Galveston County Daily News, Dec. 28, 2006GALVESTON, Texas – The National Council on Readiness and Preparation is coming to Galveston Jan. 18 to honor the city’s emergency evacuation plan. Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas spoke on the plan at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in March. She has also been invited to co-chair a national congress on the blueprint in February. Rudy Giuliani, former New York mayor, will be the keynote speaker of that meeting. “Galveston was applauded for how they handled evacuation,” said Mary Jo Nashke, public information officer for the city of Galveston in emergency situations. Among the city’s accomplishments, evacuation of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston ranks high. “It was the first time in history that a medical facility evacuated in such a short period of time,” Nashke said.