Carbon County officials recently recognized the county’s emergency management coordinator for passing all necessary state certifications for the position.

Last week, the county commissioners highlighted the hard work Zach Gilbert has done getting the coordinator associate certification needed for the position.

Commissioners’ Chairman Mike Sofranko passed on a message from Gilbert’s parents, who were unable to make the presentation due to work.

“They both wanted me to make sure that I tell you how proud they are of you, how much they think of you and that you’ve made them very, very proud,” Sofranko said.

Commissioner Wayne Nothstein, who previously served in the same capacity as Gilbert and is still an active first responder, presented the plaque.

“This has been a long time coming,” Nothstein said, noting that because of the lack of a state budget last year, the certification process was delayed three times.

“We finally reached this milestone and I want to congratulate Zach on this and make people aware because I don’t think they realize, the amount of time that the emergency management coordinator puts in. He is on call 24/7, seven days a week, 365 days a year, whether he’s on vacation or not. ...”

“I want to thank Zach for stepping up to the place and taking this position ... and he has proven himself over the last year and a half.”

Commissioner Rocky Ahner also commended Gilbert for the improvements he has made since taking the position, including updating smaller items like emergency evacuation routes and signage in county buildings.

“He’s done a tremendous job,” Ahner said.

Sofranko pointed out that these smaller things that Ahner spoke about as part of the safety committee saves the county money through lower insurance payouts.

Gilbert thanked the board for the recognition, and explained the process he went through to get to this certification.

He noted that through multiple delays, scheduling conflicts, a budget stalemate and daily operations, he finally met with 15 state Emergency Management Agency officials for the certification exercises, which is a requirement to obtain grant funding for half of his salary.

“Now that I have this, we’re kind of moving forward and everything is getting figured out,” he said.

Gilbert began as the new EMA coordinator on Oct. 2, 2024, after longtime EMA coordinator Mark Nalesnik retired.

A 2016 graduate of Panther Valley High School, Gilbert has grown up around emergency services, serving as a junior volunteer firefighter and then volunteer firefighters at the American Hose Company No. 1 in Lansford, as well as a police officer for a season in Ocean City, Maryland, in 2019.