2019 Fall Conference Photos and Presentation Slides
North Carolina Emergency Management
2019 Fall Conference
November 3rd – 6th, 2019
Wilmington, North Carolina
Fall Conference Agenda:
2019 Fall Conference Schedule
Fall Conference Presentations:
The North Carolina Emergency Management Association wishes to “Thank” the members of the
Training Branch of the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management
for both their conference audio/visual support and their acquisition of the below PowerPoint presentations;
we really appreciate their assistance.
Vendor Contact Information
New Hanover County Emergency Management – Road to Resiliency
Catawba River Basin Flood – Catawba County
Catawba River Basin Flooding – Mecklenburg County – Part One
Catawba River Basin Flooding – Mecklenburg County – Part Two
So You Think You’re Ready for a Drone Program – Local Best Practices
State Emergency Response Application (SERA) Overview
Connecting Weather, Public Health, and Emergency Management – Tools for Decision Support
MultiAgency Shelter Simulation Exercise – Choreographing Chaos
Debris Management Lessons Learned
Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan Update Status
National Weather Service Seasonal Forecast Outlook
Five Steps to Better Continuity Planning
Legal Issues in Emergency Management
Lessons Learned from Emergency Managements Role in a Cyber Event
Fall Conference Photographs:
Hotel Ballast and Wilmington, North Carolina
Opening Ceremonies
We want to “thank” the New Hanover Sherriff’s Department Honor Guard
for their participation in the “Presentation of Colors Ceremony”
during the Conference Opening Ceremonies.
Karyn Yaussy (Catawba County Emergency Manager and our North Carolina
Emergency Management Association President) presided over the
North Carolina Emergency Management 2019 Fall Conference “Opening Ceremonies.”
Then Steven Still (New Hanover County Emergency Management Director)
provided an official “Welcome” to both the conference and to the local community.
Mike Sprayberry (North Carolina Division of Emergency Management Director)
also provided a “Welcome” to the Spring Conference.
Then, Angie Ledford (Buncombe County Emergency Management and NCEMA Program Committee Chairman)
provided “conference announcements” at the close of the “Opening Ceremonies”……
At the Monday Evening President’s Reception
A Look at the Fall Conference Sessions
Fall Conference Presenters
JD Limberger (Senior Strategy and Continuous Improvement Analyst with New Hanover County, who serves as
Logistics Section Chief during Emergency Operations Center activations) and Kate Oelslager (New Hanover County
Communications and Outreach Coordinator) discussed New Hanover County Hurricane Florence
recovery activities and lessons learned as a result of those activities.
Hope Morgan (North Carolina Division of Emergency Management Information Technology Manager) provided an
overview of how to use the “State Emergency Response Application for Emergency Managers and First Responders.”
Ferdouz Cochran (Climate-Health Integration and Outreach Associate for the Carolinas Integrated
Sciences and Assessments) discussed the Convergence of Climate-Health Vulnerabilities website
(at https://convergence.unc.edu/); which is designed to help inform emergency managers
about the likelihood of hazardous events and their impacts to public health in North Carolina.
Karyn Yaussy (Emergency Manager for Catawba County) and Tony Bateman (a Planner with the
Charlotte Mecklenburg Emergency Management Office) discussed the June 2019 Catawba River Basin Flood;
providing an overview of the challenges faced with numerous water rescues,
shelter openings and significant infrastructure damage.
Shane Seagroves (Lee County Emergency Services Director) and Zach Shean (Harnett County
Emergency Management Coordinator) provided a two part presentation that first covered
the basics of starting an agency unmanned aircraft systems program
and then discussed the political aspects and public perception of such a program.
Chris Crew (State Hazard Mitigation Officer with the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management)
provided an overview of progress-to-date of the Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan update process;
as well as news concerning funding programs.
Steve Pfaff (Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the National Weather Service (NWS) Forecast Office
in Wilmington NC) examined the large scale weather pattern and climate features that may impact North Carolina’s
weather during the next six months; and provided an outlook for the upcoming Winter and Spring seasons.
