Clay County Director of Emergency Management abruptly retires in the middle of hurricane season

CLAY COUNTY, Fla — The man in charge of keeping Clay County safe during hurricanes is abruptly retiring in the middle of hurricane season.

John Ward joined Clay County Emergency Management in 2008, after 20 years working with Clay County Fire Rescue.

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He’s served on multiple state committees and organizations related to emergency planning, disaster response and recovery.

At one point he was even named Florida’s Professional Emergency Manager of the Year.

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But now the county has confirmed Ward will be officially retiring as Director of Emergency Management on July 1st.

“As I look to the next chapter, I reflect on the amazing journey the past 25+ years has been,” SAID Ward in a statement provided to Action News Jax. “Over time we have been able to build a great team that will move Clay County forward into the future for Clay County Emergency Management.”

The county declined to weigh in on the details surrounding Ward’s departure telling Action News Jax it, “cannot comment on personnel matters.”

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The county announced Michael Ladd will serve as acting Director of Emergency Management in light of Ward’s departure.

“We really have a next man up mentality in the county,” said Ladd. “It’s no one person in this business. It’s just like in the military. When I left command, the next commander came in and just did a fantastic job. So, what we’re thankful for obviously is the team and the systems that are in place and that’s what’s going to serve the citizens of Clay County.”

Ladd served roughly a decade in the National Guard before joining Clay County Emergency Management where he earned the title of Deputy Director of Emergency Management.

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“Not only for hurricanes, but for every other challenge that we’ve had, we’ve never failed to answer that bell and it’s not gonna start now,” said Ladd.

Action News Jax also confirmed the departure of Clay County Director of Labor Relations and Risk Management Jennifer Bethelmy.

A county spokesperson said she has “moved on to other opportunities” and added the two departures are independent of one another.

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The retirement of Ward marks the second emergency director to step down in Northeast Florida in the past month.

Andre Ayoub was named Duval’s new Chief of Emergency Services in May.

That change came after previously unreported sexual misconduct allegations revealed by an Action News Jax investigation led to the resignation of Duval’s former Chief, Todd Smith.

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Despite the leadership shakeups, Ladd said Clay County stands ready to respond to anything mother nature may have in store this hurricane season.

“I can tell you dust doesn’t accumulate around here cause we’re constantly moving. So, yeah, no we’re ready to rock and roll,” said Ladd.

Ladd encouraged Clay County residents to register here for emergency alerts, flood zone information and hurricane preparedness information.

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