Clancy Philipsborn, Colorado
I am flattered to be included on the ASFPM’s Wall of Honor! ASFPM was the professional organization I adored and promoted throughout my career. ASFPM brought focus and friendship to my post-disaster recovery/redevelopment efforts through sustained examination of the regulations, rigors, and realities of floodplain management. ASFPM introduced me to a diversified world of professionals at all levels of business, industry, and government that taught me about dedication, priority, policy, the intersection of planning and engineering, and the value of participation. ASFPM is on my Wall of Honor!
I began my career-long partnership with ASFPM in 1985 at the annual conference in New Orleans as a FEMA “Reservist” which I attended to report on the federal efforts to “mitigate” the impacts of a radically rising Great Salt Lake. I founded The Mitigation Assistance Corporation (TMAC) the same year. In the subsequent years, I worked on tasks following more than 125 Federal Disaster Declarations, nationwide. Along the way, I remained fascinated with ASFPM, and contributed by making 21 formal presentations between 1985-2008, and serving as:
- Associate Delegate (Non-State, Voting), ASFPM, 1986-89
- Board of Directors (Region VIII), ASFPM, 1989
- Mitigation Committee Chair, 1991-1994
- Program Chair, 1999 National Conference.
I earned the following:
- Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM), 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013
- Floodplain Management “Pioneer Award”, ASFPM, 2008 (25 years’ service award)
- Honorary Lifetime Membership Award, ASFPM, 2008
In retrospect, I am most proud of how ASFPM described me when awarded my Lifetime Membership,
“…in appreciation for more than two decades of contributions to floodplain management and to the ASFPM. Philipsborn studied under Gilbert F. White, received on-the-ground experience as a “Reservist” for FEMA, formed two companies, and joined a third, from which he shepherded uncounted communities and counties in their attempts to recover from past disasters and minimize the impacts of future ones. His service to ASFPM includes acting as Chair of the Substantial Damage Task Force, Manager of the Floodplain Management Resource Center, and author of the Primer on How to Conduct a Post-Flood Buy-Out Workshop. Philipsborn combines the unusual ability to “tell it like it is” with a scholar’s mind, a professional’s attitude, and a down-to-earth practicality. These qualities make him indispensable to floodplain management, especially in reaching community staff, officials, and residents, but also in helping professionals keep their eyes on the proper target.”
Thanks for everything! Without you I am nothing …