Councilman bumped from EMA short list

By Josh Sweigart, Staff Writer

HAMILTON — The Butler County Emergency Management Agency has narrowed down the list of applicants for agency director to two — both from outside Ohio.

The finalists are Jeff Galloway, emergency management director in Fentress County, Tenn.; and Joey Henderson, emergency management specialist for the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the Washington D.C., region.

“We’re looking for someone who has the experience, someone who has an impeccable record, impeccable background, someone who showed leadership skills and experience writing grants,” said Fairfield Mayor Ron D’Epifanio, a member of the EMA governing board.

EMA Interim Director Sue Isaacs said the board hopes to have a final pick within a couple weeks.

The job comes with a salary of at least $60,000 per year. It has been vacant since former EMA Director William Turner resigned amid pressure in March after criticism of his handling of windstorms in September.

One suspected favorite for the job who didn’t make the short list was Bill Becker; the Middletown councilman is a former former police chief and city manager.

D’Epifanio called Becker a “fine, fine man,” but said “there were just other people who had more qualifications.”

Prior to heading emergency management in Fentress County, Galloway’s resume says he was a lieutenant in the Palm Beach County fire department in Florida, where he worked since 1984. He has extensive training in firefighting and emergency response.

Henderson’s resume says he was responsible for two training exercises before Pesident Obama’s inauguration. Before his FEMA post, he was training and exercise administrator for the Maryland Emergency Management Agency. The former Baltimore firefighter holds a master’s degree in management from Johns Hopkins University.

D’Epifanio said the board was not intentionally trying to hire someone from outside Butler County. It just turned out that way.

“I think everybody was given an equal chance,” he said.