State disaster chief lives up to pedigree, officials say
Sep 5, 2011
The following article was published in the Fort Myers News Press on September 5, 2011:
State disaster chief lives up to pedigree, officials say
By Bill Cotterell
Government managers like decorating their offices with photos of themselves smiling with powerful people they’ve worked for, but Bryan Koon’s office has a shot of President George W. Bush and his staff with their heads bowed.
The picture was taken on the White House lawn at a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Koon was a naval officer in an East Wing office that never closes, a command post that keeps the executive staff going when something horrible happens.
He had the day off when the hijackings occurred. But Koon has been in on preparation, defense and cleanup for just about every disaster imaginable for more than a decade.
Koon came through his first hurricane as director of the Division of Emergency Management last week with a regard for the staff at the state command post and the coordination of city, county and federal preparedness workers. Some local civil-defense officials were impressed by the division’s work as Hurricane Irene first threatened Florida, then blew past.
“The primary reason I took the job here was because of the reputation of Florida’s emergency management agency,” Koon said. “Obviously, it’s been through more than any emergency management agency in the world and I could not think of a better training ground for me, personally, to come in and learn about how state emergency agencies work.”
Reaching out
Of all private-sector executives Gov. Rick Scott has recruited, few have as much impact on the lives of Floridians as Koon. In a crisis, the Emergency Operations Center cranks up to varying levels of operation. Specially trained representatives from almost every state agency coordinate law-enforcement, food and medical services.
“Bryan has done a great job of reaching out to the local emergency management folks,” said Richard Smith, Leon County’s preparedness chief. “You have to get a level of confidence with someone and that usually means going through an event together, so we were fortunate to have a relatively light one last week. But even a paralleling storm can cause a lot of heartaches.”
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