Presented by 1st Responder Conferences in Partnership with First H.E.L.P.

Co-hosted by Avery, Loose and Associates

Endorsed by Cobb County 911, Cobb County Sheriff's Office, Cobb County FOP and the Marietta Police Department

Venue: Hilton Atlanta/Marietta Hotel & Conference Center 500 Powder Springs Street SW Marietta, GA 30064

This training is for all 1st responders, police, fire, military/veterans, corrections, dispatchers, chaplains, retired 1st responders, spouses, professional staff, clinicians, spouses and all who work in the public safety field.

1st Responder Conferences presents a multi-faceted two-day seminar and networking event for improving the mental health and wellness of our first responders. By discussing the real 21st Century issues that are consistently facing our first responders and their families, our conference will provide awareness, resources and action items to combat PTSD/PTSI, depression, suicide, addiction, stress, and overall mental health.

1st Responder Conferences proudly introduces a line-up of credible nationally recognized speakers who will address matters that impact the personal and professional lives of first responders and their family members through dynamic and engaging presentations for the entire first responder community. This two-day seminar is unique in that your spouses or significant others who support you are invited to come learn with you.

With a progressive and forward message of optimism and sustainability, 1st Responder Conferences goal is pushing past traditional silence and bringing first responder wellness to our Everyday Heroes.

Speakers and Topics

“Building Financial Strength in First Responder Families”- (Ret. Sgt.) Nicholas Daugherty, FinancialCop- Building Financial Strength in First Responder families is the premier financial wellness class designed for first responders, taught by first responders. We will cover the importance of financial wellness for your personal and professional lives. Topics include budgeting, how to avoid debt and pay off debt, the importance of will & estate planning, and how to build a plan to begin to win with money. Taught by instructors that have the heart of teachers to over thousands of first responders from over 2,000 agencies nationwide. Nick Daugherty began his career with the Grand Prairie Police Department (GPPD) in 2003 before semi-retiring in 2017 as a Sergeant. He continues to serve as reserve officer for GPPD. Nick operates FinancialCop, the largest financial wellness training provider for first responders nationally as well as providing comprehensive fiduciary only financial planning for first responders. FinancialCops have coached hundreds of first responder families through almost every type of financial crisis and scenario possible. He also works with several first responder nonprofit organizations, focusing on financial wellness for those suffering from PTSD and suicidal thoughts.

"Peer Support Teams - Leading from Your Strengths"- Noel Meador, Stronger Families President & CEO, and Tim Sears, Director of First Responders for Stronger Families- You were created with unique strengths. These strengths were meant to be leveraged together on your team to create unity, better outcomes, and overall increased performance. Without a proper understanding of this concept, many leaders build a team of people most like themselves and miss out on a larger vision. Leading From Your Strengths empowers team leaders and teams to discover their unique strengths and the power of differences that leads to building close knit teams. This builds a culture of leadership excellence where relationships thrive. In this session we will be covering how to… -Better understand yourself through a uniquely generated report -Help yourself and your team appreciate the strengths each of you bring to the team -Learn how different people communicate and how to leverage these differences -Define areas of tension and learn to resolve conflict without “winners and losers” Noel Meador serves as President & CEO for Stronger Families in Seattle, Washington. In this role, he is dedicated to strengthening families and marriages and ultimately, affecting the community at large. Noel is the lead author of the Oxygen for Your Relationship seminar, which provides couples with tools and resources that help them promote authenticity and renewed vitality in their relationship. Over the past 5 years, 14,000 couples have gone through OXYGEN program and 300 + facilitators have been certified to teach the program. Noel received his Master’s Degree in Education and is trained in many relationship enrichment and counseling tools and part of the John Maxwell Leadership Team. Tim Sears joins Stronger Families with 45+ years in the fire service, having served in 4 different fire departments. Tim was actively involved in water rescue, tillered ladder truck ops, safety committee, fire investigator, hazmat, PEER support, board member on KFFBA Benevolent Fund and active in his IAFF Union Local 2545. Tim retired in 2021 from the Kirkland Fire Department in Washington State with many department accommodations for his 30 years of service.

"Survive & Thrive: A Path through Trauma into Resilience"-Ryan Dedmon, Outreach Director, 911 Training Institute- A former dispatcher will discuss the accumulation of stress from personal loss and professional trauma that he experienced. His personal story of survival and journey to healing will help empower all first responders to seek peer support services and mental health treatment to build their resilience. Ryan Dedmon is the Outreach Director for the 911 Training Institute, a private company that provides training and consulting services. Ryan is a retired police dispatcher from Southern California. In 2012, the Southern California Chapter of APCO International named him “Telecommunicator of the Year”. Ryan is a certified CIT Coordinator and holds a Master of Arts degree in Forensic Psychology. He is also a California POST-certified Academy Instructor and serves at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Regional Training Center and at the Regional Criminal Justice Training Center at Golden West College. Ryan blends his education and experience behind the console to help dispatchers and police officers recover and grow from post-traumatic stress.

