Terry Lightheart, who serves as the Emergency Disaster Services Director for The Salvation Army Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi Division has been approved by the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Certification Commission to receive the Certified Emergency Manager^® (CEM^®) credential.

The CEM^® designation is the highest honor of professional achievement available from IAEM, which has in its membership more than 9,000 emergency managers representing professionals whose goals are saving lives and protecting property and the environment during emergencies and disasters.  Ms. Lightheart qualified as a CEM® by submitting an extensive credentials package giving personal and professional background achievements and successfully completing a Management Essay and a written examination.

When asked about receiving the designation, Ms. Lightheart, stated, “As an emergency management professional I am thrilled there are organizations such as IAEM which fosters excellence for its members and the profession as a whole.”

In order to maintain certification, Lightheart must continue a program of professional development over successive five-year periods in the future.  Thus, this is an honor neither easily earned nor maintained.

Terry will receive recognition for this accomplishment on Wednesday evening, October 19, 2016 at an Awards Program held during the IAEM 64th Annual Conference & Exhibit in Savannah, GA.

The new class of CEM^®‘s join the 2,550 other emergency managers who were approved for the designation since January, 1993 bringing the total number of Certified Emergency Managers to 2,564.   To see a complete list of current CEM^®s please visit the IAEM website – http://www.iaem.com/page.cfm?p=certification/current-cem-aem