Emergency Management Coordinator
Seminole County Sheriff's Office
United States
Bill is a Florida native, has always resided in Florida. He is the Emergency Management Coordinator with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. Bill graduated from Florida State University, with B.S. degree in Criminology and is currently working on a Master’s Degree in Emergency Management with American Military University. Bill is credentialed as an Associate Emergency Manager (AEM) with the International Association of Emergency Managers.
In his role as the SCSO Emergency Management Coordinator, he is responsible for the Sheriff’s Office Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP), and the Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP). Bill also facilitates the NIMS/ICS training, training/exercise development. He is the County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) representative for the Sheriff’s Office responding to all types of hazards or events for the county. Bill is Chair of Seminole County’s Local Mitigation Strategy (LMS) working group, a member of the District VI Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), and Florida Region 5 Regional Domestic Security Taskforce-Incident Management Team.
Bill is a member of the International Association of Emergency Managers, Florida Emergency Preparedness Association, and Association of Continuity Planners.
In the community, Bill is active with the Central Florida Council, Boy Scouts of America-Board Member; Rotary Club of Sanford, FL-Past President (2008-2009), and Past board member of the Orlando-Sanford International Airport.
2013
General Session: Seminole County’s Response to Trayvon Martin Events *
The fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman took place in Sanford Florida on the night of February 26, 2012. Trayvon Martin was an African-American unarmed 17-year-old. George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old multi-racial Hispanic American, was the appointed neighborhood watch coordinator who shot and killed Trayvon. The investigation of the shooting by the Sanford Police Department determined that the shooting was in self-defense.
After the shooting, Zimmerman was criticized by the Martin family. The family actively used the media to express their dissatisfaction of the investigative process. A few weeks into the call for further investigations, social media sites erupted with “We Are Trayvon Martin” protests. Protests were staged around the U.S. prior to Zimmerman’s April 11 indictment on murder charges. Sanford Florida became known around the World instantly through social media and 24 hour news channels.
This was the first time the Emergency Operations Center in Seminole County had been activated for possible civil unrest and media requests for information.
* William Litton and Alan Harris co-presented this presentation.