McCarthy excited to lead EMA

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As a college student, Alex McCarthy interned at the Delaware County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and returned to the office last month as its new director.

McCarthy was selected to lead the office by the Delaware County Board of Commissioners after Sean Miller, the agency’s former director, departed the position for a new job at the Ohio Emergency Management Agency.

McCarthy studied meteorology and atmospheric science at The Ohio State University and has spent the last six years serving as the director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management in Tuscarawas County.

He said Thursday that when he saw Miller’s position opened up, he was immediately interested.

“While going to college I interned for Sean for a couple of summers here and really fell in love with the work that goes on behind the scenes with emergency management,” McCarthy said. “Having spent some time here, it’s really nice to go back to my roots. This was the first agency I ever worked for and to lead it is really exciting.”

McCarthy said he enjoyed his work in Tuscarawas County and is excited to come to Delaware County because of the opportunities it presents.

“Tuscarawas was a great place to work,” he said. “Delaware County is a much bigger county. It’s a very fast growing county. The hazards we face here are very similar to those I’m used to from my past work, but the resources and capabilities here offer a whole lot more. From a professional development perspective, this is a really exciting step up.”

McCarthy said his first goal with the office is to make connections in the community.

“What I need to do is really go out and meet people,” he said. “I have a dynamic team working here. I want to be able to start out by meeting the different agencies and organizations and other community stakeholders with whom we’re going to work with in times of disaster as well as blue sky days. … I’d invite any community agencies interested in emergency management to reach out and see if we can collaborate.”

McCarthy said his second goal is to gain a mastery over the office’s policies and plans.

“The nice thing about Delaware County is that this office has always been run very professionally,” he said. “(Miller) did a great job putting together a strong county emergency operations plan. They were very administratively savvy when developing the policies and procedures behind this agency. I want to make sure I have a really firm understanding of all that. After we get through that and see what the hazards are like here in Delaware County, we can set a vision for what its like to move forward.”

McCarthy said he’s excited to move to the county and enjoys working in the office.

“No two days are the same,” he said. “(Every day is) challenging and interesting. When you’re in a job where no two days are the same, things don’t get boring and it’s always exciting. I appreciate that about the field I’m in.”

Glenn Battishill can be reached at 740-413-0903 or on Twitter @BattishillDG.

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