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Cannon County Executive Mike Gannon had an emergency situation on his hands.
Justin Harris, the director of the county's Emergency Management Agency, recently informed Gannon he is resigning. His last day on the job will be Dec. 29.
That didn't leave Gannon with much time to act, but fortunately he knew someone with immense experience dealing with emergencies: Cannon County 911 Services Director Roy Sullivan.
Gannon said Sullivan is the first person he thought of for the position when Harris informed him of his plans to resign.
"We are sorry to see Justin leave that position as well as his position with the ambulance service," Gannon said. "Justin is an outstanding young man who possesses a great deal of knowledge about emergency management. He also possesses true leadership characteristics. I know he is going to continue to live in Cannon County and I am sure he will find over ways to serve his community."
Harris, a Cannon County native, has accepted a position as paramedic with Rutherford County Emergency Management Services.
"I was with Rutherford County full time for about 11 years and I left Rutherford County to come down here to Cannon County because I felt I could use my training and experience to actually benefit and try and help Cannon County out," Harris said. "I have been with EMS here for three years and during that three years I took over as director of emergency management and well as being a paramedic at the ambulance service."
Harris said he is returning to Rutherford County to work because the position offers more financial security and will allow him to spend more time with his family. He also said he is proud of what he has been able to accomplish during his relatively short time as Cannon County's EMA director.
"We got emergency management off the ground and as of right now it is working flawlessly," Harris said. "We have definitely built a very sturdy foundation on which it can continue to grow. It was a very successful adventure with the help of my staff. We were able to build EMA into something it has never been, which is a fully functional, working department."
Harris said one of the most important things done during his tenure was restoring relationships with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.
"We were able to exponentially increase the homeland security grant funding that Cannon County was receiving. We averaged about $15-$20,000 before I took over and this last year's grant approval we were just shy of $100,000, which equals to about five cents in county tax levy so that is money we did not have to take out of the budgets of local departments. Increasing that funding and restoring those relationships on the state and federal levels is something I and the county are most proud of."
Harris said he is happy it is Sullivan who will be assuming the position.
"Roy has worked closely with me since I took over and he is very trained in the role of the EMA director's position. He is very knowledgeable and experienced and I think he will take the foundation we've built together and keep the Cannon County EMA in the rise," Harris said.
Sullivan said he is looking forward to serving the county in an additional capacity.
"The thing that I am excited about is just being able to build on what we have been doing the past several years, being able to secure the homeland security funding, make sure it is going where it is supposed to be going, and making sure we apply and are getting all that we can from the state of Tennessee, so I am very excited about it," Sullivan said.
"I am inheriting a lot of responsibility but I think I already have a pretty good grasp of it and I hope to be able to keep it moving forward. One things that will make it easier is already being salaried in the position I am now as one director. As far as being both EMA and 911 director it is already a good fit because I will be able to be more available, especially during the day."
