New life has been injected into the offices of the Butler County Commission, thanks to a pair of new hires.

Kris Ware has been named Butler County’s new Emergency Management Agency director.

Ware, a Dothan resident, previously served as the public relations director for the Dothan Houston County EMA.

Though there are some key differences between the operations of Houston and Butler counties, Ware said that some things remain the same no matter what type of community you serve.

“Dothan has a huge population—like over 100,000,” Ware said.  “And they also have a nuclear plant.  So this is going to be a little different, but basically the same.

“We still have tornadoes, we still have flooding and the chance of hurricanes.  I don’t care if it’s 20,000 or 100,000 people—I want to make sure that everyone has the knowledge they need to stay safe and be prepared for hazards.  Numbers don’t matter, because the job is the same—it’s about serve the people of Butler County.”

Ware is the successor to the late Shirley Sandy, Butler County’s previous EMA director who passed away on April 25, 2017.

Ware said that she doesn’t anticipate many challenges in transitioning from one county to another, mostly due to her familiarity with EMA operations.  Those ties that she has already formed give her a sizeable leg-up in terms of catching up to speed.

“I think that since this slot has been vacant for so long, we’ve got a lot of catching up to do,” Ware said. “I’m fortunate enough to already know my state players, my public health players and all of the directors in Division B.  I’ve always worked with them, and we have a great relationship.

“I’m not afraid of any challenges at this point.  I’ve got to learn this county—that’s my challenge, and I plan to do that and keep our citizens prepared the best I can.”

Also new is Nikki Perdue, who will serve the commission as an accounts payable clerk.

The Georgiana native comes to the commission from a Montgomery-based pharmacy, where she served for nearly 16 years as an accounts receivable clerk.

After serving in her previous position for so long, she said that she initially found it tough to leave.

“When I first got the news that I was chosen for this position, I was very excited,” Perdue said. “But then in the back of my mind, I’m like ‘Oh my God, I’ve been here for 16 years; this is what I know—I know I’m good at this.’ 

“At first, it was kind of hard to say goodbye to everyone that I’ve been with for so long.  But after a while and after talking to my husband, it was a breeze.  And I’m still good friends with the people there.  I talk to them every day.”

Perdue said that her interest in working for the Butler County Commission was two-fold.

“My husband is from Greenville,” she said. “We actually moved to Montgomery when we got married.  We stayed there for a little while, and then we wanted to be closer to family, so we built a house here and moved back.

“I’m interested in the new opportunity that I have and learning different things, because I’ve been stuck in pharmacy so long.  So it’s really exciting to learn something totally different, and the new friendships that I’ll make!”