LAKELAND — Florida Disaster Response Coordinator Bill Rahn and his wife, Lisa, were named the first-ever Disaster Coordinators of the Year by the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) Disaster Response Staff and the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) in recognition of their work in leading the conference’s response to Florida’s natural disasters. In 1998, Florida received a record six federal disaster designations.

The honor was one of three awards given by UMCOR in celebration of its 50th anniversary in 1999. The awards focused on UMCOR’s key response areas: disaster response, world hunger and refugees.

In a Dec. 4 letter to the Rahns, F. Lloyd Rollins, UMCOR’s assistant general secretary for emergency response, wrote: “…you both have worked to see that the Florida Annual Conference and the United Methodist Church have responded quickly and with grace. You both have worked tirelessly for untold hours to see that the needs of persons who were devastated were addressed.”

The Rahns will be honored Feb. 24 in a nationwide teleconference produced by GBGM to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Advance and One Great Hour of Sharing and at the 1999 Florida Annual Conference Event.

Bill Rahn also became certified to lead disaster response anywhere in the world after attending the first Disaster Response Training Academy Nov. 16-19 at UMCOR’s Sager-Brown Center in Baldwin, LA. Courses included long-term recovery in disaster response, pastoral care, case management and managing volunteers.

In December, Rahn also received certification from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for donations management.