For Todd Harris, he’s hoping the third time is the proverbial charm. So are the Sequoyah County Commissioners.
After declining two opportunities in as many years to pursue the position of director for the emergency management office, Harris finally gave it a shot the third time around. He got the nod from the commissioners last week and took over the post that had been vacant for more than three months.
It was 2023 when Harris retired from the Van Buren Fire Department (VBFD), bought 40 acres south of Sallisaw and moved back to Sequoyah County. But those who knew him thought his retirement was premature, that he had more to give.
When the emergency management position came open later in 2023, there were those who encouraged Harris to apply. But he was still new to retirement and declined to pursue the position.
Then, when it opened up again in 2024, Harris was again approached, and again chose not to pursue it.
The third time, however, proved the right time.
“It kept happening, so I thought, ‘Maybe the good Lord’s trying to tell me something.’ So here I am,” Harris said of his new job.
“Now, looking back, I wish I had taken it back in 2023, and maybe we wouldn’t be where we’re at. I’m not bad-mouthing anybody — I don’t know anybody. I just know what I’ve inherited. I’ve got a lot ahead of me. I inherited a lot. You know, that hat’s changed several times,” he says of his predecessors. “It’s going to take me a little while to get my feet underneath me.”
When Steve Rutherford retired on October 31, 2022, after 10 years as director, there were three directors in three years. Garrett Fargo was appointed in January 2023, but left in October 2023. Jonathan Teague then moved up, but left in June 2024. That’s when Brad Taylor was appointed, but he stepped down on September 30, 2025.
Since Harris took over, he’s playing the cards he’s been dealt, which he embraces. Armed with a can-do attitude and a fearlessness that comes from a lifetime of meeting an emergency head-on, Harris hit the ground running.
“Everybody who meets me, they’re like ‘Man, you’re energetic’,” the new director says. “I stay on the go. You’ll see me walking across the street from Wheeler to here to go talk to the sheriff ’s office to 911 to Sallisaw [police and fire]. I just bounce around. I’m pretty mobile.”
Although Harris jokes that he’s a jack of all trades but master of none, his resumé depicts experience critical to emergency management success.
“The fire-and-rescue stuff, I’m good. Emergency scenes, I’m good,” Harris says, taking inventory of the tools needed during a disaster. “I’m not there to take over unless they want me to help. Just point me in the right direction. Do I need to get Red Cross there? Do you just need some water? Do you need some shade? Do you need something to eat? Do I need the shelter for the Red Cross, or somebody who’s shown up for the family? You want me to put some gloves on and start pulling hose, or bunker up and help the backside, or jump in the water, swift water stuff? Just plug me in, where can I help kind of deal.”
He says about the only areas in which he doesn’t have experience is floodplain management and flying the drone.
Harris worked at the Sallisaw Fire Department for three years as well as for LifeStar EMS before joining the VBFD. After 26 years, he retired as a captain — “sometimes backup battalion chief.”
“You name it, I’ve done it,” he says, detailing a history that includes fire-rescue, EMT, Hazmat and even teaching Tactical Combat Casualty Care, the military’s standard for battlefield trauma care, and SWAT medical training, providing advanced, life-saving care in high-risk tactical environments. He also trained at SWAT school, and pursued certification through the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET).
“I’ve got a good background, a lot of fire, EMS, fire-rescue, a little bit of police and SWAT things and everything that goes along with all of that.
“I know a lot,” he says, but acknowledges that “I may not know it all.”
He’s already assessed what needs to be done to ensure everything runs efficiently in an emergency.
“There’s a lot of good people here, and I’m anxious to represent Sequoyah County,” he says. “I’m really interested in helping this community. I’m from here — graduated in 1993 from Sallisaw — and just happy to be here; excited.”
Other candidates for the position were Michael Dewberry and Gregory G. Griswould.
