LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring James Savitt upon the occasion of his
designation by the American Red Cross of Northeastern New York as the
recipient of its 2012 State Relations Service Award on June 13, 2012

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to recognize that the
quality and character of life in the communities across New York State
are greatly enriched by the compassionate commitment of individuals who
distinguish themselves in their profession and in service to their
community; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commend
James Savitt upon the occasion of his designation by the American Red
Cross of Northeastern New York as the recipient of its 2012 State
Relations Service Award at its Annual Meeting and Volunteer Recognition
Dinner, to be held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Troy, New York on Wednes-
day, June 13, 2012; and
WHEREAS, James Savitt, of Albany, New York, truly merits such recogni-
tion; and
WHEREAS, James Savitt is a valued, dependable and instrumental player
for the State Emergency Operations Center (State EOC) Team; he faithful-
ly and willingly volunteers to staff the State EOC desk during acti-
vations, which include recent events such as Hurricane Irene and Trop-
ical Storm Lee, the October 29, 2011 Snow Storm, Spring Flooding and
numerous other weather related events; and
WHEREAS, James Savitt has not only served as the principal Volunteer
Liaison, but has led the efforts to mentor potential liaisons during
State EOC exercises; as an example of his leadership and initiative, he
reached out to State Fire during the Irene and Lee response to gather
information on independent shelters through the local fire departments
in order to help get a better handle on the number of non-Red Cross
Shelters; and
WHEREAS, James Savitt is a seasoned veteran at the State EOC desk and
its State partners know and trust him to serve ably in this capacity
when needed; and
WHEREAS, James Savitt recently stepped forward in a planning capacity
for the Red Cross as part of the New York State Human Services Commit-
tee's effort to write a sheltering and mass care plan; and
WHEREAS, The American Red Cross has been designated as "Co-leads" with
the State Department of Health for Sheltering; James Savitt has taken a
leadership role with the State Relations Disaster Liaison to ensure that
the Red Cross responsibilities are listed accurately and expectations of
the American Red Cross are appropriate and clear in the State Mass Care
Plan; and
WHEREAS, James Savitt's participation in the planning task is invalu-
able, but doesn't stop there; he assisted with the development and writ-
ing of the Red Cross's State Disaster Response Plan in 2010 and, at that
time, he was serving as the Volunteer partner of the State Disaster
Officer and Co-lead of the State Disaster Consortium; and
WHEREAS, He has stepped down from that position but is once again
playing a lead role in reviewing and revising the Red Cross Plan as his
knowledge, initiative and leadership play a key role in the success of
the Red Cross at the state level; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that when individ-
uals of such noble aims and accomplishments are brought to our atten-
tion, they should be celebrated and recognized by all the citizens of
the great State of New York; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commend James Savitt upon the occasion of his designation by the Ameri-
can Red Cross of Northeastern New York as the recipient of its 2012
State Relations Service Award on June 13, 2012; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to James Savitt.