Craig Fugate

William Craig Fugate (born May 14, 1959) is the former administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. As director for the Florida Emergency Management Division, he oversaw the "Big 4 of '04" and as the administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, he organized recovery efforts for a record of eighty-seven disasters in 2011.

Early life Fugate was born at Jacksonville Naval Air Station to William Roland Fugate, a senior chief petty officer in the U.S. Navy, and Carol Charlotte Fugate. In 1970 at the age of 11 he lost his mother, and then his father in 1974 at the age of 16.

Career

Emergency administrator Beginning in 1987, he served for 10 years as an emergency manager for Alachua County before moving up to the state level as deputy director for the Florida Emergency Management Division and then became director in 2001 under Florida Republican governor Jeb Bush. He was awarded the National Guard Association of Florida Hall of Fame in 2006. His nomination received bi-partisan support in Congress although Louisiana senator Republican David Vitter threatened to hold up his nomination until his concerns over the handling of Hurricane Katrina by Brown were answered by FEMA.

In 2010, as director of FEMA, he oversaw a record of eighty-one disaster declarations and superseded that record in 2011 with eighty-seven. He was criticized in 2012 by Brown for his early response to Hurricane Sandy in which he positioned recovery resources prior to the storm's arrival. In response, Fugate said that he "emphasized the importance of strong building codes and risk management before disasters strike". Fugate told The New York Times that, "Waffle House has a very simple operation philosophy: get open."

Thunderbolt exercises As administrator, Fugate instituted "thunderbolt exercises" into FEMA's preparations. He led the effort to develop smart phone apps allowing users to report disasters with photos and use GPS to identify the location.

Personal life Fugate married his wife Sheree in 2002 and they currently live in Gainesville, Florida. Fugate enjoys sea kayaking. Outside of government he is also the founder of disastersrus.org, a website with disaster planning advice and links to disaster-related resources.

Fugate is a licensed amateur radio operator. His FCC call sign is KK4INZ. He earned his Technician Class license in 2010. He upgraded to General Class in 2014. He is a member of the Alexandria (VA) Amateur Radio Club. He was a keynote speaker at the 2014 ARRL Convention in Hartford, Connecticut.