FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Von Rinteln Selected Collier County Government Employee of the Month

Jim von Rinteln, an emergency management coordinator in the Emergency Management Department, was selected Collier County government’s Employee of the Month for November 2007.

For more than a decade, von Rinteln has served as an ambassador to the private sector and to community agencies, and has been instrumental in county hurricane, tornado and wildfire evacuations and responses.

“He is an innovative thinker with the ability to analyze and trouble-shoot problems and identify efficient and cost-effective solutions,” said Director Dan Summers, Bureau of Emergency Services. “Because of his natural leadership ability, strong organizational and sharp analytical skills, Jim was selected as the project manager of the $56 million Emergency Services Center construction project; an assignment clearly beyond the scope of his normal work responsibilities.”

As project manager, von Rinteln sought local, state and federal grant resources and successfully secured $3.15 million in grant support. In February 2007, after several years of coordinating with county agencies and contractors, modifying architectural plans, and securing funding, the county broke ground on the state-of-the-art Emergency Services Center.

The new center, scheduled for completion in late 2008, will house numerous agencies including a new 9-1-1 dispatch center, an East Naples sheriff’s substation, Emergency Medical Services administrative offices and supply warehouse, backup information and technology systems, offices for the Bureau of Emergency Services and the Emergency Management Department, and a new county Emergency Operations Center with provisions to manage and orchestrate the county’s multi-faceted disaster response activities.

Since his employment in 1997, von Rinteln has continued to pursue educational and training opportunities.

In 1999 von Rinteln demonstrated his ability as an emergency manager and earned the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association’s (FEPA) Florida Professional Emergency Manager (FPEM) certification. Three years later, he joined the ranks of nearly 700 emergency managers internationally and earned the Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) designation from the International Association of Emergency Managers. In 2006, von Rinteln was honored with The Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce’s Distinguished Public Service Award for his work in coordinating a plan to send Collier firefighters to the Florida Keys to drive buses full of evacuees to Miami prior to Hurricane Wilma.

That same year, he developed a training course that showcased the Collier County Emergency Management Department’s professional development and certification program, and presented the course at the FEPA and the Florida Governor’s Annual Hurricane annual conferences. In 2007, he reaffirmed his commitment to maintaining standards in excellence in the emergency management field and earned a Professional Development Series certificate from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Emergency Management Institute, and most recently earned the FEMA Advanced Professional Series certificate.

“His 25 years of emergency management experience coupled with his calm, diplomatic demeanor has made him a highly regarded emergency manager – one who is often called upon to provide expert advice and guidance to emergency management agencies across the state,” said Summers. “In his free time, Jim instructs the county’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program, encourages sponsorship and expansion of disaster response teams, directly supports the independent fire districts with their programs, conducts emergency preparedness seminars in a thoroughly professional and knowledgeable manner, acts as a liaison with the state on all CERT matters, and actively seeks opportunities to improve emergency preparedness education and awareness.”

Von Rinteln retired as an Army major after 20 years of dedicated service. Prior to his employment with the county, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics from the University of Maryland and a Master of Arts in Human Resource Management from Hawaii Pacific University. A native of Maryland, he and his family moved to Collier County in 1996 and reside in Marco Island.

For additional information, call 252-8000.
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