The Community Emergency Response Team Program has a new leader, a man who is not new to emergency and disaster training in Utah.
Stephen P. Rundquist, currently community support specialist with the Utah Office of Emergency Services, accepted the appointment from Lt. Gov. Gary R. Herbert. He will assume his duties as the state CERT coordinator March 6.
Under the direction of the Utah Department of Public Safety, CERT has trained nearly 60,000 Utahns in basic disaster response skills since 1994.
Rundquist has been with the Division of Homeland Security for 16 years, the last five, he has served as the liaison officer assigned to counties in southwest Utah. He was instrumental in organizing the nation's first two Regional Citizen Corps Councils in answer to President Bush's Call to Service following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.