By Cindy Jackson
Reporter
March 26, 2019 6:25 p.m.
Billy Estep, the Director of Emergency Management for Nassau County has announced his retirement as of April 21, 2019. Estep has seen Nassau County through both Hurricanes Matthew and Irma and has volunteered his teams elsewhere.
And as he says, “it’s only retirement from government service.”
Estep is joining the private sector and in so doing is joining forces with other leading professionals in the realm of emergency management including Greg Fugate, the former administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This new business will have clients (government, military, or private corporations) in need of emergency management for preparation, mitigation or recovery.
When reached by phone, Estep indicated that while he had hoped to take some time off to renovate the home he shares with wife Stephanie, herself an emergency preparedness professional, the new business client list Estep says “is already so long that renovating won’t happen anytime soon.”
Estep is a man whose career is both interesting, intriguing . . . and full of the entrepreneurial spirit.
He started as a grant-funded firefighter in Jacksonville and when that grant expired, he found himself in the Bahamas as a contractor for a US Navy Base. During that stint, he became a hazardous material (HAZ MAT) expert.
In 1988, when he returned stateside, he became the “HazMat” expert for the Jacksonville Fire Station.
Having recently turned 60, Estep has served Nassau County since 2014 when he accepted the position of Director of Emergency Management. It was during that time frame the Board of County Commissioners voted to place the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and Emergency Management under the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office. It is the County’s Emergency Management Program which is responsible for Disaster Preparedness.
Estep has seen Nassau County through both Hurricanes Matthew and Irma and has volunteered his teams elsewhere. An emergency response professional, Estep has had more than 36 years of work experience in the field.
Says Sheriff Leeper “Under his leadership, emergency management in Nassau County has improved tremendously and is now recognized throughout the state of Florida as a leader in the emergency management field. We have truly accomplished a lot over the past five years and Nassau County is safer as a result of our efforts.”
Editor’s Note: Born in Hagerstown, Maryland, Cindy received her BA in Political Science from Dickinson College. Upon graduation, Cindy began her career on Capitol Hill working as a legislative aide and director. She later became a part of the public relations and lobbying team of the American Iron and Steel Institute and served as director of the office of state legislative affairs for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). Cindy was involved in economic development with the state of Maryland, and served as executive director of Leadership Washington County. As a community volunteer, Cindy participates in numerous volunteer activities serving as a member of Sunrise Rotary, and as board member of Cummer Amelia Board of Directors.