JOPLIN, Mo. —
Jane Cage and the residents of Joplin have received the Rick Rescorla National Award for Resilience from Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano for helping Joplin recover from the May 22, 2011, tornado.
Cage, 56, led the Citizens Advisory Recovery Team in its creation of a tornado-recovery plan for the city.
According to a statement released Thursday by Napolitano’s office, Cage “demonstrated exceptional leadership in helping the Joplin community recover from the devastating May tornado.”
The award also honored Joplin’s response after the nation’s worst tornado in nearly 70 years.
“The Rick Rescorla National Award for Resilience recognizes outstanding response to a catastrophic incident and leadership in fostering resilient and prepared communities,” Napolitano said in the statement.
“Jane Cage and the Joplin community demonstrate this spirit of resilience and strength, serving as models for communities across our nation.”
Cage created the “Listening to Joplin” plan, which served as the foundation of the community’s recovery efforts. The Citizens Advisory Recovery Team used a variety of opportunities to reach people across the community, including those who were personally overwhelmed by their own losses from the storm.
Cage said she was surprised last Friday when she got the call from Napolitano notifying her that she was the recipient of the award. She was asked to not say anything until it was made public on Thursday.
Cage said that while she served as the “public face” of the recovery efforts, the award belongs to all the residents.
“Everybody has been working hard, not just me,” she said Thursday.
She said Joplin is a community that has not let itself be defined by the tornado, but rather by its response to the disaster.
“People see us as a community that didn’t wait, but stepped up to help ourselves,” she said.
Napolitano’s statement praised the entire community for “deciding together to build more resilient schools outside of the flood plain, develop stronger standards for home construction, and to develop shared facilities to use as storm shelters.”
Other honors
JANE CAGE, a longtime Joplin businesswoman with Heartland Technology Solutions, was recognized as the Outstanding Citizen of the Year in April during the annual banquet put on by the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce.
May 2011 Joplin tornado
Jane Cage, Joplin residents recognized for ‘resilience’
- May 2011 Joplin tornado
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FACES OF RECOVERY: 176,869 volunteers help put Joplin together again
They initially came in droves, pouring into Joplin by the thousands during the months following the May 2011 tornado to clear debris, clean up damaged homes and businesses and distribute donations of food, water, clothing and other necessities.
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SLIDESHOW: One year later, One day of unity, updated
Photos from a day of events commemorating the May 22, 2011 tornado anniversary
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Therapy dogs
Any question that Louie was bred to put people as ease is put to rest when the golden retriever trots over to where a visitor sits and puts his head on their knee, the dog’s eyes filled with a gentle affection.
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Nova Kluseman and Jeanne Morrow
Nova Kluseman has staked her claim on Wednesdays at the Mercy medical office clinics where she volunteers. The staff at Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri will know it’s Thursday when they see Jeanne Morrow walk through the door.
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Greentree Community Church
Every two months, Joplin plays host to some now-familiar faces. They’re members of Greentree Community Church in St. Louis, and they have “adopted” the city as one of their mission projects since the tornado.
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Virginia Laas
Virginia Laas isn’t an accountant or bookkeeper by trade. But when the tornado caused significant damage to Joplin Schools, and subsequently spurred a massive landslide of donations to the district, Laas voluntarily stepped into those roles to fill a need that administrators were too busy to handle.
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Rebecca Williams
Two years after the tornado, Rebecca Williams remains committed to helping people around the world keep up with the progress that has been made in Joplin.
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Community Outreach Team
While it didn’t yet have a formal name, the seeds of Freeman Health System’s Community Outreach Team were planted in the hours following the tornado.
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Jewish Disaster Response Corps
“Tikkun olam” is Hebrew for “repairing the world,” and the concept — of service to others, of helping those in need — is prevalent in Judaism.
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Dorothy Maples
Dorothy Maples always felt a calling to volunteer, whether it was participating in a fundraiser or giving a hand to help someone in need.
- More May 2011 Joplin tornado Headlines
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