“Suicide Risk Management: Creating a Culture of Psychological Safety”- Gerald Richmond (Ret. Firefighter) and Dr, Nancy Wesselink, Founder and Chief Consultant of One Source Counseling and Employee Assistance Services LLC- The rate of suicide nationally has grown exponentially in Public Safety. While there are resources available to all first responders in their time of need, they are not being utilized. We believe that there needs to be a culture in leadership that will positively influence the use of these “safety nets”. This culture change can bring about a natural inclination to use behavioral/mental health resources by making them more visible, accessible and affordable. These resources need to be included with an already robust focus on first responder wellness. This presentation will highlight the journey of an actively suicidal firefighter. It will also prepare attendees to initiate and implement mental/behavioral health and suicide risk management strategies designed to elicit culture change from within the organization. Dr. Nancy Wesselink is the Founder and Chief Consultant of One Source Counseling and Employee Assistance Services LLC in the metro Atlanta area. She founded the company 2002 and currently provides services to over 4000 employees in manufacturing, utility, government, and corporate settings. She is a Certified Employee Assistance Professional and has over 25 years in counseling and training, specializing in the unique issues of Public Safety employees and families. She has also provided consultation and Behavioral Health Services to PDs, Fire, EMS, 911 and SO organizations for over 25 years. Nancy is a designated Mental Health Professional on many CISM/Peer Support teams in north Georgia and currently provides Behavioral Health Services for and consultation with multiple agencies throughout the Metro Atlanta area. Gerald Richmond currently resides with his wife and 2 kids in Palm Coast Florida. He is Retired from Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services after 19 years as a training officer. He also worked 5 years in EMS with Cherokee County Emergency Medical Services and retired as a Lieutenant. Gerald wrote numerous classes ranging from advanced firefighting, to Hazmat, and on mental health. Gerald became passionate about the topic of Mental Health and Suicide Awareness following his personal battle with depression, PTSI, chronic suicidal ideation and suicidal crisis. Gerald spent his career as a fire officer passing on things that he learned to other first responders, especially about life threatening situations. He has been speaking at various forums for First Responder Suicide Awareness since 2021.

“Mentally Preparing First Responders”- Captain Christopher Michael, Cobb County Police Department- This presentation will discuss creating a culture of preparing individuals for and coping with the stresses of a public safety career. The presenter will discuss his career history that includes multiple officer involved shootings, being involved in serious accidents, difficult shoot/don’t shoot situations, multitudes of fatality accidents, suicides, homicides and the deaths of and cruelty to children among all the other difficult calls that come with being in law enforcement that led to depression and suicidal ideation. This journey led to the creation of a class that is presented to police recruits and their families to help them understand what can occur during their careers. Topics include: Financial Well Being, Life Balance, Social Well Being, Resilience, Mental Well Being and stopping the stigma prevalent in first responder jobs, and resources that help with the problems that arise from stress such as substance abuse. The families are presented with facts that help them understand the changes that occur in a public safety employee as they move through their career and statistics that help alleviate some of their fears about the job. Chris is a Captain with Cobb County Police Department and has been in law enforcement since 1998. Chris is married and has two adult children. Chris has endured multiple critical incidents during his career and realized due to his own struggles he needed to start helping others to avoid the pitfalls of being a first responder. Chris became a certified instructor and created classes geared toward assisting others with stress and building resiliency. He now teaches the recruits on the last day of the academy when their families are in town for graduation day how to be prepared for their careers.

