Emergency preparednessLouisiana parish appoints new emergency preparedness chief
Ouachita Parish, Louisiana has ended their six-month search for a new director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness just as hurricane season is about to hit; the parish’s Homeland Security Committee appointed Tracy Hilburn as the agency’s new director; the committee said that it was critical to have a new director in place before 1 June, the official start of the Atlantic Ocean’s hurricane season; as director of the parish’s Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness agency, Hilburn will be responsible for coordinating evacuations for not only Ouachita, which is the largest parish with nearly 150,000 residents, but also the surrounding parishes
Ouachita Parish, Louisiana has ended their six-month search for a new director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness just as hurricane season is about to hit.
Last week, the parish’s Homeland Security Committee appointed Tracy Kilburn as the agency’s new director. The position has been vacant since November when the former director, Butch Beckham, resigned.
The committee said that it was critical to have a new director in place before 1 June, the official start of the Atlantic Ocean’s hurricane season.
As director of the parish’s Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness agency, Hilburn will be responsible for coordinating evacuations for not only Ouachita, which is the largest parish with nearly 150,000 residents, but also the surrounding parishes.
“We’re very pleased we were able to go through the process and very pleased with our selection,” said Shane Smiley, a member of the Homeland Security Committee and the president of the Ouachita Parish Police Jury. “We had great candidates with lots of experience, and they were all very qualified.”
“In the end, Tracy knows what’s going on, and we feel comfortable with him, with the job he’s doing and the job he’s going to do,” Smiley added.
Hilburn, a native of West Monroe who served in the Louisiana National Guard for twenty-five years, said, “Right now, my immediate priority is to hire an assistant director and get them trained.”
Prior to being appointed, Hilburn was the assistant director of Ouachita’s Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness agency.
“For the long term, I have intentions of setting up an emergency management work group consisting of government and nongovernment agencies and private industry to try to improve the public education side,” he said.
In order to qualify for the position, candidates were required to have National Incident Management certification as well as a bachelor’s degree and three years of experience in emergency planning work or related experience.
According to West Monroe Mayor Dave Norris who also sits on the Homeland Security Committee, more than thirty applicants from across the United States applied for the position.
“We’re very pleased with our selection,” Norris said. “It was a very difficult decision. We had more than a dozen (candidates) that would have been exceptional people, and I think Tracy is going to be an excellent choice.”
