MoCo Welcomes New EMA Director

mrandolphadvance@gmail.com

The Montgomery County Board of Commissioners recently welcomed Tristan Willis as the county’s new Emergency Management Agency Director.

Willis is succeeding former Montgomery County EMA Director Donnie Daniels, who led the county’s EMA for 8 years before retiring in March. Since his retirement, the county’s administration has searched for a replace- continued from page

ment to fill the vacancy, and ultimately, Willis was hired in May.

He has extensive experience in fire and rescue, having served as a firefighter on the Reidsville Fire Department and Tattnall County Fire and Rescue, a training officer for the Tarrytown Volunteer Fire Department, and as the Assistant Chief of the Mount Vernon Volunteer Fire Department for a combined total of 11 years. He previously was the Georgia Department of Corrections Fire Services Station Chief for Smith State Prison, the Georgia Department of Corrections Fire Prevention Specialist 3 for the Southeast Region, and currently serves as the Georgia Department of Corrections Fire Services Fire Prevention Specialist 3 Training Chief.

Willis is a deputized fire marshal for the Georgia Department of Corrections and an adjunct and live fire instructor for the Georgia Public Safety Training Center. He also serves as an evaluator and proctor/monitor for the Georgia Fire Safety Training Center.

He has certification in numerous emergency management courses, such as crash victim extrication, emergency response to railroad events, emergency vehicle decontamination training, risk response to battery emergencies, rescue specialist, structural fire control, and more.

County Manager Heather Scott introduced the new EMA director to the commissioners during the Board of Commissioners work session on May 8, and commented, “[He has] been a huge help already, [he was] a huge help during the hurricane, and [he is] a very good resource. We are thankful to have him.”

Commissioner Amie Vassey also spoke on the hire. “So, for the citizens, just because I have had some ask, I just want to clarify that we are a county manager-leadership type structure in our county, meaning that our county manager has the sole ability to hire personnel. I know some people had asked if the Board of Commissioners hired or selected the EMA director – to be clear, it was a county manager appointment,” she explained. “We are very glad to have Tristan; he actually helped me out earlier today with some stuff. He seems like a wonderful gentleman, so good luck, Tristan, and we know that you are going to do well for our county.”

Commission Chairwoman Ginger Morris added, “Welcome from the Board of Commissioners, Tristan. We are excited about having you.”