Florida Emergency Management Director Bryan Koon Reflects on His Tenure

(TNS) - Florida was left largely unscathed from its first taste of this year's hurricane season as Tropical Storm Colin cut through the northern half of the state last week, and that's a sigh of relief for Emergency Management Director Bryan Koon.

Koon was appointed in February 2011 by Gov. Rick Scott to lead the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and his tenure over the state's first line of recovery after a storm has remained free of hurricanes.

Still, with a mix of emergency management work during his tour in the Navy and a top-level manager for Walmart, Koon said he's ready to lead the state in preparedness and recovery when disaster strikes.

"It's not a matter of whether I'm ready or if DEM is ready, it's if people are ready and know what to do," Koon said. "We're succeeding if we appropriately respond to the needs of a community before a disaster."

Koon is one of two remaining executive agency chiefs who Scott recruited in his first term.

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