For Immediate Release: Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan today announced his choices to fill two key positions in County government – Thomas W. Carr, Jr. as Fire Chief to lead the County’s Fire and Rescue Service, and Arthur Holmes, Jr. as Director of the Department of Public Works and Transportation.
Carr has served as Chief of the County’s Division of Fire and Rescue Services for the past year, coordinating career operations and activities with the 19 volunteer fire departments. His experience in the Fire and Rescue Service spans more than three decades, and he has served as Assistant Chief of Operations and Special Projects, District Chief, Station Commander, Emergency Medical Services Officer, 911 Dispatcher and Paramedic/Firefighter.
Holmes is a retired U.S. Army Major General who has served as director of the County’s Go Montgomery! traffic congestion relief program for the past two years. He also has seven years experience on the Montgomery County Planning Board, serving as a commissioner, and then vice-chair and chairman.
“I am delighted that our searches ended with Tom Carr and Art Holmes,” said Duncan. “They are well suited for their new roles, and they already know our community well.”
Carr’s appointment comes after a nationwide search that yielded more than 40 interested candidates from across the country. The search process included two community focus groups to highlight the qualities residents sought in a new Fire Chief, and a thorough interview with each of the top seven candidates by an 11-member community review panel.
Carr will fill the new uniformed Fire Chief role created by Council Bill 36-03 which will take effect January 1, 2005. In his new position, Carr will have full authority over all fire, rescue and emergency medical services in the County, including services provided by local volunteer fire and rescue departments. The current Fire Administrator position will be eliminated when the new law takes effect.
Duncan took time during his announcement to thank Gordon Aoyagi for his outstanding work as Fire Administrator. “Gordon took on the role when it was a brand new position, and he gave it definition and clarity during a difficult time of transition for our Fire and Rescue Service.”
In announcing his choice for Fire Chief, Duncan said, “Tom Carr was recognized by the Montgomery County Medical Society back in 1978 as the ‘Outstanding Paramedic of the Year,’ and he has continued to give his best to our emergency response efforts. I have no doubt that the new unified Fire and Rescue Service will be strong under his leadership and that the safety of our community is being put into the right hands.”
Carr started his fire service career as a volunteer at Bethesda Chevy Chase Rescue Squad and served on the Fire and Rescue Commission for five years.
Chief Carr and his wife, Anne, reside in Colesville with their two teenage children. Carr is a member of the board of directors of the Greater Colesville Citizens Association and a member of the following organizations: the Association of Certified Public Managers, International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Fire Fighters and the United States Tennis Association, where he regularly competes on the regional level.
Carr holds a master’s degree in human resources management from the University of Maryland.
In announcing his pick for the Department of Public Works and Transportation Director position, Duncan thanked Deputy Director Michael Hoyt for serving as the department’s acting director since the retirement of Albert Genetti last spring.
“Mike has done an exceptional job of keeping the department and its many projects on track, and for that I am appreciative,” said Duncan.
Duncan noted that the appointment of an individual to the DPWT leadership position was difficult because “within the top management of DPWT there are numerous individuals who are clearly capable of taking on the challenges of the director role. I chose the individual who is best suited to the position at this time – Art Holmes.”
Holmes has more than 26 years of top level management experience. In addition to his Go Montgomery! and Montgomery County Planning Board experience, Holmes served for eight years as Vice-President of Logistics Applications and then President and Chief Executive Officer of the Automated Sciences Group, Inc. -- a Silver Spring-based high-tech corporation with 300 computer scientists and engineers and an average annual revenue of $28 million.
A resident of Olney, where he resides with his wife, Wilma, Art Holmes is also active in the community. He serves on the boards of the NAACP, Shady Grove Adventist Hospital Foundation, Leadership Montgomery Foundation and the Olney Theater. He has participated in Leadership Maryland, and holds a master’s degree in business administration from Kent State University in Ohio, and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Hampton Institute/University in Virginia.
The appointments of both Carr and Holmes must be confirmed by the County Council.
J. Thomas Manger
Tom Manger was appointed as Montgomery County’s 16th Police Chief by County Executive Douglas M. Duncan and was sworn in as Chief in February 2004. Prior to his Montgomery County appointment, he was Chief of Police for Fairfax County. Chief Manger is a native of Baltimore. He attended Montgomery Blair High School and graduated from the University of Maryland in 1976 with a B.A. in Criminal Justice. Chief Manger is a graduate of the F.B.I. National Academy, the National Executive Institute, the Police Executive Leadership School at the University of Richmond, and the Senior Executive Institute of the University of Virginia.
Dr. Craig Uchida
Dr. Craig Uchida is President of Justice and Security Strategies, Inc., a consulting firm that focuses on homeland security, criminal justice, and public health issues. Dr. Uchida is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor with the George Mason University Administration of Justice Program, as well as a Senior Policy Consultant with the Lafayette Group in Vienna, Va. Dr. Uchida is the author of several articles and book chapters. Dr. Uchida received a B.A. degree in American History from the University of California at San Diego, M.A. degree in American History from State University of New York at Stony Brook and a Ph.D. from the School of Criminal Justice at the State University of New York at Albany.
Steven T. Edwards
Steven Edwards is the Director of the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute of the University of Maryland. The Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute is the state’s comprehensive training agency for the emergency services, training over 28,000 students each year. He is the former Fire Chief of the Prince George’s County Fire Department. Mr. Edwards also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Safety Equipment Institute, Vice Chair of the Congressional Fire Service Institute National Advisory Committee, as well as numerous local, state-level appointments. In 1997, he was elected President of the North American Fire Training Directors. Mr. Edwards is a graduate of the University of Maryland with a B.A. in Fire Service and a M.A. in General Administration.
