2009 Champions of Compassion

In 2005, Mayor Hugh Hallman and CARE INC set out to do something that had never been accomplished in Tempe or even Arizona.  Collaborate with the faith community to provide training for the first 72 hours of citizen emergency preparedness.

Mayor Hallman consulted with Police Chief Tom Ryff and Fire Chief Cliff Jones and formed a task force for the program HURT – Holistic Urgent Response Training.  HURT is widely utilized throughout Tempe, and now has been adopted by the Citizens Corp of Central Arizona, and National Organizations as well.

CARE INC understands that this success would not have happened without the support and guidance of Chief Ryff and Chief Jones.  Members of the Police and Fire Departments were instrumental in building and implementing a “Train the Trainer” program – preparing community leaders so they in turn could teach members of their congregations to be ready to survive and assist in the event of an emergency.  To show how strongly the Chiefs felt about this initiative, either they or their representatives attended every training event over the past 3 years.

Tom Ryff and Cliff Jones speak with passion about helping people and are committed through a sense of urgency to have the community of Tempe prepared.  In keeping with this, CARE INC, For Our City and the HURT Directors have chosen Chief Tom Ryff and Chief Cliff Jones as the 2009 Champions of Compassion.