Gaither returns to Gadsden/Etowah EMA

Deborah Gaither

A familiar face will be returning to head the Etowah county Emergency Management Agency,  Deborah Gaither, who was the director of the Agency from January 2007 through March 2010, is returning to head the agency.

Gaither is scheduled to meet with the Gadsden City Council on Wednesday, and take over the position Friday.

Gadsden Mayor Sherman Guyton said The EMA's executive committee, which includes Gadsden and other municipal and county officials, recommended her for the post after interviewing candidates.

EMA employees are Gadsden city employees, and Guyton, who was on the executive committee, approved the hiring.

Gaither left the Gadsden/Etowah County EMA, citing several family health issues, to become head of the Talladega County EMA. She grew up in Talladega County and began working as a volunteer there in 1996. She joined the staff as a paid bookkeeper in 2001, and worked her way up to public information officer and deputy director before taking the Gadsden/Etowah County job.

Since July, she's been working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency as geographic branch director for the response to tornadoes this year that caused disasters in Etowah County and other locations in Alabama.