Let Corps Member Boom and Christie Serve

Christie Buzzell has worked very hard while she has been serving the last two years. She has never had another incident. The timing of this incident was unfortunate because of the unforeseen flash flood which forced them to spend the night. It's my understanding that policies have been broken by other Corps members and grace has been given to them. Grace should also be given here. Please reinstate Christie and Boom and let them graduate from the program. Their hearts are in the right place and their wrongdoing was unintentional.

I served with Christie last year and I know her pretty well. I think that the dismissal was out of line, especially given the fact that this particular offense does not have a defined automatic dismissal. I think there was a lapse in leadership and I urge Ken and Jolie to consider this appeal and give Christie and Boom another shot at finishing their service.

There is no reason to terminate their service over a single mistake that they were not at fault for.

If they had permission, then they had permission. The travel request was approved therefore no rules were actually broken.

Former VISTA. Given the situation, it seems like Boom and Christie had to make a difficult decision that was the correct one, but may have contradicted policy. I know Christie has served several years as a volunteer, it would be a crime not to reconsider her reinstatement. These people deserve better treatment after devoting so much of their time to your organization.

Boom is a hard working young man who has no intention to do anything wrong i.e. disobey a directive. It is obvious and apparent that there was a total meltdown in communication on both parties at hand. The ones who should be remove from servicing is the leadership because the situation wasn't made clear to the field staff. The leadership has a inherited responsibility to look at totality of the situation and come to a reasonable and sensible decision that young leaders will make mistakes and shouldn't be punished unjustly for a situation that wasn't in there control. To relieve and remove Boom from the program is mistake on the leadership part. Please reinstate Boom in the program right now. He is America's future leader. I confidence that you will not regret. Thank you

Christy and Boom were sent home because of policy. Fact. Christy and Boom were never given the chance to be heard as people. They weren't given a fair hearing. No team leader to inform them of their rights and abilities as corps members. I would like give them both character statements that they never were given because they didn't know the severity of this action they did. Christy is an amazing human, one of the best! I got a chance to learn so much from her. Her positivity and ability to make useless work important again is something we miss a great deal from our team. Boom is also a great person and he would literally do anything for anyone if they needed it. He like Christy kept our moral up and I never really heard the guy complain about anything. They both were crucial members to have on teams, and it is a great loss to loose them as corps members at this stage in the program.

Let's be realistic, this decision was based solely off of a policy that had been broken. This had nothing to do with neither Boom nor Christie's character. If this was based off of Boom and Christie's character, then there would be no reason to send them home. Both Boom and Christie are exceptional corps members and have gone above and beyond the minimum requirements for a basic work day. They have made a large contribution to the team as well as the communities they have served. The real issue here is the fact that two incredible corps members were sent home for violating a policy that has no consistent form of punishment. In the past, I have witnessed first hand, corps members violating this policy except, their only punishment was a write up and extra instruction. How is it that two corps members can take the van to a destination when at the time, they were supposed to have three members to a van and only receive a small punishment? Yet, when two members who have permission to take the van, are both given write ups, extra instruction and then dismissed from the program. It would be nice to consider people and not just the rules however, if the administration chooses to consider the rules, then they need to reconsider not just this rule but, a handful of other rules. A mistake was made and a severe punishment was given. Is the administration willing to except the fact that there are flaws in the policy or will they just take this as a loss of a huge investment?

Christie Buzzell and Boom Yang are some of the hardest most dedicated workers I have met. They also have great personalities that were able to cheer you up when you were going through a tough time. The mistake was made on both sides. Along with that, all the cm's of Fire 3 had admitted to the mistake yet only 2 were harshly punished. Many times I have heard that cm's were given a chance to stay in the program but I have yet to know of any who were given a fair chance or able to prove that they won't make a mistake like that again. I know that if they were allowed back, they'd make a real effort to make up for the error on their end. This program means everything to them. Now will the administration admit their mistake and allow them back in?

I think it is clear at this point that a mistake was made on both ends. The question now is: will the administration have the humility to admit this mistake and the courage to rectify it?

We have truly lost two of the best corps members that this unit has. A mistake was made but the punishment does not fit the crime. I feel as if an example was made out of them but this program is about so much more than that. These are two people, not just a number or inanimate object. Our team is falling apart because of this loss and this area could use all the help it can get right now. I truly hope you will take the time to reconsider because I don't believe that this decision has helped our team, unit or this community at all.

Our family had Boom & fire team over for Christmas, please reconsider his dismissal, as he does not deserve to be let go over a miscommunication/first offense...I am sure he has proven to be a valuable team member. I am quite certain that I met Christie at the spring barbeque our house...all 26 members were quite impressive! :) I urge that this situation be reviewed and reconsidered. Thank you.

I would expect the corps to have a high standard on their members.... But this seems a bit extreme... They made an informed decision as young adults. It may not have been the best one, but I'm sure they have learned from that decision and want to do if a situation like that arrives again.

I served with Christie last year in Class XXa. She's such a kind hearted person and I know she wouldn't put herself in danger. Her dedication is highly performed in NCCC even with the circumstances she's been through this service year. Christie is an amazing CM and I would love to serve with her no matter what project we're on! It doesn't just affect Fire Unit of Class XXIa, it also affects Class XXa. Please reconsider back into the program!

Consider people not just rules. Good luck boom

Everyone makes mistakes, but not everyone gives their life to other for 10 months.

I've known Boom for over 8 years, Boom is a great person and loves to serve, I'm confident that he did not go out of his way to make an issue. I have a lot of friends in NCCC and I am an alumni of FEMA Corps, you will not find anyone more proud to serve than Boom. Every week he is posting pictures of his service and he is getting others interested in serving and it looks like he is having the time of his life. Please reconsider.

People make mistakes. While I understand that Christie and Boom's offense is serious, I feel that action should be taken at a team-wide level and not a corps-wide level. Even though what they did was a serious problem, the decided solution caused more problems than what it was trying to solve. Fire 3 is now seriously disadvantaged and it has caused a major controversy among the Fire Unit. I am not saying that Boom and Christie's actions should go without consequence, but I think dismissal from the program was overkill.

I have had the honor to have both Christie and Boom on my team this year. Both are highly motivated individuals that only want to do good. I am not excusing their wrong doing, but I can't imagine dismissing them is doing any good for anyone... This includes not only their team, but fire unit as a whole as well as the project they were on. In the end does dismissing corps members help develop a leader and integrate a positively motivated individual back into society?

Our encounters on campus have been nothing but positive. Boom is a friendly guy who had a positive energy about him.