Illinois Association for Floodplain and Stormwater Management named ASFPM’s 2019 Outstanding Chapter

L-R: Ajay Jain,
Bryan Martindale, Glenn Heistand, Molly O’Toole and Dallas Alley (all members of the Illinois Association for Floodplain and Stormwater Management). Photo by John Hays

The Outstanding Chapter Award for Excellence is presented for outstanding activity that other chapters can replicate. And although we emphasize that the activity is replicable, there are few chapters that have brought their work more directly to the doorstep of communities in
need.

This year, the outstanding chapter award goes to the nation’s oldest and one of the largest professional floodplain management associations—the Illinois Association for Floodplain and Stormwater Management.

In an effort to assist communities after a flood, and recognizing that many NFIP communities are small with limited staff, this chapter created the Rapid Assistance Flood Team, or RAFT, to provide volunteer assistance with post-flood activities including substantial damage determinations.

These response teams are all active chapter members, all CFMs, represent local, state and federal government as well as private sector and other professional disciplines. All RAFT team members are volunteers who have agreed to assist communities in times of need. Since its creation in 2015, RAFT has been deployed four times. In 2018 they developed a RAFT guide book to help the community better understand their responsibilities and is available online.

Also marking the 25th anniversary of this chapter’s largest mitigation effort, the Great Midwest Flood of 1993, this chapter developed a video that documents their efforts and points out that their
work is not done. Congratulations to this innovative chapter!