Greene County Commissioner Derek Burress, and Lenoir County Commissioner Linda Rouse Sutton, completed the 100 Counties Prepared Emergency Preparedness Training for County Commissioners at the N.C. Association of County Commissioners’ (NCACC) 115th Annual Conference in Cabarrus County on Aug. 11. 

Burress and Sutton was one of 61 county officials to complete the class, which was the culmination of Brunswick County Commissioner and NCACC Past President Frank Williams’ 100 Counties Prepared presidential initiative. 

“County governments perform a number of important functions, but the stakes are higher during an emergency,” said NCACC Past President Frank Williams. “I commend every county commissioner and county official who completed this class for their willingness to strengthen their knowledge and skills of how to lead more effectively when it matters the most.” 

N.C. Director of Emergency Management Will Ray joined Past President Williams in signing certificates of completion for all attendees. Ray also provided a video keynote address, in which he stated, “thank you to Commissioner Williams and to the 100 Counties Prepared task force co-chairs and members for the important work done on this critical initiative. This training course is a vital piece to continuing the sustainment and improvement of emergency preparedness across our state. We know that we will continue to have events and incidents that impact North Carolina that will be across all hazards, and we will need counties’ continued partnership, standing shoulder-to-shoulder together as we continue to serve our communities.” 

Williams announced the 100 Counties Prepared initiative upon being sworn in as NCACC President at the NCACC annual conference in 2021 and appointed a statewide task force shortly thereafter. The initiative was borne out of Williams’ experience serving as chair of the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners during Hurricanes Florence, Dorian and Isaias, through which he observed a lack of emergency preparedness training suitable for elected officials. The 100 Counties Prepared training was created to fill that void by equipping elected officials with the tools, resources and information needed to lead effectively during emergencies such as natural disasters, public health crises, and other critical incident situations. 

“Through my experience serving as chair of the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners during multiple hurricanes, including Florence, I observed that our staff was well trained, but there was little to no emergency preparedness training suitable for elected officials,” said Williams. “Thanks to the hard work of our task force and NCACC staff and the commitment of the county officials who completed our first class, we have taken a major step toward filling that void. I’m also grateful to the steadfast support of N.C. Emergency Management Director Will Ray throughout this process and we look forward to a continued partnership.” 

The full day of training included:

•A high-level overview of the complex myriad of legal terminology, roles, and responsibilities related to emergency preparedness and management presented by Kate Van Tol, N.C. Emergency Management Legal Fellow.

• A discussion about the proper role of commissioners in the emergency management process led by Brunswick County Commissioner Randy Thompson and Washington County Commissioner Ann Keyes, both of whom are retired county-level emergency managers.

• A session on crisis communication led by Julie Parker of Julie Parker Communications and Meagan Kascsak, Brunswick County’s Director of Communications.

• A panel discussion featuring former N.C. Emergency Management Director Mike Sprayberry and former FEMA Director Brock Long.

For more information, please visit www.100countiesprepared.com.