Rebecca Joyce, Community Program Manager, resigned from the CSPDC last month. Rebecca joined the PDC in 1997 and began working with the Town of Glasgow on one of the largest flood mitigation projects in the state at that time where 56 homes were removed from the floodplain through acquisition and elevation. Over the next few years, and following Hurricanes Isabel and Fran, Rebecca worked in Buena Vista, Rockbridge County, Waynesboro, Goshen, Port Republic, and Rockingham County on a number of flood mitigation projects again helping hundreds of families rebuild their lives and protect their properties.
From there Rebecca went on to establish the first regional disaster education and outreach program called Project Impact which has provided life-saving information to the citizens and businesses in the Shenandoah Valley for over two decades. One of the disaster educational products that Rebecca conceived and oversaw was the ever-popular Project Impact Calendar. The calendars contain valuable information on disaster emergency preparedness pertinent to each season along with historical local photographs and humorous daily quotes.
Most recently, she worked with the City of Staunton and the Community Foundation of the Blue Ridge to provide flood relief assistance to the citizens and businesses that were severely impacted by the devasting storms that flooded the city in August of 2020.
She also started the first CERT program in the region which has trained nearly 600 ordinary citizens in what to do before, during, and after disasters.
Throughout her tenure at the CSPDC, Rebecca has worked with multiple jurisdictions in developing their Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs), flood mitigation plans, wildfire plans and hazardous materials plans. She oversaw the region’s All Hazard Mitigation Plan and its 5-year updates. The All Hazard Mitigation Plan, a requirement of FEMA, identifies and assesses the Region’s natural hazard risks and makes recommendations to mitigate these hazards.
In 2020, Rebecca received the James Madison University John B. Noftsinger Alumni Award for Public Service Excellence. The John B. Noftsinger award recognizes JMU graduates who actively engage with the community, strengthen social equality, demonstrate personal integrity, promote ethical standards of performance and stewardship, and advance professional excellence in the Shenandoah Valley.
As Stephen King, Rockingham County Administrator, so adequately stated: “High levels of ability, competence, intelligence, and commitment, combined with an always cheerful disposition = Rebecca Joyce.”
Rebecca will be missed by many and her service and work in the region will be felt for years to come.