Volusia County’s Emergency Management Division will continue its legacy of strong leadership with the County Council’s confirmation of Clint Mecham as emergency management director. He’ll have big shoes to fill, following in the footsteps of Jim Judge, who is now director of the Emergency Services Department.
Mecham has served as a firefighter and fire officer with Salt Lake County’s Unified Fire Authority since 1996. As a division chief with the Unified Fire Authority, he served as the county’s emergency management director since 2013. In this dual role, he responded to and oversaw responses to a variety of high-level incidents, including the COVID-19 pandemic, a 5.7 magnitude earthquake, numerous wildfires, and a hurricane-force windstorm that struck Utah in 2020.
As a member of FEMA’s Urban Search and Rescue program, Mecham responded to the World Trade Center attacks and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. As part of the federal Incident Support Team, he was deployed to Louisana to oversee logistics for the Hurricane Barry response in 2019 and to Florida for the response to Hurricane Ian in 2022.
In 2022, the Utah Emergency Management Association named him emergency manager of the year in recognition of his outstanding contributions, leadership and achievements. Mecham has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Utah and is a certified emergency manager through the International Association of Emergency Managers.
“Clint is always looking ahead to the next threat so he can explore ways for the emergency management community to improve its processes and preparedness,” said County Manager George Recktenwald. “He has a fabulous track record, and we are fortunate to have him on our team.”
Meecham’s first day on the job will be Aug. 2.
Volusia County’s Emergency Management Division coordinates community resources to protect lives, property and the environment through preparedness, prevention, response, recovery and mitigation from natural and human-made hazards.
