Given to companies, or individuals employed by companies, who have made significant contributions toward improving or supporting emergency management activities, the award also credits the winner with providing identifiable support for local and state government or industry disaster preparedness.
Bristol Motor Speedway's nomination, submitted by Jerry Fleenor, Director of Sullivan County Emergency Management, was based on its involvement with SCEMA. BMS recently assisted the Sullivan County EMA in purchasing mass casualty trailers which are designed to respond to an accident anywhere in the region with the ability to render basic care for up to 750 patients.
BMS also is assisting with land and building funds for a new Emergency Operation Center for Sullivan County. The EOC would function as a center for all agencies involved in track functions and should an emergency occur, would be available immediately. It also would function at any time the EOC needed to be activated and could be used as a regional center to assist in a multi-county event for both the EOC and Tennessee Emergency Management Association (TEMA).
The Speedway's willingness to allow TEMA, Homeland Security and the Sullivan County Emergency Management District One Group to host a tabletop discussion at BMS was also considered in the nomination.
"We're very pleased to have been honored with this award," said BMS president and general manager Jeff Byrd. "We work very closely with the Sullivan County EMA as well as many other agencies to work toward providing a safe and secure environment for our guests. We're very fortunate to have a group as committed to emergency preparedness and safety of this area as the team from Sullivan County Emergency Management."
