Region 22 director resigns

"I hired on at Region 22 Emergency Management to January 26, of 2015; about 9 1/2 years now. I always wanted to be an emergency manager since my teenage years," Newman said.

 

He started working for an ambulance service. He became the liaison between the Emergency Operations Center and the ambulance crew. The experience encouraged him to continue. He has learned that emergency management has many parts to it.

 

"In emergency management, we do a lot of difference roles. In blue sky days, we're applying for grants for response equipment, and training, exercises, things like that. And then during an event, we are coordinating resources, getting resources from outside the area if we run out of resources. We're the liaison between locals and the state emergency managers, and of course between the state emergency managers and FEMA. So, we coordinate a lot of that outside assistance during a disaster," Newman said.

 

Relationships are among the treasures he will be taking with him as he moves on.

 

"I've cultivated countless friendships that I'll take with me, and the knowledge that I've gained and I hope that I've em-parted some knowledge to others. A couple of the things I'm most proud of, is, we put together a mobile command vehicle, from a 40-foot motor home that used to belong to FEMA. It's probably one of the best in the state now. The relationships between the Emergency Management Office and the response agencies, the fire departments, law enforcement agencies, public health, communications ... just all of those," he said.

 

He is resigning Region 22 to take a similar position in Seward County, Kan.