The Tennessee
Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), as an agency of the State of
Procurement
Information
TEMA purchases
materials and supplies through the state department of General Services,
Purchasing Division. This first step in becoming a vendor with which the
agency can do business is to become a registered vendor with the state's
Purchasing Division. Specific instructions, forms, and information needed
to accomplish this process may be found at the Purchasing Division web
site on
doing business with the state. For items that are available on an
existing statewide contract, the agency is required to purchase from these
contracts unless the items on the contract are not suitable to the purpose for
which they are needed.
During emergencies,
the agency is able to utilize special regulations and laws that allow the
agency to bypass certain requirements during times of crisis. The state
Purchasing Division normally deploys an Emergency Services Coordinator to the
State EOC during emergencies to facilitate the purchase and acquisition of
emergency supplies. Note that any vendor wishing to sell or rent
material, services or supplies to the state during an emergency must still be a
registered vendor as outlined above. On the registration form, there is a
specific section to be completed to provide for your organization's emergency
and after-hours contact information specifically for this purpose.
If you know that TEMA
is requesting bids for a specific item or group of items, you can find the
current list of Invitations to Bid here. Requests for Proposals for
services and solutions outside the scope of a state contract may be found here.
For all questions or
issues related to the payment of invoices by TEMA, regardless of whether they
are related to routine purchases or disaster/emergency purchases, please
contact the agency's Business Office at 615-741-3881.
Marketing
to TEMA
Parties or vendors
with services or good they believe may be of interest to the agency or the
emergency services community in general are encouraged
to contact Mr. Cecil Whaley, Director of Operations, at 615-741-0640. Note
however, that since the majority of direct, on-scene emergency response
activities take place at the local government level, the agency buys relatively
little emergency-related equipment that is not already on a state contract.
Donations
Many people often
want to help following any significant disaster or emergency. Their first
thoughts generally move toward donating money or material to assist disaster
victims. While donated items are often appreciated, in many instances the
logistics associated with organizing and distributing donated goods take away
from the efficient handling of the disaster response itself. Individual
users are encourage to read the "Tips for
Donating in an Emergency" Fact Sheet. Businesses and other
organizations wishing to donate goods during a major emergency or disaster
should contract TEMA's Donations Coordinator, Mr. Bill
Cooper at 615-741-1221.
Volunteering
TEMA frequently
receives inquiries from citizens willing to donate their time or services to a
disaster or perhaps to a local emergency services organization. TEMA
itself does not presently utilize volunteers. When the agency receives
such an inquiry, the person is usually directed to the local emergency management agency serving their community or the Tennessee Volunteers Active In Disasters (TNVOAD) group. Local
officials are in a much better position to know what is needed in their
communities, and to know where to direct the person in order to achieve the
greatest benefit to the community.
A new initiative
called CitizenCorps has been launched by the federal
government in an attempt to encourage people to devote volunteer time and
service to their local community.