Press Release
On August 29, 2024, the Warren County Fiscal Court approved the appointment of Charles M. “Charlie” O’Neal as Deputy Director of Warren County Emergency Management. Following the Fiscal Court meeting, O’Neal was sworn in by Judge Executive Doug Gorman. O’Neal briefly spoke to the Court following the ratification of his appointment stating, “that he was honored to have been asked to assume this important role for the agency”. O’Neal went on to say that “working with Director Ronnie Pearson was a tremendous opportunity” and that he “looked forward to using his expertise to serve the citizens of Warren County”.
About O’Neal
Charles M. “Charlie” O’Neal was born and raised in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. He attended Hopkinsville Community College and graduated from Louisiana Baptist University in Shreveport Louisiana with a B.A. in Business Management. O’Neal, a Nationally Registered Paramedic and Kentucky EMS Instructor began his emergency response career in 1972, in his hometown of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, serving as a volunteer firefighter with the Highland Volunteer Fire Department. O’Neal currently serves as the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for TriStar Greenview Regional Hospital and has previously served as:
• Executive Director of Barren-Metcalfe County EMS,
• Assistant Director of Kentucky Emergency Management
• State Search and Rescue Coordinator,
• Director of Medical Center Ambulance Service in Madisonville, Kentucky,
• Program Director for Air Evac Lifeteam in West Plains, Missouri,
• Director of Public Safety for Anderson County Fiscal Court in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
• Executive Director for the Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services.
O’Neal is certified by the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management, FEMA, and the Center for Domestic Preparedness as an instructor in several Incident Command and Communications training programs. O’Neal has served as a Command Staff Officer in multiple large scale incidents including the 2009 Ice Storm, 2011 Floods and 2012 Tornado Outbreak and the World Equestrian Games and oversaw operation of the State Emergency Operations Center during multiple declared disasters while serving as Assistant Director for Kentucky Emergency Management.
O’Neal has been recognized by the Kentucky Coroner’s Association as a Master Coroner and has 25 years of service as a Deputy Coroner in Hopkins, Anderson, and Scott Counties.
O’Neal is also an ordained Southern Baptist Minister and Extra Class Amateur Radio Operator. O’Neal currently serves as a member of the Kentucky Wireless Interoperability Executive Committee and Public Safety Working Group, O’Neal is a member of the Amateur Radio Relay League, the Mammoth Cave Amateur Radio Club, the Kentucky Colonels Amateur Radio Club, and Chair of the Region 4 HEART Healthcare Coalition.
O’Neal has previously served on the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security Working Group and the Governor’s Executive Committee on Highway Traffic Safety.
O’Neal is a Kentucky Colonel. He resides with his wife, Charlotte and Boston Terrier, Prism in Glasgow, Kentucky.