Schlobohm steps down as PIO for Reading
by Jason Johnston jason@emporiagazette.com
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Barbara Schlobohm is stepping down Friday as the public information officer of Reading, a position created to handle the chaotic aftermath of the May 21 tornado.
“For the most part what I was originally hired to do has more or less started coming to an end,” Schlobohm said. “It is just time for the (city) employees to take the job over.”
She took the job about two weeks after the tornado, she said. Reading paid her for 35 hours of work per week, but she put in 50 to 60 hours. The rest was volunteer time.
Reading City Clerk Carol Ann Higgins said the city thought the Federal Emergency Management Agency was going to pay for Schlobohm’s position. The city instead had to pay for her position, which it could not afford. City Hall will take over Schlobohm’s duties after Friday.
Schlobohm said, as the information officer, she met countless people who were loving, kind, generous and unselfish.
“(Monday), I (was) finishing up a project with the Ruritans,” she said. “They are wanting to buy a Christmas game and a sweatshirt for all the kids that were affected by the tornado.”
The public information officer position handles everything from relief efforts to media assistance.
Schlobohm works with the long-term recovery committee, which includes representatives of local charity organizations.
Mike Dorcey is one of the committee members. He chairs the group, Community Organizations Active in Disaster — which manages spontaneous volunteers.
“Since the tornado, Barbara...(played) an important role in the community in terms of keeping lines of communication open and keeping accurate information...” said Mike Dorcey,
The committee appreciates Schlobohm’s help, he said.
Reading must stay focused for the long term, Schlobohm said. It cannot worry so much about what is going on today as what it wants to see going on in the future.
“The people here have been extremely resilient,” she said.
The city is trying to get funding for a new park by next spring, Schlobohm said. She is a member of the Reading United Methodist Church. The city used the church as a civic center after the tornado.
Schlobohm is a retired school teacher. She taught for 33 years, mostly sixth grade in the Lebo-Waverly Unified School District.
She is married to Charles Schlobohm. They have two sons, two daughters and one granddaughter.
Schlobohm said she hopes to spend more time with her family.