Grayson County Judge Drue Bynum and Grayson County Emergency Management Coordinator, Sarah Somers, are hosting a crisis leadership seminar today for county and city leadership.  The judge, Somers, commissioners, mayors and others will sit down at a seminar presented by the National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center and funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  

Recognizing that the safety and security of Grayson County residents is one of their primary responsibilities, this seminar will provide an excellent opportunity to examine emergency preparedness to plan for and respond to a catastrophe or large-scale incident such as those faced by elected officials in past incidents across our nation.

This is an executive-level seminar specifically developed to enhance the ability of elected officials to understand their roles and responsibilities in planning for and responding to a catastrophic disaster incident.  

The focus areas will be:

• Planning for Effective Disaster Response
• Leadership and Decision Making During a Crisis
• Recognizing the Extraordinary; Improvising the Necessary Response
• Complex Multi-Jurisdiction Coordination
• Maintaining Scalability

The seminar will use a two-part Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government case study:  Charting a Course in a Storm:  US Postal Service and the Anthrax Crisis to examine the dynamics of crisis leadership and decision making for an elected official's perspective.  

Judge Bynum and Somers chose this particular case study after a hoax anthrax incident occurred at a local post office and raised issues including those about working with federal partners such as the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

At the end of the day, it is hoped that all officials in attendance will come away with a better understanding of their role and responsibilities in such a crisis and specific action items for improvements to the overall emergency management program that serves to protect Grayson County. 

The seminar is being held at the TCOG Building, 1117 Gallagher, Sherman, Texas, Saturday, July 11, from  9 a.m. until 2 p.m.

If you have questions, please direct your call to Sarah Somers, Grayson County Emergency Management Coordinator , bb # 903-814-7866, or somerss@co.grayson.tx.us.