ATTORNEY GENERAL DUSTIN McDANIEL (FEATURED RECEPTION SPEAKER)

On January 9, 2007, Dustin McDaniel was sworn in as the 55th Attorney General for the State of Arkansas, the youngest Attorney General in the nation. As chief law-enforcement officer, McDaniel's responsibility is to represent the people of the state and to be the guardian of their interests. He and his staff are committed to safeguarding consumers, protecting seniors from abuse and neglect, and developing solutions to problems ranging from upholding criminal convictions to protecting children from predators on the Internet.

Prior to becoming the Attorney General, Dustin McDaniel was a Democratic Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, representing District 75 in Jonesboro. Named as one of the “10 Best Legislators” in 2005 by the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Dustin has earned a reputation for being able to achieve consensus on tough legislation.

McDaniel was also named an “Outstanding State Legislator” by the Arkansas Municipal League, and a “Friend of the AARP” by that organization earlier this year.

Dustin was a law partner in the firm of McDaniel and Wells in Jonesboro. Initially, though, his service took a different path. Right out of college, Dustin turned down admission to law school in order to become a uniformed patrol officer for the Jonesboro Police Department. He felt as though he needed to give something back to the community, and looking back says it is one of the most fulfilling and rewarding things he has ever done.

As an attorney, Dustin has enjoyed a successful and respected career. Some of his professional accomplishments include:

• Appointed by Federal Judges of Arkansas’ Eastern District to serve on the Federal Practice Committee.
• Received the Arkansas Bar Association’s “Golden Gavel” award for serving as Chair of the Consumer Law Handbook Committee.
• Received the Arkansas Bar Association’s “Distinguished Service” award for having the Consumer Law Handbook translated into Spanish.
• Chairman of the Arkansas Bar Association Civil Litigation Section (2002 & 2003).
• Board of Governors – Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association

Dustin is former legal counsel for the Craighead County Democratic Central Committee and a former member of the Democratic Party of Arkansas State Committee.

In 2003, Mr. Witt became the Chief Executive Officer of the International Code Council (ICC), a 50,000-member association dedicated to building safety, develops the codes used to construct residential and commercial buildings, including homes and schools. Through its founders, the ICC has more than 190 years of collective experience developing building safety codes that save lives. The majority of U.S. cities, counties and states that adopt codes choose building and fire safety codes developed by the ICC.

James Lee Witt has over 25 years of disaster management experience, culminating in his appointment as the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where he served from 1993-2001. In this capacity, he is credited with turning FEMA from an unsuccessful bureaucratic agency to an internationally lauded all-hazards disaster management agency. His leadership abilities have been praised by nationally recognized organizations, including the Council for Excellence in Government, Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, and the National Association of Broadcasters.

Mr. Witt was appointed by President Clinton and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in April 1993. In February 1996, President Clinton elevated Mr. Witt to cabinet status - a first for a FEMA Director. As FEMA Director, Mr. Witt coordinated federal disaster relief on behalf of President Clinton, including the response and recovery activities of 28 federal agencies and departments, the American Red Cross and other voluntary agencies. He also oversaw the National Flood Insurance Program, the U.S. Fire Administration and other pro-active mitigation activities that reduce loss of life and property from all types of hazards. Mr. Witt directed 2,500 employees located in Washington, DC and 10 regional offices.

From 1993 to 2000, Mr. Witt oversaw more than 350 disasters. More importantly, he was responsible for response and recovery operations for six of the ten most devastating disasters of all time, including the most costly flood disaster in the nation's history, the most costly earthquake, and a dozen damaging hurricanes.

As Director of FEMA, Mr. Witt was the visionary and architect of national government programs related to emergency preparedness and mitigation, response, recovery. In addition to his experience in emergency management on the State and local level, Mr. Witt has expertise integrating community-based disaster management with national emergency management strategy. He initiated Project Impact, the first federally funded program dealing with emergency preparedness and mitigation at the local level.

