Williams appointed chair of national storm resilience committee

[August 7, 2023] — National Association of Counties (NaCo) President Mary Jo McGuire has appointed Brunswick County Commissioner Frank Williams as Chair of the NaCo Resilient Counties Advisory Board (RCAB). According to the RCAB page on the NaCo website, “Hurricanes, wildfires, economic collapse, and other disasters can be natural or man-made, acute or long-term, foreseeable or unpredictable. Preparation for and recovery from such events requires both long-term planning and immediate action. NACo works to strengthen county resiliency by building leadership capacity to identify and manage risk and allow counties to become more flexible and responsive.”

“Serving as Chair of the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners during Hurricane Florence has been the defining moment of my time as a commissioner,” said Williams. “My experience during Florence was the inspiration for my NCACC Presidential initiative, 100 Counties Prepared, and the resilient counties advisory board is a natural extension of that work. I’m honored to serve in this role, and I look forward to the opportunity to learn from the other county officials who serve on the Resilient Counties Advisory Board.”

Williams served as President of the N.C. Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) from August 2021 until August 2022. His NCACC Presidential Initiative, 100 Counties Prepared, was borne out of his experience serving as Chair of the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners during Hurricanes Florence, Dorian, and Isaias, through which he observed a lack of emergency preparedness training suitable for elected officials. He appointed a task force, which focused on filling that void by creating an emergency preparedness training tailor-made for elected officials. Sixty-one county officials from across North Carolina completed the inaugural 100 Counties Prepared Emergency Preparedness Training for County Commissioners, which was held in conjunction with the 115th Annual NCACC Conference in Cabarrus County on August 11, 2022. Officials from 25 counties participated in a second training on May 31, 2023, and more training sessions are planned. For more information, visit https://commissionerfrankwilliams.com/100countiesprepared.