Sedalia-Pettis County Emergency Management Agency has a new director set to start in August.
Sedalia Mayor Stephen Galliher and Pettis County Presiding Commissioner David Dick announced Trisha Rooda, of Iowa, will be the new director during Monday night’s Sedalia City Council meeting. Rooda comes in as the successor for Dave Clippert, who retired, ironically to Iowa, earlier this year from the director’s position.
Rooda is the Poweshiek County, Iowa EMA director. She previously worked as the safety and security coordinator at Grinnell College, creating emergency preparedness plans for the school.
“Pettis County is a bigger population than mine so it’s a career growth for me, but I’m very community-oriented in Poweshiek County,” Rooda said. “I work with seven fire departments, the police department. I do a lot of emergency operation center training, I brought that into our county and worked with the state a lot on those trainings. We’ve had declarations due to flooding and a big ice storm, so I’ve dealt with those before.”
Sedalia and Pettis County became accustomed to Clippert’s social media updates, his presence in the community and his working relationship with local media to help keep citizens informed. Rooda said she plans to continue that philosophy.
“I love getting out in the community,” she said. “If your community’s not prepared, you’re already set up to fail. You need a plan, you need a to-go bag. During a disaster, my plans and procedures will go better if citizens know how to handle stuff.”
While there are similarities between the two counties, Rooda said she’s always up for a new challenge.
Rooda said she’s familiar with the Sedalia area, as she travels through the city to visit family. She said the nice community and opportunity for career advancement drew her to the Sedalia-Pettis County EMA position.
Galliher and Dick brought their governments together to hire a new director, both noting they believe this is the first time a joint council/commission meeting has occurred. The hiring committee was comprised of Sedalia Police Chief John DeGonia, Pettis County Sheriff Kevin Bond, Sedalia Fire Chief Mike Ditzfeld, Pettis County Fire Chief Mike Harding and Pettis County 911 Coordinator James Theisen. Rooda was selected out of almost 50 applicants from across the country.
“There were a lot of people who were qualified, so we were lucky to get Trisha and that she accepted the position. I think you’re going to be a good fit,” Dick said during the meeting. “This is a position of public trust and we were looking for someone to embrace that.”
Rooda is working to sell her Iowa home, which includes some farm animals on acreage, and move to the Show-Me State with a start date of Aug. 7 at SPCEMA — just in time for the Missouri State Fair.
“I’m excited, so far Pettis County has welcomed me with open arms,” Rooda said. “You have a strong EMA program — I think I’ll be able to continue that and I’ll be a great asset to your community. If anyone ever has questions or concerns, they should definitely contact me once I’m in office.”
