Chris Graff has been elected chair of the Vermont Long Term Disaster Recovery Group, Inc, which administers the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund and coordinates long term disaster recovery in Vermont.
He succeeds David Coates, who was named to chair the panel by Governor Peter Shumlin immediately following Tropical Storm Irene.
At the time of Irene Vermont did not have a formal structure to provide direct relief to individuals. That led to the creation of the Vermont Long-Term Recovery Group and the incorporation of the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund.
Under Coates’ leadership the board hired staff, built a case management system to help disaster survivors rebuild their lives, and raised more than $7 million to provide disaster recovery assistance. The Vermont Disaster Relief Fund is designed to meet the unmet needs of disaster survivors ‘ after federal and state assistance, private insurance, aid from regional and local recovery groups and private foundations.
‘Vermonters owe David Coates a debt of thanks,’ said Gov. Peter Shumlin. ‘It has been my commitment to rebuild Vermont better than Irene found us. David Coates’ leadership of the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund is helping to make that come true.’
The recovery group provided assistance to roughly 400 cases from 2011 flooding and another 20 cases stemming from 2013 flooding. A number of Irene-related cases remain pending. The group ‘ and the fund ‘ will remain in place for future disasters.
David Coates is a retired managing partner of KPMG’s Burlington, Vermont, office and has held numerous leadership positions for government, non-profit, and community organizations. He is a member of the Governor's Council of Economic Advisers, the Vermont Debt Affordability Advisory Committee, the Vermont Municipal Bond Bank and the American Institute of CPAs. He is a Director of National Life Group, Green Mountain Power Corp., A.N. Deringer, Inc., Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company (Advisory Board), VELCO, and the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation. He was elected as the Vermont Chamber of Commerce's Citizen of the Year for 2003.
Chris Graff, who oversees corporate communications and government relations at National Life Group, is a former journalist with The Associated Press. For 15 years, Chris hosted Vermont This Week, a public affairs program on Vermont Public Television. He is a trustee of Vermont College of Fine Arts and served on the Council on the Future of Vermont and the Commission on the Future of Vermont’s Justice System.
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VDRF: January 13, 2014
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Chris Graff succeeds David Coates as chair of the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund
Submitted by tim
on