Supervisors praise volunteers after ice storm, ask for formal volunteer coordinator plan

Oktibbeha County supervisors publicly thanked volunteers, the sheriff's office, road crews and fire departments for their work during a recent ice storm and asked emergency management staff to return with a formal plan to support volunteers.

Emergency management staff reported volunteers had staffed warming centers and stayed at fire stations to assist residents. "I just wanna say how grateful I am for each of my departments working with our department, including the board," one emergency-management representative told the board, noting plans for an after-action review to identify gaps and improve future responses.

Staff said an initial ice-storm proclamation had been signed and submitted to the board president for completion and filing with the state. Emergency management proposed recruiting two unpaid volunteer services coordinators to act as liaisons with volunteer organizations. The board asked staff to develop a written package and job description and to return for formal approval rather than acting immediately.

What happens next: emergency management will finalize a job description and a formal package for the volunteer coordinator positions and will work with staff to submit the signed proclamation to the state for the record.