In 2006, Ray Shaw took command of the Harrison County CERT – community emergency response team. He brought with him a wealth of expertise.

 

“Because of his background, he’s perfect for this,” said Amy Romano, Harrison County CERT member. “He has grown this program tremendously and I’ve not seen him do anything that he doesn’t come away as a shining star.”

 

A member of Bridgeport Emergency Services Council, Shaw also serves as chaplain of the city’s police and fire departments. Until June, he was overseer of Bridgeport’s Volunteers in Police Service “VIPS” program. He is a certified EMT, firefighter and HAZMAT technician and is certified to train in those capacities up to the operations level.

 

In addition to being a certified first responder, he is one of eight local pastors who serve as chaplains for local emergency response teams. That post involves ministering to first responders, helping them process and deal with the tragic incidents to which they respond.

 

Shaw is director of Harrison County CORE, the umbrella entity of CERT, as well as a member of the county’s Local Emergency Planning Committee and Volunteers in Police Service.

 

Though he has roughly 40 years’ experience in emergency services, it has never been Shaw’s professional line of work.

 

Originally from upstate New York, Shaw’s longtime career was in communications and telecommunications. In that field, he traveled all over the U.S., often being in the right place at the right time when it came to emergency response opportunities.

 

“I was actually in Dallas on business when (the 2009 attempted skyscraper bombing) happened,” he said. “I ended up dealing with small children at a daycare near that building.”

 

Shaw also assisted with evacuation/relief efforts during three hurricanes and was a member of fire departments in Rochester, New York and Burlington, Vermont.

He also spent time in New Mexico, training with explosives and how to locate and dismantle tourist devices.

 

Shaw and his wife Tressa (Pollutro) Shaw, a Bridgeport High School alum, settled in Bridgeport 12 years ago. They are founders and directors of A Flame for Christ Ministries and Project G.R.A.C.E. (Getting Ready Ahead of Catastrophic Events).

 

Retired from the communications and telecommunications industry, Shaw now works full-time in the ministry. For seven years, he has concentrated that work in the Monticello Ave./Haymond Highway area of Clarksburg, where he started Lighthouse of Hope Church.

 

“We do education and also minister especially to people suffering from drug addiction,” he said.

 

Romano joked that instead of nine lives, Shaw has something like 13.

 

He has the ability to serve in many capacities at the same time – and do they extremely well, she said.

 

“He’s a huge asset to the community and his leadership and experience are phenomenal." 

 

Top photo of Shaw instructing at recent class at CERT training is courtesy of Laura Pysz. Read more about CERT HERE. Just above is Shaw with his wife Tressa.