Jim McArthur (Deputy Director of Emergency Management and EMS Coordinator for Pitt County) and
Kathy Sheppard (Preparedness Coordinator for the Pitt County Health Department) discussed a multi-agency
shelter simulation exercise they had been involved with; that had enabled county staff to use lessons learned
from the exercise to improve the sheltering experience for both Hurricane Florence and Hurricane Dorian.
Norma Houston (faculty member at the UNC School of Government and a Senior Legal Advisory to the
North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency) and Justin Gibbs (Hyde County Emergency Services Director)
reviewed debris management lessons learned as a result of several recent major disasters……
along with pitfalls to avoid that jeopardize reimbursement for debris costs.
Jason Stogner (Emergency Management Director at Winston-Salem State University)
focused on steps to improve the continuity planning process; discussing five key steps to make
continuity planning less daunting and easier to achieve for any size organization.
Kirby Saunders (Orange County Emergency Management Coordinator) and Sarah Pickhardt
(Orange County Emergency Management Planner) discussed lessons learned from the March 2019 Cyber Incident
that occurred in Orange County; providing an overview of the local emergency management’s role,
opportunities for success and suggested strategies for other local emergency management programs.
Norma Houston (faculty member at the UNC School of Government and a Senior Legal Advisory to the
North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency) provided a grab-bag discussion of emergency management
legal issues; that included bidding disaster contracts properly, the closure of roads across counties and cities
and the jurisdictional relationship between cities and counties in emergency management.
During the Conference “Breaks”
NCEMA “Lifetime Members” Attending the Fall Conference
Gary Jones, Frank Thomason, Gary Pope and Randy Thompson
Visiting with the Vendors……
“Thanks” to them for making our conference a success.
North Carolina Voluntary Organizations
Active in Disaster (VOAD) Quarterly Meeting
“Networking” and the Banquet
North Carolina Emergency Management Certification Presentations
“Congratulations” to Anthony “Todd” Stanton (Lincoln County) and Ian Crain (City of Concord);
who were presented their North Carolina Emergency Management “Associate Level” Certifications.
“Congratulations” to Charles Cameron “Cam” Coburn (Pitt County), Christopher Gonyar (UNC – Charlotte)
and Samuel Kornegay (Lenoir County); who were presented their North Carolina Emergency Management
“Executive Level” Certifications. Also awarded “Executive Level” Certifications were
Derrell B. Clark (Duke Energy) and Rick Davis (Sherrills Ford – Terrell Fire/Rescue).
North Carolina Emergency Management Association Awards
Phillip McCorquodale (Phillip’s Towing Service) was awarded the James F. Buffalo Award……
which is presented to the person outside of the Emergency Management family
who has exhibited outstanding support and leadership to emergency management agencies.
Jason Reavis (Vance County Emergency Operations) was awarded the Vance E. Kee Award……
which is presented to the Local Emergency Management Staff Person who has demonstrated
outstanding achievement in their local Emergency Management program, through promoting
Emergency Management among other County and State agencies and elected officials.
David Leonard (Area 10 Coordinator, Central Branch Office of the North Carolina
Division of Emergency Management) was awarded the Colonel William A. Thompson Award……
presented to the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management employee who has demonstrated
outstanding achievement in assisting Local Emergency Management Coordinators
with programs, incidents and information. The award was accepted by Mike Sprayberry
(Director of the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management).
Doug Logan (Granville County Emergency Services) was awarded the Colonel Phillip Nichlos Waters Award……
presented to the Local Emergency Management Coordinator/Director who has demonstrated
outstanding achievement in their local Emergency Management program and has
contributed to the overall good and advancement of the Emergency Management System in the State.
Karyn Yaussy (outgoing NCEMA President) recognized Jason Burnett (Cabarrus County
Emergency Management and chairman of our Association’s Constitution and By-laws Committee)
for his dedication, support and contributions beyond what was required
to the North Carolina Emergency Management Association.
Newly elected North Carolina Emergency Management Association President Brent Fisher (Nash County)
congratulates “out-going” President Karyn Yaussy (Catawba County) for her leadership and dedication
during the past year of her service. Then……he spoke briefly concerning his hopes for the future for our Association
and then he “closed out” the Banquet by “thanking” those who worked so hard to make the evening a success.