Volunteers Get Partnership Update at Ready Together Gathering
June 3 more than 70 BP volunteers gathered in the meeting space at the Bainbridge Island Rowing Boathouse to learn about the State of the Bainbridge Prepares Partnership.
Chief Moravec
Fire Chief Jared Moravec opened the event by saying, “I could sing all of your praises for a long time.” He added, “I have the privilege of seeing firsthand how much dedication and heart it takes to build a resilient community.” He described the BP partnership—BP, the Bainbridge Island Fire Department (BIFD), and the City of Bainbridge Island—as “one of the most valuable partnerships we have.”
The Chief went on to describe Bainbridge Prepares as being all about “neighbors helping neighbors; a force multiplier in our community’s ability to take care of each other.” He referred to the Covid epidemic as “our slow-moving earthquake,” which operated as “our first big real-world test; I think we did a pretty darn good job of responding to that.” The partnership’s work running testing and vaccination clinics earned national recognition.
He spoke about wanting to increase the interaction between BIFD and BP volunteers, citing as an example of the benefits of such integration the work that the BP Drone Team (The Drone Rangers) did on the South End, assisting with a search and rescue event. He also mentioned the involvement of the Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Team in helping BIFD plan for water supply distribution and spinning up fire hydrants.
Stephen Richardson
BP Executive Director Stephen Richardson shared a number of success stories including about the BP COVID response. He also told about an incident when water was pouring out of an upstairs window of a house on the Island when the owners were out of town. The house sitter was in a panic about what to do. As if on cue, the Map Your Neighborhood captain walked by—she knew exactly where the water valve was and helped turn off the water.
Richardson told another success story about how the Food Resilience Team was able to get 3,000 pounds of food from Island growers to Helpline House when SNAP benefits ran out.
He also reviewed the results of a Volunteer survey, which contributed to the focus of BP’s strategic plan.
Anne LeSage
Bainbridge Island Emergency Manager Anne LeSage reminded the crowd that 2026 is the 15th anniversary of BP. She described the growth of the organization in terms of volunteers: from 100 in 2019 to more than 700 today.
She said she was spoiled for future work; she would never want to work in emergency management anywhere else after her amazing experience with BP. One of the best things about BP, she said, is the dedication of our volunteers who put in a vast number of hours annually (9000 in 2025).
BP has recently been focusing on Team goals, preparedness, and response roles; the rollout of an intranet for volunteer use; and the training and exercise calendar.
Priorities for 2027
LeSage listed the priorities for the upcoming year:
Launching the Disaster Medical Center (DMC) working group
Operational readiness of Disaster Hubs
Increased implementation of the Map Your Neighborhood program
The Ready Together multi-day training exercise
Richardson recognized the members of the working executive board who have recently upped their participation, going from meeting every few months to meeting every other week.
He detailed the three major objectives of BP in the upcoming years:
Increasing the organization’s readiness to respond to emergencies
Community education that translates into preparedness action
Financial strength (raising 125% of operating costs annually)
The gathering concluded with questions from the audience and then brief Team updates.