Elbridge James
Elbridge James is Executive (first) Vice Presidents of the Montgomery County Branch of the NAACP, as well as the 2nd Vice President and Chair of the Political Action Committee for the Maryland State NAACP Conference of Branches. He is the President of the Progressive Maryland Advisory Board, and is an active participant in the coalition effort to expand living wage legislation throughout the state. Mr. Elbridge is employed at the University of Maryland College Park, where he is a human resources generalist. Mr. Elbridge is the Chairperson of the Faculty-Staff Advisory Board of the Nyumburu Cultural Center, a member of the Human Relations Committee of the College Park Senate, and an active member of the Black Faculty and Staff Association. He has been a resident of Montgomery County since 1971.
Ronald Ogens
An attorney at law, Mr. Ogens is a frequent lecturer for continuing legal education seminars and presentations. He is Managing Principal at Deckelbaum Ogens & Raftery, Chartered, Bethesda, Maryland, and is a member of the Montgomery County, Maryland State, District of Columbia, and American Bar Associations. Mr. Ogens is a member of Montgomery County’s Fire and Rescue Commission (1984-1992; 1998-present), where he serves as a public member and Vice-Chair. He served on the Montgomery County Ethics Commission from 1993-95. He has been a Panel Chair for various Maryland health claims arbitration proceedings. Mr. Ogens was admitted to the bar of Maryland in 1967; District of Columbia, 1968; U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland 1968; United States Supreme Court, 1971. He received a B.S. from the University of Maryland in 1964 and a J.D. from American University Washington College of Law in 1967.
Eileen Cahill
Eileen Cahill is director of external affairs for Holy Cross Hospital and is responsible for fund development, legislative affairs, and community and media relations. Holy Cross is one of the largest community hospitals in the state of Maryland, serving more than 100,000 patients annually. In her 15 years at Holy Cross, she has also managed communications, marketing, and community health outreach. As the lead external contact for Holy Cross Hospital, Ms. Cahill has represented the organization on many community and public-private initiatives, including the Economic Advisory Council of Montgomery County, which advises the County Executive on matters of importance in maintaining the county’s economic vitality, and the Transportation Policy Review Task Force II, a countywide initiative of the Montgomery County Park and Planning Commission to improve mobility in Montgomery County, to enhance livability in our neighborhoods, and to promote vitality in our business centers. She serves on the Montgomery College Foundation, on the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce’s Public Safety Awards and Economic Development Committees, and on a campaign committee to raise funds to construct a Public Safety Officers Memorial in Montgomery County. Ms. Cahill is a life-long resident of Montgomery County.
Hal Bruno
Hal Bruno served over a period of 40 years as an active volunteer firefighter. He currently is chairman of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, a director of the Chevy Chase, Maryland, Fire Department, and a member of the Friendship Fire Association of the District of Columbia Fire and Rescue Service. Mr. Bruno has written the monthly “Fire Politics” column for Firehouse since the magazine was founded in 1976. He has been a professional journalist for 50 years, retiring in 1999 as the Political Director of ABC News. Prior to that, he was with Newsweek magazine, the Chicago American newspaper, the City News Bureau of Chicago, and the Dekalb, Illinois, Daily Chronicle. Mr. Bruno has won numerous awards for his work in journalism and the fire-rescue service. In 1995 he was named “Fire Service Person of the Year” by the Congressional Fire Services Institute; in 1999, he received the “President’s Award” from the International Association of Fire Chiefs. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois, served as an Army intelligence officer during the Korean War, and was a Fulbright Scholar to India.
Pilar Torres
Ms. Torres is Founder and Executive Co-Director of Centro Familia, an organization promoting early child care and education as the primary means of breaking the cycle of immigrant and intergenerational poverty. She oversees the organization’s day-to-day administrative and executive director functions, including public relations, development, policy and advocacy. Ms. Torres organized and formed the first Latino Child Care Association and Latino Leadership Development program, which provides a political voice to child-care workers. She has designed, developed, and translated various training materials and workshops, including a child development training manual and health and safety manual (“Teddy Bear Book”). Ms. Torres was formerly a clinical caseworker with the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services. Ms. Torres is a graduate of the University of Missouri with a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology.
Andrew B. White
Andrew White is a Montgomery County resident who is active in his local community and the greater County as a whole. He is employed by the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. In addition to his law enforcement work, Andrew is also a life member and president of the Kensington Volunteer Fire Department. Additionally, he serves as the chairman of the Montgomery County Fire Board and represents the Board on the Executive Board of the Community Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association (CVFRA).
Richard Holzman
Richard Holzman has been a member of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service since 1987, starting as a volunteer at the Hillandale Volunteer Fire Department. He was hired as a career firefighter in February 1988. Richard has served the county as both a firefighter and paramedic progressing through each rank to the rank of Battalion Chief. Mr. Holzman is a member of the Montgomery County Collapse Rescue Team (FEMA US&R Maryland Task Force 1). He is currently Chairman of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Career Officers’ Association.
Raymond Sanchez
Mr. Sanchez is currently a Captain with the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service and is responsible for the coordination of National Disaster Assets. He began his career as a volunteer with the Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad in 1979 and became a career firefighter in 1988. His career status began in 1988. Mr. Sanchez is a member of the Urban Search and Rescue Team, National Disaster Medical Response Team and has been an instructor at the Fire Rescue Public Services Training Academy. He is also a member of the Heroes, Inc. and is the President of the National Association of Hispanic Firefighters (East Coast Region).
Release ID: 04-509
Media Contact: Donna Bigler 240-777-6530