Mayor Bill Floyd swears in Emergency Management Director Tony Parker.

Mayor Bill Floyd with Fire Chief Jerry Malone.

Captain Kris Boyett, Chief Mike Booker, Assistant Chief Keith Lee, and Captain Scott Richards.

Jerry Malone, Bill Floyd, Keith Lee, Scott Richards, Tony Parker, Kris Boyett, Commissioner Fred Boykin, Mike Booker, Commissioner Mary Alice Kemp, City Manager Peggy Merriss (after the ceremony).

Fire Chief Tony Parker Appointed Emergency Management Director
Swearing-in Ceremony Held with Police and Fire Administrators

City Manager Peggy Merriss appointed Fire Chief Tony Parker to fill the newly created position of Emergency Management director for the City of Decatur. The position was established as part of the city's FY06-07 budget.

Parker began serving as Emergency Management director on July 1, 2006. He was sworn in with other key police and fire administrators in a special ceremony on July 10 in the newly renovated City Hall. As Emergency Management director, he coordinates emergency planning, response and recovery efforts to ensure the city is well prepared for any emergency. The new fire chief, Jerry Malone, and the new police chief, Mike Booker, report to Parker in order to maximize resources and coordinate efforts effectively.

A native of DeKalb County and a graduate of Leadership DeKalb, Parker served as Decatur's fire chief for the past five years. He came to work for the city as a firefighter in 1985 and rose through the ranks in a variety of leadership roles and positions during his 21 years of service. He served as fire marshal and assistant chief before becoming chief in 2001.

Of his new role, Parker noted, "We are very fortunate to have the caliber of people that we have working in our fire and police departments. Before it became fashionable, we developed a basic emergency management model to be used on any incident. We plan to expand our model based on the needs of our community. In addition, our Public Works department will now be considered 'first responders' and will work in partnership with fire and police as part of our model."

The following fire and police administrators were also sworn in during the ceremony:

Jerry Malone, Decatur's new fire chief, joined the city as a firefighter in 1974 and has served Decatur for 32 years, including 17 years as fire captain, six years as assistant fire chief, and one year as deputy fire chief.
 
Toronto Thomas, assistant fire chief/fire marshal, has been with the city for 20 years, serving as firefighter, apparatus driver and fire inspector.    
 
James Michael "Mike" Booker, police chief, is a 15-year veteran of the department, most recently serving as deputy police chief. He has also served as an investigator and in numerous supervisory and leadership capacities. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a B.S. degree in criminal justice and from the Southern Police Institute's Administrative Officer course at the University of Louisville where he was on the Dean's List and was elected class president.
 
J. Keith Lee, assistant police chief, is a graduate of Louisiana Tech University with a degree in business administration. He attended Grambling State University while pursuing an M.A. in criminal justice. He began serving Decatur as a police officer in 1989 and has held a variety of leadership positions through the years. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
 
Kristi L. Boyett, police captain, has been with the city since 1990. She has served in many leadership roles and a variety of positions, including special events, certification and accreditation, criminal investigation, special units and recruitment/hiring. She holds a B.S. in criminal justice/law enforcement from the University of Tennessee.
 
Scott Richards, police captain, came to work for the city in 1994 after graduating with a criminal justice degree from Georgia State University. He received the 2004 Supervisor of the Year award from the department and has served in leadership positions in patrol, training and instruction.
 
David Hipple, who continues in his position as a police captain, joined the Police Department in 1985. He has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a master's degree in public administration from Georgia State University. He received the department's Manager of the Year award in 2004.