Building a Team Today to Face the Challenges of Tomorrow!

A community divided by fiefdoms and rivalries serves no one. We, as emergency managers, need to be the builders of partnerships, the olive branch of peace between rivals, and the voice of reason in a world of conflicting words, thoughts, and deeds. This presentation is focused on ways to build and train your emergency support functions team on the blue-sky days, so they work as a true team on the gray-sky days. Robert McCord has been working with Macon-Bibb County Emergency Management for 17 years, under three very different EMA Directors and three different governments. Starting as a volunteer with emergency management then moving to paid staff and currently the Deputy Director, Robert has been able to not only watch the changes in leadership and direction but has been the catalyst of change and growth for the last decade. Macon-Bibb County, GA will be used as a case study to see how Robert and the EMA team have successfully formed partnership between former rivals and trust within the county government their community partners. The lessons learned in this journey are invaluable and can help other emergency managers in building successful teams ready to face the ever-changing world of disasters.