Barbara Miller, Jefferson County’s director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management was named as the West Virginia Emergency Management Council’s “2012 Emergency Manager of the Year” at the annual LEPC/SERC Conference at the Lakeview Resort in Morgantown on Sept. 19.

Miller, is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM), Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM) and is an Accredited West Virginia Level 3 Emergency Manager. She is currently enrolled in the FEMA Emergency Management Institute’s Emergency Manager Leaders Academy in Emmitsburg, Md.

Miller started her emergency management career in 1999 in Tucker and Randolph counties as the Project Impact Coordinator for the Randolph-Tucker Partnership for Disaster Mitigation and Recovery. After moving to the Eastern Panhandle, she was named as the Project Impact Coordinator for Jefferson County in February 2002; was promoted to Homeland Security Director in 2004; and became the Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management in 2007. She currently serves as the vice president of the WV Emergency Management Council and is member of the FEMA Region III Regional Advisory Council (RAC).

“It is an honor to be selected and recognized by my peers in the Emergency Management profession,” said Miller. “And it is both a pleasure and a privilege to serve the people of Jefferson County.”

The Emergency Manager of the Year award has been given annually since 2009. Former awardees include John Tagg, Ohio County; Tom Hart, Marshall County; and Walter Smittle, Jackson County.