Middletown OEM official named coordinator of year MIDDLETOWN - Township Emergency Management Coordinator Charles W. Rogers III has been named the 2006 Emergency Management Coordinator of the Year by the New Jersey Emergency Management Association. The Middletown Township Committee recognized Rogers for receipt of the award at the Nov. 20 Township Committee meeting. "Middletown is honored to have such a dedicated and diligent professional who gives so much of himself to keep Middletown safe," Mayor Thomas Hall said in a press release. "We are very proud that the NJEMA has recognized Charlie Rogers for his outstanding dedication to Emergency Management." Rogers, a lifelong resident of the Port Monmouth section of Middletown, accepted the position of emergency management coordinator in January 1999. Under his direction, the Middletown's Office of Emergency Management (OEM) has grown into one of the most active in Monmouth County to include more than 200 OEM volunteers, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members and Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) members, and police auxiliary officers. Rogers, 69, has remained committed to public safety and to his community throughout his life. He has served as a member of the Port Monmouth Fire Company for 38 years, as fire department chief in 1992 and as a member of the Middletown Elks Lodge No. 2179 for more than 30 years. He has received several honors including a Commendation of Valor for his efforts to safeguard Middletown during the 1992 Nor'easter. The OEM coordinates township response to natural and manmade emergencies, and is responsible for evacuation and sheltering of displaced residents. CERT, which teaches residents how to help their community during emergencies of all sizes, is the largest in Monmouth County with 102 members. RACES, which is also one of the most active groups of its kind in Monmouth County, provides emergency communications. Members are licensed amateur radio operators who can send messages worldwide in many forms without the use of phone systems, Internet and other infrastructures that can be compromised in a crisis In the last year, Middletown has participated in two searches for missing residents, water distribution during power outages and been heavily involved in multiple Monmouth County and municipal emergency preparedness drills. Current projects include the development of emergency operation plans for special-needs populations and flood mitigation.