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Community Corner

WILL COUNTY REMEMBERS RETIRED EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR DONALD GOULD

The Will County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) is mourning the loss of retired Director Donald B. Gould, who passed away yesterday. Director Gould served as the County’s top emergency manager for 23 years, retiring in 2002.

 

“Don’s leadership and dedication to emergency management helped ease the suffering of disaster victims and made Will County a safer place for our citizens to live and work,” stated Harold Damron, current EMA Director. Damron added, “Don was a great role model and friend to me and everyone else who had the privilege of calling him our boss.”

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Director Gould had a number of significant accomplishments during his time as EMA Director. He was probably most noted for his coordination of response and recovery efforts in the aftermath of the August 28, 1990 tornado that struck Plainfield, Crest Hill, and Joliet, leaving 29 dead and hundreds injured. He managed five other presidentially-declared disasters and countless other smaller-scale emergencies. He spearheaded the referendum that brought enhanced 9-1-1 service to Will County residents and went on to chair the 9-1-1 Board for several years. He served a term as president of the Illinois Emergency Services Management Association. He oversaw the design and construction of the County’s current emergency operations center and countywide public safety radio system.

 

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Director Gould served the public in many other ways. He served as mayor of Rockdale for nearly two decades and was a former chief of the Rockdale Fire Department. He also served in the US Army.

 

The staff and volunteers of Will County EMA extend their deepest sympathies to Director Gould’s wife Jan and the Gould family. 

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