| | Published August 14th, 2024
| Familiar face moves to MOFD
| | | By Sora O'Doherty |  | | Julie Sparks hired as new MOFD Office Specialists for Emergency Preparedness. Photo Sora O'Doherty |
Julie Sparks, long known in Lamorinda as the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Registrar and trainer and a Fire Adapted Community Ambassador (FAC-A), has been hired by the Moraga Orinda Fire District. Sparks, who started her new job on Monday, now serves as an Office Specialist in Emergency Preparedness. She will be working closely with Dennis Rein, the MOFD Emergency Preparedness Coordinator.
Sparks has also been a member of the MOFD Communications Support Team and is a member of the Lamorinda Area Radio Interest Group (LARIG) and holds a HAM radio license. An Orinda resident for 17 years, she is the mother of two adult sons who went through the Orinda school district.
She will be required to give up some of her previous activities, which would constitute a possibly perceived conflict of interest now that she is officially a MOFD employee, including her role as Secretary/Treasure of the CERT Foundation, a position she has held since 2013.
Sparks plans to reach out to significant players outside our area and observe what has been working for them and how those practices might fit in our area. She will meet regularly with and support all the community volunteer groups who have a stake in emergency preparedness, include CERT, the MOFD Communications Support Team, LARIG, and FAC-As, as well as multiple Firewise neighborhoods.
"My goal is to continue the great work in emergency preparedness that has been started by MOFD, and further develop our community connections through education, transparent and accurate information, face-to-face brainstorming, and strategizing to build Moraga and Orinda's preparedness for disaster and foster resilience in ours towns," Sparks has said. Although Lafayette is not part of MOFD, Sparks plans to liaise with the neighboring community.
When not at work, Sparks enjoys hiking with the Lamorinda mom's hiking group, spending time with her boyfriend Craig (sometimes on the back of his Harley Davidson motorcycle), and caring for her senior rescue canine `house hippo' Vera. Sparks is always learning more from her tech friends in the radio club over coffee at Café Teatro on Tuesday mornings, and often is the net control for the General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) monthly net that allows radio users to maintain their radio skills.
"I am beyond grateful to have this opportunity to work with such a great group of firefighters at MOFD," Sparks says. "I look forward to being on the team that works diligently to keep our amazing community safe." |
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA