Hampton native McWilliams tabbed for Emergency Management Coordinator position

A career dedicated to public service led Joel McWilliams to the role as Franklin County’s new Emergency Management Coordinator.

The Franklin County Emergency Management Commission last week welcomed the Hampton native into the position, which had been vacant since June following the death of then Emergency Management Coordinator Jason Harper. McWilliams will formally begin his service on Sept. 14.

Service in law enforcement and public safety is nothing new to McWilliams. He worked as a reserve officer for the Hampton Police Department in 2005 before joining the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office part-time in 2006. He rejoined the Hampton PD in 2009 as a full-time officer before jumping to the City of Hampton’s street department in 2012. McWilliams also serves on the Hampton Fire Department.

McWilliams said his previous experience with emergency response professionals and his dedication to public service played major roles in his pursuit of the position.

“Knowing and having a good working relationship with a lot of the emergency personnel in the county will probably bet the biggest benefit,” he said. “I liked the chance of being able to work with them again and being able to help people out.”

Franklin County Sheriff Aaron Dodd, who oversees the Emergency Management Commission, said McWilliams’ previous experience in law enforcement and familiarity with the community are invaluable assets he will bring to the position.

“Being on the fire department, being in law enforcement, none of that is a requirement of the job but it certainly adds to him knowing scene safety, he knows what different scenes look like at fire scenes and traffic accidents,” he said. “That experience, you don’t get without doing a job so half the experience you need working in emergency management, he already has.

“All of his careers and all of his jobs have always been directed towards public service or public safety, so you can tell where his heart has always been,” he added.

Although McWilliams comes into his role as Emergency Management Coordinator with great familiarity towards the area and the emergency response field, he said one of his earliest goals is to learn more about public safety and meet more people.

McWilliams said he’s looking forward to the start date of his job and has goals he hopes to establish in the future, but for now, he said he is excited about the opportunity to move forward the mission of Emergency Management in the area.

“I just want to keep things going,” he said.

“I think it’ll be a pretty smooth transition,” added Dodd. “One thing about Joel that I’ve always known is that he’s an organizer and keeps things going. That’s a huge part of the job.”