OEM Coordinator addresses Nashville Rotary Club

Howard County Office of Emergency Management coordinator Cecil McGee was the speaker at this week’s Nashville Rotary Club.

Prior to taking over the OEM position in Howard County, McGee worked for Exxon Mobile for 31 years as a safety coordinator. He also reminded Rotarians that today is the anniversary of the Valdez oil spill.

McGee stated his job is to provide resources that are needed to plan, prepare, respond and recover from a natural or manmade disaster.

He explained his job as four parts and it includes mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. He said he also is the county’s 911 address coordinator, flood plan administrator, fire service coordinator, county safety coordinator and search and rescue.

He said Howard County is a storm ready county and recommended everyone sign up for Code Red. You can sign up for Code Red by visiting our website at southwest arkansas radio dot com and click on the community bulletin board page. He also recommended you purchase a NOAA radio for your home.

At the conclusion of the meeting, McGee addressed the county’s 911 system and explained what he thought the county needed to do about it.

He stated the county needed to move into the 21st century and upgrade the 911 system to a digital system.

McGee has been serving as the Howard County OEM coordinator for the past 6 months.