency management 
issues. The COAC's mission is to enhance closer cooperation and 
collaboration with members of the organization and with the State 
Emergency Management Agency.
  Ms. Covall-Alves began her career in emergency management as a 9-1-1 
dispatcher for the Tuolumne County Sheriffs Department. After 
developing disaster recovery plans for private businesses, she returned 
to public service with the San Mateo County OES and from there was 
deployed to the 1994 Northridge earthquake in Southern California as 
part of the state's mutual aid program. She joined Sonoma County OES in 
1995 and quickly became an integral part of the county's response and 
recovery team.
  Mr. Speaker, Sandy Covall-Alves has had a long and distinguished 
career in serving and protecting the people of the State of California. 
We wish her well in her retirement as she enjoys time with her husband, 
Ron Alves, and their three special pets, Beelsey, Mowese and Wilson.

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