For Immediate release
Contact:
Lawrence Messina
(304)
558-2930
Lawrence.C.Messina@wv.gov
Jan. 26, 2017
W.Va.’s
Gianato elected to NGA Homeland Security exec panel
CHARLESTON,
W.Va. – West Virginia’s disaster response chief will help lead
the homeland security experts who advise the nation’s governors.
Jimmy Gianato, the Mountain State’s
designated homeland security advisor since 2010, has been elected to the
eight-member executive committee for the Governors Homeland Security Advisors
Council (GHSAC).
The council is part of the Center for Best
Practices for the National Governors Association. This collaboration allows all
50 states, U.S. territories and Washington, D.C., to share information,
expertise and ideas to protect the homeland.
Since 2005, Gianato has been director of
the W.Va. Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. This
component of the Cabinet Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety has
performed crucial roles in homeland security preparedness and responses to such
recent major events as the June 2016 flooding, the 2014 water contamination
crisis and the 2013 derecho.
“Mr. Gianato is respected across the State
of West Virginia and the United States as an expert in the field of emergency
management,” said Cabinet Secretary Jeff Sandy. “No matter what type of natural
disaster, Gianato is one of the first to arrive and the last to leave. It is an
honor to have him working for the Department of Military Affairs and Public
Safety”.
Gianato also serves as the governor’s authorized
representative to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and as chairman
of the State Emergency Response Commission. He traces his roots in
emergency response to his native McDowell County, where he has been an active
member of Kimball Volunteer Fire Department since 1972 and its chief for more
than 15 years.
Gianato was elected by the council’s
general members to a one-year term. He has previously served as its chairman.
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