Words by Hannah Manasco | Images by Al Blanton
Regina Myers is a hands-on superwoman when it comes to emergency response.
Born in Jasper, Regina spent the first year of her life in Walker County before moving to Jefferson County with her family. After graduating from McAdory High School in McCalla, she returned to Jasper and began working with the Emergency Management Agency in April 2004 as a contract worker.
She explains that she continued to work contracts and eventually became Director of the EMA.
As the director and sole staffperson of the agency, Regina manages grants, conducts training exercises, and provides hands-on assistance in an active response.
The Emergency Management Agency’s principles are guided by four main functions: Preparedness, Response, Recovery, and Mitigation. When Regina and her team are called to a crisis, their top priority is to ensure public safety. Once the immediate chaos subsides, she concentrates on managing and repairing the damage.
“We do a lot. We do disaster response, hazmat response, drowning recovery, bomb threats,” Regina says. “If you can think of a bad day, we may get asked to come handle the situation.”
While the EMA prepares for every disaster in some form, Regina’s experience during COVID-19 highlighted that some situations are beyond any preparation. As the world shut down, Regina faced every worst-case scenario imaginable.
Initially, she had to balance her usual work responsibilities with assisting in vaccine and testing clinics, but as the virus spread and fatalities increased, she scrambled to find solutions for overflowing morgues and funeral homes.
The chaos escalated further when four tornadoes touched down in a single day. She worked literally round-the-clock, week after week, volunteering and exploring possible ways to mitigate the virus and its effects.
To add to the challenge, Regina herself contracted the virus and entered mandatory isolation period, the outcome of her absence uncertain.
Fortunately, local colleagues stepped in to conduct aid until she recovered. Her appreciation is evident as she says, “I leaned a lot on the sheriff’s office and the county commission. They were great.”
In true welcoming fashion, her first day back from sick leave was spent dealing a bomb threat at Walker Baptist Medical Center.
As Regina anticipates future exercises, she is also preparing to hire a full-time assistant, who will take over her responsibilities when she is unavailable.
With free time being a new concept, Regina says she’ll use it to de-stress with her family and enjoy a silent phone. WL
