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EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS CONFERENCE June 3, 2014 About our Speakers . . . Freeholder Director Gerald M. Thornton Gerald M. Thornton has served on the Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders continuously since 1996 and has been Director of the Board since January of 2012. Director Thornton also served on the Board from 1976 through 1987. As Freeholder Director, Thornton oversees the Office of Emergency Management, Administration, Clerk of the Board, County Counsel, Facilities and Services, Human Resources, Management Information Services, Purchasing, Risk Management and Safety, Special Projects, Treasurer’s Office and the Veterans’ Bureau. Director Thornton has been proactive in preparedness efforts and actively participates on the Homeland Security Preparedness County Working Group. Additionally, Director Thornton represented the region on President Obama’s Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force Advisory Group that advised the Task Force and provided input on rebuilding strategies. Director Thornton attended Kellogg Community College and the University of Maryland Overseas Extension. An eleven-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Director Thornton attended technical schools including Air Traffic Controller, Space Tracking and Telemetry, Automatic Radar, Management and Supervision and Non-Commissioned Officers Academy. Martin L. Pagliughi, Cape May County Emergency Management Coordinator In July 2012, Avalon Mayor Martin L. Pagliughi was appointed as the Emergency Management Coordinator for the County of Cape May. In his capacity as Emergency Management Coordinator, Pagliughi oversees and coordinates Municipal OEM Planning, Response, Recovery and Mitigation functions on behalf of the county’s sixteen municipalities. Pagliughi is co-chairman of the Homeland Security Preparedness County Working Group and Grant Coordinator for Homeland Security Funding Programs for Cape May County. Pagliughi has served as the Mayor of Avalon since July 1991. Mayor Pagliughi serves on the American Coastal Coalition/American Shore and Beach Association, is a Member of the New Jersey Beach Erosion Commission, the Cape May County League of Municipalities, the Jersey Shore Partnership and the Northeast Shore and Beach Preservation Association. Under Mayor Pagliughi’s leadership, Avalon has received national and state recognition for innovative beach protection and improvement projects. Additionally, Pagliughi has had 35 years of experience working for ABB International Electrical Engineering Company as National Industry Manager of Environmental Sales. ---PAGE BREAK--- Major Patrick Callahan, Commanding Officer New Jersey Office of Emergency Management Major Patrick Callahan is a 19-year veteran with the New Jersey State Police. As the commanding officer of the Emergency Management Section, he is also the Assistant State Director of the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management (NJ OEM). The Emergency Management Section is comprised of the following four bureaus: Preparedness Bureau, Emergency Response Bureau, Recovery Bureau, and the Communications Bureau. The mission of all of these bureaus serves to support the four pillars of emergency management: preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. Prior to his assignment as the commanding officer of the Emergency Management Section, he served as the Recovery Bureau Chief in the wake of Super Storm Sandy. In this role, he was responsible for working with FEMA, all State Departments, county and local government entities, as well as, the newly created Governor’s Office of Recovery and Rebuilding to administer and oversee the $1.5 billion in FEMA Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation funding awarded to the State. Major Callahan has served as the Chief Financial Officer for the New Jersey State Police and has held various assignments in the Administration Section overseeing budget and fiscal responsibilities associated with the Division. He also served in the Homeland Security Branch and assisted in the planning and distribution of the federal homeland security funding awarded to the State and its 21 counties in the wake of 9/11. Major Callahan earned the degree of Master of Administrative Science (MAS) from Fairleigh Dickinson University and earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Villanova University. He is a graduate of the 243rd FBI National Academy Session where he was elected Session President. Jim Eberwine Meteorologist Jim Eberwine has over 41 years of Federal Service; four years in the United States Marine Corps and nearly 38 years with the National Weather Service. Eberwine was the Hurricane and Marine Program Manager for the National Weather Service at the Mt. Holly Office where he worked very closely with the Emergency Management Community preparing for all types of potential weather disasters until retirement in 2010. Eberwine has given numerous presentations including the National Hurricane Center; New Jersey State/County and Local Office's of Emergency Management and Hospital Associations. Additionally, he has participated in many table-top and preparedness exercises and was a co-founder of the New Jersey Emergency Preparedness Conference held each year in Atlantic City. Currently, Eberwine is the Emergency Management Coordinator for Absecon and teaches a meteorology class on Aviation Weather Hazards at Atlantic Cape Community College. ---PAGE BREAK--- Tom Lamaine Meteorologist Tom Lamaine began his radio career while still in Holy Spirit High School at the Jersey shore and continued while he was attending college. Lamaine was the on air personality for radio stations such as WOND, WMID and started the first FM rock station in the market at WMGM (FM). Lamaine was an on air personality, announcer and sportscaster for WIP-AM for 15 years (1969-1984) where he also hosted Eagles pre-game and post- game programs. He has broadcasted Philadelphia 76ers basketball telecasts and hosted Flyers pre-game and post-game TV shows. Lamaine joined CBS-3 in 1970 part-time, where he anchored sports and weather. In 1984, he left sports and dedicated his time to weather at CBS-3 for over 30 years where he was the senior meteorologist in the market until he retired in May 2009. After college, Lamaine had a tour in the Navy where he became a jet pilot whose early forecasting skills were honed in pilot training at the Aviation Officer’s Candidate School in Florida, where he served as a Navy flight officer. In 1985, as part of a National Hurricane Center reconnaissance flight, he flew into the eye of Hurricane Gloria as part of the data collecting team. Lamaine is a graduate of Fordham University in New York City where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in English and holds a degree in Meteorology from Drexel University, which he received in 1986. Dan Skeldon, Meteorologist WMGM TV 40 Few kids discover their career path at the age of nine, but when Hurricane Gloria blew through Rhode Island in September of 1985, NBC 40 Chief Meteorologist Dan Skeldon immediately knew he wanted to be a weatherman. After transforming his bedroom into a makeshift weather center and providing his first forecasts over the intercom at Cumberland (RI) high school, Dan Skeldon earned a degree in Meteorology from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Skeldon got his start in television in 1998, forecasting frequent snowstorms in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and continued his cold and snowy television career in Burlington, Vermont and Albany, New York. He came to NBC 40 in December of 2003 and quickly fell in love with South Jersey, the most "tropical" climate where he has ever resided. A resident of Ocean City, Skeldon loves just about any outdoor activity, that way he can keep an eye on South Jersey's rapidly changing weather. You can see Dan weeknights on News Channel 40 NBC at 5:30, 6, and 11 p.m. Skeldon is actively involved in the emergency management community at the city, county and state levels.