Walker County Announces the Promotion of Curtis Creekmur to Emergency Management Director

LaFayette, GA (January 15, 2025) Angie Teems, Chairwoman of the Walker County Board of Commissioners, is pleased to announce the recent promotion of Curtis Creekmur to Emergency Management and 911 Director.

"Based on his extensive experience, I feel Director Creekmur is well suited for this role," said Teems. "He has built a network of resources in this field and knows what it takes to run a successful emergency response operation from the bottom up."

Creekmur took on the new responsibilities January 3^rd after serving as the county's Deputy Emergency Management Director and Deputy 911 Director for the past eight years. The transition proved to be seamless, as Creekmur played a pivotal role in the county's response to Winter Storm Cora during his first full week on the job.

No stranger to emergency services, Creekmur was originally hired by Walker County in 1992 as a dispatcher and 911 systems administrator. Over the years, he's risen through the ranks of emergency services, helping coordinate responses to the Tri-State Crematory disaster, April 2011 tornadoes, as well as everyday emergencies.

"A small single family home emergency is just as important to an individual as a large-scale disaster," said Creekmur. "It takes everyone working together to have a successful emergency response and it starts with our dispatchers. They do an exceptional job in those everyday situations that make us leaders in the state of Georgia, if not the south."

Creekmur looks forward to expanding the county's public outreach and education to enhance the community's disaster preparedness and response. "We will do emergency management every day, all day long," said Creekmur. "I also want to build on our hazardous mitigation plan by involving our industry leaders. We can assist with some of the challenges they face which could minimize the impact of a disaster and reduce the loss of life or property."

Fire Chief Blake Hodge most recently served as the county's Emergency Management and 911 Director. He provided the recommendation for Creekmur to assume those duties based on the pressing need for enhanced emergency management in the county. The move will free up Hodge to focus more fully on services provided by the Fire Department and EMS.