(JUNE 3, 2025) — Two-thirds of Cherokee County’s Emergency Management Agency team have earned the highest level of emergency manager certification in Georgia.
Director Daniel Westbrook and Deputy Director Rebecah Logan have invested hundreds of hours of training time and education to ensure they are as equipped as they can be to serve the residents of Cherokee County in emergency situations. Both have accomplished the certification level of Professional Manager as designated by the Georgia Emergency Management Agency.
Since 1999, only 116 Georgia Emergency Managers have achieved the status of Certified Georgia Professional Manager with fewer than 38 currently actively working in the field of Emergency Management.
“Emergency Management is a crucial agency to Cherokee County operations during an emergency situation with the most frequent in our county being severe weather,” said County Manager Geoff Morton. “I applaud Director Westbrook and Deputy Director Logan for taking the initiative and devoting the time to complete this certification, which is a rare feat among their counterparts.”
The Emergency Management Agency provides comprehensive and aggressive emergency preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery program for the citizens of Cherokee County to save lives, protect property, and reduce the effects of disasters. Whether it’s a tornado, snow and ice, severe thunderstorms, hazardous materials, or something even worse, the Emergency Management Agency coordinates response efforts, supply requests, surveys damage, and keeps record of all resources for reporting to GEMA and FEMA when necessary. The EMA team is the group that ensures Cherokee County resources are replenished from a disaster situation when declarations of emergencies occur and resources and financial means can be reimbursed.
The EMA team also is responsible for the county’s Local Emergency Operations Plan, Hazard Mitigation Plan, and coordination of the 17 category one dams assessments with Georgia Safe Dams, among other duties.
It is a three-person team with two holding the highest certification available in Georgia.
The Georgia Professional Certification for Emergency Managers is limited to individuals who serve in positions with EMA organizations and must be approved by a local EMA director or chief elected officials for local jurisdictional participants. The professional certification encompasses all of the requirements of the Georgia Basic and Advanced Certifications, including 20 FEMA Independent Study courses, 320 hours of classroom course work, passing each course with an above average final test score. To be eligible to participate in the certification program, an EMA employee must have served a minimum of five years in emergency management related services, demonstrate they have participated in the development, implementation and evaluation of a full-scale exercise within the Homeland Security Exercise & Evaluation Program guidelines, and completed at least 150 hours of additional training.
A candidate must also demonstrate that they have made contributions to the profession by providing documentation of a minimum of five separate contributions above job-related expectations.
Applications for professional level certification are presented to the Georgia Emergency Management Professional Review Board for review and approval or denial. Certified Emergency Managers (all levels) are required to submit to the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA/HS) Training Office, proof of completion of a minimum of 24 hours continuing education credit hours annually to maintain their certification.
PHOTO CAPTION: EMA Director Daniel Westbrook and Deputy Director Rebecah Logan were recognized at the May 13 Board of Commissioners meeting for achieving Professional Manager certification, the highest certification available to EMA professional in Georgia. Jonathan Jones, GEMA/HS Area 1 Field Coordinator, attended to present the certifications. Pictured, from left, are Jones, Logan, Westbrook, and Chief Marshal Dana Martin. Martin also serves as the Public Services Agency Director, and EMA is under the Public Services Agency umbrella.
