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CHARLESTON - Two Northern Panhandle emergency management leaders are being honored by Gov. Jim Justice and the Department of Homeland Security for their commitment to their call to duty.
Lou Vargo, director of the Wheeling-Ohio County Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, and Tom Hart, director of Marshall County's Office of Emergency Management, are among a handful of recipients statewide.
Homeland Security has inaugurated awards for fiscal year 2020 to recognize emergency officials in six categories: lifesaving, innovation, teamwork, perseverance, leadership, and lifetime achievement.
The honorees will be presented with the Freedom Pin, developed by Homeland Security Secretary Jeff Sandy.
"Our intent is to honor those lives by recognizing current first responders who go above and beyond to protect West Virginia citizens from natural disasters and threats to our way of life from both foreign and domestic evil powers," Sandy said. "The men and women on the front lines of emergency management spend countless hours preparing for natural and manmade disasters."
Lou Vargo is being honored in the Innovation category. He has been a leader in using state-of-the-art technology to make emergency management the best to aid in the effectiveness of responses to emergencies. He has also served as deputy director and has more than 30 years of emergency management experience in West Virginia and Ohio.
Vargo joined Ohio County Emergency Management in 1990, serving as director before relinquishing the role due to other commitments. He returned as director in 2008. Vargo is the director of the Ohio County Emergency Medical Service where he serves as a paramedic.
He received a master's degree in community health management from West Virginia University's School of Medicine. He served as director of nurse anesthesia for both Wheeling Hospital and the former Ohio Valley Medical Center.
Vargo also is a certified hazardous materials technician and incident commander. He was instrumental in establishing the Wheeling Fire Department's Advanced Life Support program, serving as its first pre-hospital care advisor.
Tom Hart is being honored in the Perseverance category. Marshall County has been challenged with disasters, major road issues and many other obstacles in the past few years, and Hart and his agency have met the challenge, according to the state.
Hart currently serves as an executive board member of the W.Va. Emergency Management Council, after terms as president and vice president. Hart is also chairperson for the W.Va. Homeland Security Region 2 Interoperability Committee and was tasked with developing the bylaws for all six regional interoperability committees.
He began his public safety career as a volunteer with the Cameron Volunteer Fire Department, Cameron Emergency Medical Services and as a dispatcher for the Cameron Police Department. He then served as a telecommunicator with the Marshall County 911 Communications Center.
Given the rapid growth of the oil and gas industry in northern West Virginia, and following three major gas well incidents in his county, Hart developed the Marshall County Energy Exploration Task Force. This brought together oil and gas operators, first responders, local and state elected officials, community leaders and public entities.
In 2010, Hart was named West Virginia Emergency Manager of the Year.
Another honoree with local ties is Walter Smittle, in the Lifetime Achievement category. Smittle, a New Martinsville native and former administrator and coach in Wetzel County Schools, is director of Jackson County's Office of Emergency Management.
The remaining honorees are:
Lifesaving: Roger Bryant, director of Logan County's Office of Emergency Management.
Teamwork: all 55 county managers. In the view of the W.Va. Emergency Management Council, at no time in its history has its members been more unified and working together as they have during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Perseverance: Hart and Director Laura Pysz of Harrison County Office of Emergency Management.
Leadership: Dean Meadows, director of Wyoming County 911 Center and Office of Emergency Services.