"A Candid View From the Other Side of PTSD"- Captain Chris Moore, Chesapeake Virginia Fire Department- To help our Brothers and Sisters realize the reality of PTSD in the first responder world and its effects on those that are living with it. I will share my personal story and experience of living with PTSD, how it not only affected me but affected others that I love as well. By doing so, I hope to let others know what to look for, know that it is OK to ask for help/how to get help and to help end the stigma that everyone is always OK. This presentation is geared for any and all first responders, to include but not limited to: Law Enforcement, Fire Service, EMS and Dispatchers. This topic is near and dear to my heart. I have learned about it through the school of hard knocks, unfortunately. I am living proof that PTSD is real, is a struggle (but is manageable) and effects more than just the 1st responder. I am not a certified counsellor, therapist or professional by any means but being a 1st responder with PTSD, I have a lot to offer. This presentation is set forth to shed light on Behavioral Health in the Fire Service, to recognize signs and symptoms and to end the “stigma” that you are weak if you seek assistance. It is also designed for families, friends and loved ones associated with 1st responders. Captain Chris Moore currently serves with the Chesapeake Virginia Fire Department. He has served the first responder community for the last 30 years. The son of a Norfolk, Virginia Police Officer helped to start his career in public safety in Virginia Beach area as a Volunteer Firefighter/EMT in 1993. As a volunteer, he put in as many hours as possible, picking the brains of the career members and soaking it all in, in hope of one day becoming a career firefighter. In 2000 Chris' dream became a reality as he was offered a job with the Chesapeake Virginia Fire Department as a firefighter paramedic. Besides serving the Chesapeake area, Chris has served as a Field Training Officer, Recruit School Instructor, MDA Fill the Boot coordinator, Foam Team, PPE Team, Fire Lieutenant, Captain of Hazmat Team, deployed to Louisiana after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and is a member of his departments Behavioral Health and Peer Support Team. Chris was diagnosed with PTS related to his years of service in 2018. In 2020 he started speaking at conferences and symposiums across the country to share his story to help other First Responders. He received his PTSD service dog, Lewis, in the summer of 2020. Among the numerous awards he has received recently he was awarded the Fire Chiefs Medal of Commendation for his personal work and vulnerability in the field of first responder mental health and wellness. Chris continues to share his story by speaking throughout the country at conferences and on podcasts along with being a published writer in Fire Engineering Magazine and a contributor to the upcoming documentary PTSD 911 and his is an alumni of Save a Warrior

“Break Your Inertia: Moving beyond trauma and thriving”-Jayne Baker, CNHP, President of Momentum Lifestyle Consulting-Jayne has over twelve years of experience working with people to help them achieve and maintain their lifestyle goals. Having suffered much of her early life with digestive issues and eventually maintaining a weight loss of seventy pounds is in part why clients feel she is so relatable. In addition to sharing her personal story of overcoming abuse and trauma bonds formed at young age, she will discuss science-based methods and strategies that have proven to yield sustainable results, with a special focus on nutritional psychiatry (the connection between food and mood) and proper gut health. Jayne has made her home in the downtown Tampa Bay area for the past several years, and in January 2021 she started a foundation that strives to give homeless people a voice and begin rebuilding their lives, furthering her desire of spreading compassion amongst our fellow brothers and sisters.

"Preparing for the Aftermath of a Critical Incident"- Lance LoRusso, Principal Attorney for LoRusso Law Firm- Every public safety professional should prepare themselves and their family for the aftermath of a critical incident. A catastrophic injury, serious allegations of misconduct, or a use of force incident that turns into a high-profile media circus is overwhelming for you and your family. Based on his experience from representing public safety professionals for over 20 years, Lance will give you the tools to help you build your resiliency and assemble your tool kit before a crisis occurs. Lance LoRusso is an attorney and unapologetic advocate for law enforcement and first responders in the legal system and the media. Lance has over 30 years of public safety experience as an EMT, cop, and trainer. He has represented over 150 first responders in shootings and critical incidents and also represents injured first responders. Lance was awarded the 2021 Attorney of the Year for the National Fraternal Order of Police and recently launched the Blue Line Lawyer Institute, a nation‐wide think tank to advance strategies for defending officers after use of force. Lance is the founder of the Cobb County Public Safety
Foundation, a non‐profit committed to providing education and support for all Cobb County public safety professionals. He is an author of educational books for first responders as well as fiction books inspired by his experiences as a first responder and representing them during some of the most trying times of their lives.

"Navigating Darkness: Allowing others to hand you a flashlight"- Dana Jackson, First H.E.L.P. Volunteer-Suicide is a subject so heavy with statistics that your brain and your heart will try to stiff-arm it at every corner. While it is not something that is brought up naturally, discussing suicide in the proper setting can launch a conversation so deep that it can instill a purpose. Hear one suicide widow’s story of watching her husband’s light dim over time until it would eventually extinguish. Listen to Dana’s journey of walking alongside her late husband Erik as he struggled with physical pain leading to mental strain and his loss of identity at work and at home. Understand the role that PTSD had in their marriage and why, as a society, we do not speak up more to let our inner circle know that we are not ok. Participants will learn how to take the smallest of steps in accepting help from First Responder friendly resources. Dana Jackson is the widow of Erik Humphrey, a Community Service Officer for nearly 20 years at the Eugene Police Department in Oregon. Erik was on the Peer Support team early in his career and would later go on to serve as the President of their police union. An on-the-job injury in 2001 set him on a 13-year chronic pain journey that would ultimately lead to his suicide in 2014. Dana’s focus turned towards becoming a solo mother of their two children while navigating life without her husband who she had spent 26 years with. She works for a not-for-profit workers’ compensation insurance company where she also champions the company’s local volunteer efforts in her community. Dana is passionate about telling her family’s story in hopes that other first responders will realize they do not have to suffer in silence.

