YES! Please notify me when the next
West County CERT Academy
is scheduled.

Loree Erpelding Honored by Cypress PD

Loree Erpelding Honored by Cypress PD

At the recent Cypress Police Department 2025 Recognition Luncheon, our own Loree Erpelding was honored as the 2025 Service with Distinction Award.

The program read in part:

Loree has been volunteering with Cypress Police Department since 2009 when West County Community Emergency Response Team was first established.

As one of the program’s earliest members, she immediately assumed leadership as the Logistics Section Chief. She later expanded her impact by co-founding the Organized Communities Emergency Volunteers Association, providing emergency supplies and training to underserved communities. When the Department re-established the R.A.C.E.S. team, Loree was one of the first to serve as Logistics Officers and help to build the team’s policies, procedures, and community outreach efforts.

She has received multiple awards over the year, including Volunteer of the Year, Cypress’ Woman of the Year and Americana’s Cypress Citizen of the Year. Loree has volunteered for over 4,000 hours in the department. 

 

Congrats Loree – well deserved!

2026 Academy Dates Release

2026 Academy Dates Release

The West Orange County CERT  program has confirmed the 2026 CERT Academy dates as follows:

        • Friday, July, 31
        • Saturday, August 1
        • Friday, August 7
        • Saturday, August 8

The Academy covers the 20 Hour FEMA CERT Basic training course (download here) and provides the opportunity to put those skills to the test during the full scale exercise on the afternoon of Saturday 8/8 after the Academy graduation ceremony and lunch.

West Orange County CERT Academy 2026
West Orange County CERT Academy 2026
West County Shows Up for County CMAP Training

West County Shows Up for County CMAP Training

On behalf of the West CERT program managers (Loree, Anna, Robert, Brian and Ed) we would like to thank and commend the following for their assistance during the CERT Mutual Aid Program (CMAP) training at the Orange County Sheriff’s Academy on January 24, 2026.

With their assistance, we were able to deliver the 6-hour CMAP course, along with Type-2 task book signoffs, for 64 CERT volunteers representing CERT teams from across Orange County. The following West County CERT Volunteers were instrumental in making this training and exercise a success:

• Willie Ortega, Evaluator
• Art Remnet, Staging Area Manger
• Kris Thomas, Instructor
• Lynette Van Voris, Registration and Controller
• Alexandria Van Voris, Registration and Controller
• Anna Bilyk, Controller
• Debbie Charland, Controller
• Jorge De Paz, Course Participant
• Laura Hancock, Course Participant
• Evi Nguyen, Course Participant
• Letty Zaragoza, Course Participant