Board of Directors
2018-2019
Elections for the AAEM Board of Directors are held each year at the annual conference. Officers serve terms starting and ending at the annual conference, generally one year.
President - Bob Franklin
Director, Russell County EMA
In 2011, Bob was named the Acting Director of Homeland Security/Emergency Management for Russell County and was then appointed Director of Homeland Security/Emergency Management by the Russell County Commission in 2012. Bob served as the Area 4 Director for the Alabama Association of Emergency Managers for three years prior to being elected 2nd Vice President in 2016. He received his Masters Certification from the AAEM. Bob and his wife, Laurie – who is the Office Manager for Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor – have two children and four grandchildren. They have been married for 34 years and live in Fort Mitchell.
1st Vice President - Jim Coker
Director, Jefferson County EMA
James “Jim” Coker was appointed as the Director of the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency in 2014. Jim served in law enforcement for 35 years prior to his appointment, retiring as Captain with the Hoover Police Department. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and served as the Chairman of the Alabama Mutual Aid System (AMAS) Advisory Council. He serves on the Workplace Safety Advisory Board at the Alabama Fire College and several other boards. Jim is a graduate of the University of Alabama (Bachelor’s Degree) and Faulkner University (Master’s Degree). He is also a graduate of the Alabama Military Academy (US Army OCS) and served in the Alabama Army National Guard.
2nd Vice President - Bill Sizemore
Accountant, Huntsville-Madison County EMA
Bill joined the staff of Huntsville-Madison County EMA as an accountant in January 2000. He holds a BBA degree in accounting from Athens State University. Bill also serves as a member of the North Alabama Incident Management Team (IMT) and has participated in eight presidentially declared disasters. Bill and his wife Patricia have been married for 41 years and have two children and two grandchildren.
IMMEDIATE PAST President - Jonathan W. Gaddy
Assistant Director, Alabama EMA
Jonathan Gaddy is the Assistant Director of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency. Previously, he served as a county EMA director. Mr. Gaddy has responded to multiple federally declared disasters both in Alabama and around the country. In addition to his duties at the EMA, he serves as an adjunct instructor in the Jacksonville State University emergency management program, and works on a federal Disaster Medical Assistance Team. Mr. Gaddy holds a Bachelor of Science in Geography from Jacksonville State University and a Master of Arts in Security Studies from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School's Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS).
Area Directors
Area 1 - Scott Wallace - Baldwin County EMA
Baldwin,Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Mobile, Monroe, & Washington
Area 2 - James Brown - Coffee County EMA
Barbour, Butler, Coffee, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston, & Pike
Area 3 - Kevin McKinney - Marengo County EMA
Bibb, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Marengo, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, Tuscaloosa, & Wilcox
Area 4 - Ernie Baggett - Autauga County EMA*
Chilton, Autauga, Lowndes, Coosa, Elmore, Montgomery, Tallapoosa, Macon, Lee, Bullock, Russell, & Chambers
Area 5 - Jody Hitt - Colbert County EMA
Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin, Marion, Lamar, Fayette, Lawrence, Winston, & Walker
Area 6 - Phyllis Little - Cullman County EMA
Limestone, Madison, Morgan, Cullman, Blount, Marshall, Etowah, Jackson, DeKalb, & Cherokee
Area 7 - Hub Harvey - Shelby County EMA
Calhoun, Clay, Cleburne, Jefferson, Randolph, Shelby, St. Clair, Talladega
Area 8 - Jeff Smitherman - Alabama EMA
Alabama EMA (state)
Officers
Secretary - Ronnie Adair - Mobile County EMA
* Replaced Eric Jones, formerly of Elmore County EMA, who transitioned to Alabama EMA.