Registration is $300.00 (plus Humanitix platform fees) and includes the following:
A continental breakfast and lunch will be provided on both days. The venue has limited food choices so if you have dietary restrictions or allergies, please be advised. There will be a Networking Social on November 9th from 4:00-6:00 pm @ the venue. This is a great opportunity to get to know others, ask questions and share your ideas and thoughts with other like-minded professionals. Appetizers will be provided and beverages will be available for purchase.

*You must register to attend. Seats are limited for this conference.

Please note Everyone will receive a registration confirmation email from our registration platform Humanitix. There is a possibility your agency's email security system may block those emails or send them to your junk folder. If you do not receive a confirmation email after registration or an email two weeks prior to the conference, please contact Shawn at shawnt@1stresponderconferences.org

Certificates of Attendance Available- All attendees will receive a certificate of attendance upon completion of the conference evaluation that can be used for self-submittal.

LE will be provided POST credits.

Fire/EMS will self-submit their certificate.

Clinicians: We will not be providing specific CEU credits. We were unable to secure an organization willing to be the coordinator of these credits. As mentioned you will get a certificate of attendance after filling out our conference evaluation. You will also receive a program with a schedule, so you are able to self submit.

A limited amount of scholarships are available for those with financial hardships. Please contact Amanda at amanda@1stresponderconferences.org for more information.

Please note our 30 Day Refund Policy:
There are a lot of costs involved in organizing a conference. The reason we list our 30-day nonrefundable statement on the registration website when an attendee registers, is due to having to purchase everything in advance. We will allow registrations to be transferable, so food and other items don't go to waste. There will be no exceptions to this policy.

*Accommodations: Conference specials/discounted hotel rates available: Group block/discounted hotel rates available: We have a group block at Hilton Atlanta/Marietta Hotel & Conference Center.Reservations will be made by individuals calling the Hotel Reservations at 1-800-HILTONS (1-800-445-8667). Individuals must identify themselves as being with the group, 1st Responder Mental Health & Wellness Conference, at the time the reservation is made in order to receive the special group rate of $139.00 a night of November 8th, 9th and 10th. Reservations may also be made on-line by booking through the World Wide Web. Reservations can also be made directly by the attendee via the Internet using the Personalized Group Web Page. CUT OFF DATE: All guest room accommodations will be held until 10/17/2022. All unreserved rooms will be released for open sale to the general public after this date. Any reservation requests received after the “Cut off Date” will be subject to a higher rate. Modifications, name changes and additions for the group will be accepted on a space and rate available basis.

*Disclaimers*

Photograph/Video Disclaimer Statement

1st Responder Conferences (1RC) reserves the right to use any photograph/video taken at any event sponsored by 1RC , without the expressed written permission of those included within the photograph/video. 1RC may use the photograph/video in publications or other media material produced, used or contracted by 1RC including but not limited to: brochures, invitations, books, newspapers, magazines, television, websites, etc. No video recording by attendees permitted.

Waiver of Liability

Some of the material presented at this event may cause emotional triggers. We will have onsite assistance if needed. There will also be additional resources available if needed. This conference is not intended to provide counseling services, whether medical, psychological or of any other kind, nor to diagnose, prevent, cure or treat any disease, disorder or injury. This conference is certainly not intended to replace the advice of a physician. If you need expert advice, please consult a competent professional. This conference is only intended for “educational” use and it should only be used as a guide.

RECORDING OF CONFERENCE OR SPEAKERS IS PROHIBITED

Written consent may be given by speakers, but 1st RC staff will need to be informed prior.

At registration we will have a waiver of liability and a photo release form that must be signed. If you have any questions regarding the waiver please contact us, so we can be of assistance.

COVID-19 SAFETY INFORMATION

Currently there are no mandated restrictions related to COVID. However, the CDC recommends masks for anyone who have not yet been vaccinated, and are in an area of high transmission. 1st Responder Conferences suggests following these guidelines and will also have disposable masks available at the registration desk, if needed or wanted.

At registration we will have a waiver of liability and a photo release form that must be signed. If you have any questions regarding the waiver please contact us, so we can be of assistance.

To download a flyer please visit www.1stresponderconferences.org or contact us for flyers, basic info letters, and sponsor/industry partner/vendor forms for your organizations to share.

Please note, sometimes we have last minute speaker changes due to unforeseen reasons.