It was quite unusual for FEMA staff to be individual members of ASFPM in the early years, but Diane saw the great need and benefit in her commitment to helping others do better at their jobs. She joined ASFPM in 1996 as a dues-paying, card carrying individual member! While federal government employees could provide input and be a member of the various technical and policy committees, they could not serve on the Board of Directors nor hold office. Diane was most proud about being able to expand her national involvement when she transitioned into the private sector. She was elected to the ASFPM Board of Directors representing Region 6 and served the maximum allowed terms from 2000-2008. She then served on the Certification Board of Regents from 2003-2011, and as CBOR President from 2004-2010. Diane received the Louthain Award for Distinguished Service to ASFPM in 2002 and the John Ivey Award for Superior Efforts in Certification in 2013. 

Diane was always very engaged with the state chapters, in fact helping most of those in Region 6 organize and grow. She worked particularly closely with Texas (Chair for 2 terms), New Mexico (newsletter editor for many years) and Oklahoma, helping all with development of their Certification programs as well. By the way, she is the only person we know of who is a Certified Floodplain Manager with four organizations: with ASFPM, Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma!

Things Diane remembers most fondly about her long and full history with ASFPM are the years as Region 6 Director and her involvement with the certification program and Board of Regents and her consistent attendance at ASFPM conferences for decades. 

John Ivey shares his thoughts regarding Diane Calhoun contributions to floodplain management:

Diane Calhoun was one of the first staff members of the Federal Insurance Administration (FIA) Region 6 Office in Dallas, Texas in 1975 when Diane transferred from HUD’s Regional office. Diane was destined for leadership and quickly became office manager for FIA’s Region 6 Flood Insurance Study and Mapping Division. The Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1975 provided funding for the nation-wide flood insurance study and mapping effort. At one time Diane managed over 600 community flood insurance studies throughout Region 6 covering five states. While this massive flood insurance study and mapping effort was underway, FIA staff were “also first responders” to all Region 6 Presidentially Declared Disasters. During many disasters in Region 6, Diane managed the Disaster Field Office (DFO) Flood Insurance staff assigned to research and rule on “duplication of benefits” regarding NFIP insurance coverage. Diane was eventually promoted to be FIA/FEMA Region 6 Insurance Liaison. This experience with Flood Insurance Study procedures, NFIP Regulations and NFIP Flood Insurance enabled Diane to become a valuable asset to the ASFPM CFM Task Force and the development of the National CFM Exam.

Diane Calhoun was a member of the ASFPM Certification Task Force that developed the National CFM Program. In the late 1990’s, Diane was instrumental in developing state-specific CFM exams for Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. These state CFM exams were incorporated into the first National CFM Exam developed by ASFPM in 1999.

Diane Calhoun, as CBOR Chair, worked closely with George Riedel in ASFPM’s Executive Office to develop and negotiate a contract with the Ohio State University to conduct a Reliability and Validity (R&V) Assessment of the ASFPM – National CFM Program. The 2011-2012 R&V Assessment of the ASFPM National CFM Program established the necessary CFM Exam Protocols that allowed ASFPM and the Accredited State Chapters to expand the CFM Program to include federal, state, local communities, professionals, academia, nonprofit organizations, and concerned citizens allowing individuals to become CFM’s and have an active role in floodplain management nationwide.  

Diane Calhoun’s leadership as Chair of Texas Floodplain Management Association (TFMA) was instrumental in TFMA becoming the largest of the ASFPM Chapters and promoted TFMA’s CFM program to include over 2,000 CFM’s. Diane developed and taught floodplain management and flood insurance workshops and training courses for TFMA, Lower Colorado River Authority and numerous private companies. 

While with Halff Associates, Diane Calhoun was instrumental in developing Hazard Mitigation Plan protocols for communities to meet FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant requirements outlined in the  Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000. Diane’s mitigation planning team developed the City of Friendswood (Texas) Hazard Mitigation Plan which was the second FEMA approved hazard mitigation plan in the Nation that met the requirements of DMA 2000. Diane, working closely with FEMA and the Texas Division of Emergency Management, posted a MS Word version of the Friendswood Plan online to thereby assisting communities nationwide to develop their own plans. Diane also prepared the Risk Assessment of the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) planning area that includes 16 counties and over 250 communities in North Texas. This Regional Risk Assessment document was developed by a joint venture of Halff Associates and Michael Baker Corporation. In addition to providing a planning starting point for numerous countywide and community mitigation plans for over 250 communities, the Tornado Risk Assessment portion of the NCTCOG Regional Risk Assessment was showcased by NOAA because it documented tornado patterns of historical tornados throughout the Texas-Oklahoma Tornado Alley.