Worsham named Dale EMA Director

A man who has spent more than 40 years serving his country has been hired as the Dale County Emergency Management Agency Director.

Willie T. Worsham was named as the new EMA at the Dale County Commission meeting March 9.

“I look forward to working for and with you,” said Dale County Commissioner Frankie Wilson, who serves also as chairman of the Ozark-Dale County E911 Board, to Worsham who was introduced at the commission meeting.

“I am happy we were able to hire him,” said Dale County Commissioner Donald Grantham. “We look forward to working with him.”

Dale County Commission Chairman Steve McKinnon agreed. “Mr. Worsham brings a level of professionalism and integrity to the EMA position and we look forward to having him on board.”

A Dale County resident, Worsham served most recently as the Emergency Manager at Fort Rucker from 2006 until 2020.

Before that Worsham served at Fort Rucker as a Department of the Air Force weather forecaster from June 2006 until being named EMA at Fort Rucker.

Worsham served in the United States Air Force from 1979 until 1999.

A self-proclaimed “Army brat,” Worsham was born in Florida and raised most of his life in Columbus, Ga. “My first duty assignment was at Fort Rucker,” he said. “After I retired out of Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, I moved back here because I loved it here.”

Worsham said he looks forward to working for Dale County in the field that he loves. “I’m here because I love this area and I look forward to serving the citizens of Dale County.”

Worsham fills the position vacated Jan. 26 by Jonathan “Kurt” McDaniel who had served as Dale EMA since 2015.

There were 10 applicants for the EMA Director position. McKinnon said that a committee had been formed of people who work regularly with the EMA director to review the applications received and conduct the interviews. He said that the interviews were done alphabetically, making Worsham’s the final interview. “I think we all agreed after meeting him that he is the man for the job,” McKinnon said.

The next meeting of the Dale County Commission is Tuesday, March 23, at 10 a.m. at the Dale County Government Building in Ozark. A work session is followed immediately by a voting meeting. Both meetings are open to the public.