CHAPLAINS ASSOCIATION for PUBLIC SAFETY - THURSTON COUNTY (CAPS-TC)

builds and maintains an association of Chaplains who have the desire, ability and availability to serve our community.

At CAPS-TC, our mission is to provide crisis support services to Thurston County, WA First Responders, as well as on-scene support/emergency assistance for members of the community. At the direction of First Responders, a cadre of specially trained volunteer Chaplains provide critical incident stress management support, as well as grief and trauma care, crisis response and presence, emotional support, and spiritual encouragement, as requested and appropriate.

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WHO

WHO WE ARE

CAPS-TC Chaplains serve Police and Fire Departments throughout Thurston County, WA.

Public Safety Chaplains

Russ Barstow, SETFA

Dane Bauersfeld, Lacey FD 3

Lacey FD 3

Rob Bradley, Olympia FD

Olympia FD

Steve Bradley, TCSO

TCSO

Steve Brooks, Lacey FD 3

Lee Brooks, Lacey FD 3

Lacey FD 3

Jonathan Clemens, S Bay FD

FD8

Jordyn Craig, Lacey FD 3

Describe your image.

Connie Densmore, Tenino FD

FD12

Ed Densmore, Tenino FD

FD12

Dan Difolco, Lacey FD 3

Chris Gorman, Lacey FD 3

FD3

Aaron Hall, WTRFA

WTRFA

Steve Pace, Olympia PD

OPD

April Ramirez-Peterson, Lacey FD 3

Bruce Sanders, TCSO

TCSO

Bill Terhune, TCOMM

Art Mize, South Bay FD

Nick VanKirk, South Bay FD

South Bay FD

Rob Warner, Tumwater FD

Tumwater PD

Tom Williams, South Bay FD 8

Affiliated Agencies

East Olympia

OFD

Griffin

Griffin Fire Department - THURSTON COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT 13

Lacey Fire

LFD

Olympia Fire

Olympia Fire Department

Southbay

Thurston County Fire Protection District 8 SOUTH BAY FIRE DEPARTMENT

South East Thurston

Serving the cities of Yelm, Rainier, and surrounding unincorporated areas.

West Thurston Regional

The 158 square mile response zone stretches approximately 12 miles east and west along Interstate Five from the city limits of Tumwater to the Lewis County Line.

Thurston County Sheriff's Office

TCSO

Yelm Police

Yelm Police Department

OlympiaPolice

TCOMM 911

A 501(c)(3) organization, TCOMM 911 is a state-of-the-art 24x7 operation. We answer both 911 and 7-digit emergency calls.

Coroner's Office

Board of Directors

Dave Pearsall, Chair

A CAPS founding Board Member, Dave is a 36-year law enforcement veteran retiring from the Thurston County Sheriff's Office as a Chief Deputy. He and his wife Deana have 2 sons and several grandkids. Dave also serves as an elected Fire Commissiner for the Griffin Fire Department.

Greg Cuoio, Vice Chair

A founding Board Member, Greg served as the City Manager of Lacey, WA for 24 years, and retired in 2011 following 40 years of local government service.

Dan Weiss, Secretary/Treasurer

A CAPS founding Board Member, Dan served in both public and private organizations in executive positions focused on finance and organizational development. In retirement, Dan and his wife Mary volunteer for a number of local charitable organizations.

Wendy Hill, Member

Wendy joined the CAPS-TC board in November, 2020. She has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and currently serves as the Executive Director for Thurston 911 Communications. She and her husband Jeff have two sons and a daughter.

Bill Terhune, Lead Chaplain

A CAPS founding Board Member, Bill & his family are long-time Thurston County residents & have volunteered with schools & churches for over 40 years. He served 28 years as a county firefighter, EMT, & officer, & a county chaplain since 2004.

Greg Wright, Retired Fire Chief

A CAPS founding Board Member, Greg retired after 35 years in fire service. Retired Fire Chief Wright played a significant role in the Olympia Fire Department Chaplains program.

Bruce Sanders, Advisor

A CAPS founding Board Member, Bruce has lived & served in thurston County since 1989. He leads a local non-demoninational Christain Church. Having a huge heart for first responders, he began serving as a TCSO Chaplain in 1990. Bruce & his wife Lyndia have 3 adult children & 5 grandchildren.

Bob Zych, Member

Since moving to Thurston County from Chicago in 1988, Bob had a professional career building, managing, and administering computer systems for private & state organizations. He volunteers for several local non-profit Boards.

ARE YOU CALLED TO SUPPORT THE FIELD OF PUBLIC SAFETY CHAPLAINCY?

Contact CAPS-TC to find out more about how you can
get involved and support this vital work in our community.

Office Email
contact@caps-tc.org

Office Phone
360-870-2246

Our public safety Chaplains support and respond to calls directly from Thurston County first responders providing emergency response in our community. CAPS-TC Chaplains do not respond to general requests from the public.

Karen Cunningham, Member

Retired Behavioral Health Provider in private practice and General Service, serving civilian and military personnel and families. Licensed independent clinical social worker (LICSW) practicing social work in a range of capacities to assess, treat and diagnose clients with mental, emotional and psycho-social ailments.

Rob Bradley, Chaplain Coordinator

OUR MISSION

At CAPS-TC, our mission is to provide crisis support services to First Responders, as well as the individuals directly impacted by incident calls. 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, our volunteer Public Safety Chaplains respond to hundreds of service calls each year, directly providing service to First Responders and to the nearly 290,000 residents of Thurston County.

After successful completion of our training program, our Chaplains are equipped to serve in the following ways:

On-Scene Support: emergency assistance for first responders & members of the community
Crisis Intervention: suicide prevention, mental health first aid & other crisis mediation services
Death Notifications: contact, notify & support next of kin after the loss of a loved one
Peer Team & Critical Incident Stress Management Support: facilitate and participate in activities to aid in healthy recovery & reactivation
Career Support: provide support that aids in keeping personnel on-center and in-service
Family Support: provide support to family members & participate in Family Association events
Line of Duty Death Support: provide support to the families and peers of fallen first responders
Community Outreach: participate in events that strengthen relationships with the community

Thurston County TCOMM tracks our CAPS-TC incident calls. The 911 call outs represent less than half of the Chaplain activity. Our group of volunteer Chaplains are committed 24/7 to supporting a healthy fire and law enforcement workforce and their families.