Mr. Witt integrated flood mitigation, control and protection into FEMA's policy. After the devastating Midwest floods of 1993, Mr. Witt pursued an aggressive flood prone property acquisition and relocation program. By purchasing properties that were repeatedly flooded, he saved taxpayers millions of dollars when floods again ravaged the same Midwest area again in 1995.

Mr. Witt's professional career includes the formation of Witt Construction, a commercial and residential construction company. After 12 years as a successful businessman and community leader, he was elected County Judge for Yell County, serving as the chief elected official for the county, with judicial responsibilities for county and juvenile court. At age 34, he was the youngest elected county judge in Arkansas, and was later honored for his accomplishments by the National Association of Counties. After being re-elected six times to the position, Mr. Witt was tapped by then-Governor Bill Clinton to assume leadership of the Arkansas Office of Emergency Services (OES). He served as the Director of the Arkansas OES for four years.

CHARLES WERNER

Charles Werner is a 32 year veteran of the fire service starting his career as a volunteer in Harrisonburg, Virginia.  He is a 28 year veteran of the Charlottesville VA Fire Department and presently serves as the fire chief for the Charlottesville (VA) Fire Department.

Chief Werner serves on the International Association of Fire Chiefs Communications Committee. Charles was the first and presently serves a second term as Commonwealth of Virginia Statewide Interoperability Executive Committee (SIEC) Chair. Chief Werner also serves on the national SAFECOM Executive Committee.

In 2002 and 2003 consecutively, Chief Werner was awarded the Governor’s Award for Fire Service Excellence. In 2003, Chief Werner authored and was awarded a $6M Interoperability grant for the development of a national demonstration project public safety radio system which integrates Nextel iDEN phones into the Regional Motorola 800 MHz trunked radio system.

In 2004, Chief Werner was awarded the Virginia Fire Chief’s Presidential Award. In 2004, Charles also received the International Association of Fire Chiefs Presidential Award for his work in the area of public safety communications.

Charles is a member of FEMA's Disaster Interoperability Management System (DMIS) stakeholder working group. Charles is a national presenter on technology, communications and leadership issues for public safety. He is regularly interviewed by national media on communications and technology topics. Among those are the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, the Congressional Quarterly, 911 Magazine, Mobile Radio Technology, RCR Magazine, Mission Critical, Homeland Security Magazine, Richmond Times Dispatch, etc.  Charles has testified before Congressional Committees and briefed both political parties on public safety interoperability and grants.

Chief Werner is a nationally published author with over 70 published articles. He is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine and the Technology Editor for Firehouse.com (which he helped to launch) for which he writes a monthly column.  He is also a regular contributor to Mobile Radio Technology Magazine and Homeland Protection Professional Magazine.

Charles has had published articles in Firehouse Magazine, Fire Chief Magazine, Mobile Radio Technology, Homeland Protection Professional Magazine, the Virginia Review, Commonwealth Chief and the IAFC’s On Scene.

Last year, Charles was consulted by DHS grant reviewers on some aspects of interoperable communications equipment because of his expertise and this year has agreed to work with DHS on developing interoperable communications strategies to coordinate local and state efforts. Chief Werner is an avid technology advocate for public safety and believes in building effective relationships across disciplines, jurisdictions and agencies. He is a consensus bridge builder in every sense. 

In July 2005, Chief Werner was added to the Virginia Critical Information Sharing Working Group which is designed to develop the policies and strategies for the new Virginia Fusion Center. In 2005, Charles was appointed and continues to serve on the Sprint Nextel Rebanding Public Safety Advisory Board.

In 2006, Chief Werner conducted a number of presentations for Sprint Nextel on maximizing grant opportunities for interoperable radio equipment. In 2006, Chief Werner drafted and was awarded a $250,000 grant for the development of a pilot geographic information system (GIS) interoperability data project.  This includes the integration of access via commercial wireless services.  This will also be a part of a larger statewide project. In 2006, Charles completed law enforcement training, firearms qualifications and became a sworn deputy sheriff. In 2006, Chief Werner received the Virginia Governor’s Award for Excellence in Fire Service Management for the third time.