OEM names second director since May

The Springfield-Greene County Office of Emergency Management named a new director after the sudden exit of its three-month leader.

Mike Dixon, who started May 15, has been replaced as director of the disaster response group by Larry Woods, a longtime employee of the agency. OEM spokeswoman Erin Hedlun declined to say whether Dixon resigned or was let go. Dixon, who could not be reached for comment by deadline, previously worked as director of the Benton County Emergency Management Agency in Arkansas.

“Greene County cannot comment on Mr. Dixon’s separation from employment. We do not know what his future employment plans are,” said Mailyn Knight, Greene County’s human resources director, via email.

Woods served as interim director when Chet Hunter stepped down a year ago for a new job until Dixon’s hiring earlier this year. An employee of OEM since 2000, Woods has been deputy director since 2003.

“Larry has extensive experience and has proven himself time and time again. For a community that intends to be the best prepared in the country, I have every confidence in Larry's ability to lead the Office of Emergency Management and our entire community to achieve that goal,” Springfield City Manager Greg Burris said in the release.

The OEM works to mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from natural disasters in southwest Missouri. In the spring, the organization reported $168,500 in public damages and received more than 170 damage reports related to the late April flooding.

Separate from the OEM, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is reminding those who sustained property damages caused by the spring flooding event to submit applications for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. The deadline is Aug. 14, and assistance can be requested at DisasterAssistance.gov. More than $11.8 million in assistance has been approved so far.