Editorial: Mike Sprayberry's best at preparing us for the worst

CBC Editorial: Monday, April 19, 2021; Editorial #8660
The following is the opinion of Capitol Broadcasting Company.

When Mike Sprayberry appears on our screens, it is not good news for North Carolina. It means there is the not-too-distant emergency in the offing or we’re in the midst of coping with pandemics, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornados, blizzards or some mass turmoil.

While we may hope for infrequent Sprayberry appearances, we’ve been fortunate for Sprayberry’s leadership, preparedness and ability to rapidly mobilize diverse resources as state Emergency Management Director for the last 13 years.

When he must appear, he has been a reassuring presence. It is no overstatement to credit his work for preventing the loss of tens of thousands of lives – people and their pets! He has enabled the rescue of hundreds who suddenly found themselves in deadly trouble and no way out. His efforts helped provide shelter to those driven from their homes.

As Sprayberry prepares to retire from the state he’s served for the last 42 years and from an agency where he’s worked and been in the top leadership since 2005, he’ll leave the state with one of the nation’s foremost emergency response programs. His good work has earned him positions of trust, working on the national level as vice chairman of the Federal Emergency Management Administration’s National Advisory Council and as president of the National Emergency Management Association.

His agency’s programs and planning have provided citizens with sound advice and direction to prepare for and cope with emergencies. In turn, that has enabled people and communities hit with these tragedies to marshal resources, assess damages and move on more rapidly to rebuild and recover.

As state government has become more stratified along partisan lines, Sprayberry’s steadfast nonpartisanship enhanced his credibility and stature. A health crisis or a natural disaster doesn’t come with a political affiliation.

He speaks and acts with very necessary no-nonsense directness (reflective to his long service in the N.C. National Guard and as a Marine before that) needed to get people to act quickly in emergency situations.

But he also brings an equally strong sense of humanity and shared compassion, having witnessed first-hand the turmoil and suffering disaster brings to so many.

That down-to-earth humility has become a trademark as he’s closed his regular briefings during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s not just about the bureaucrats, the emergency responders and essential workers.

“Don’t forget to look out for your family, friends and neighbors. And call your loved ones daily. I guarantee they’ll appreciate it. With your help, we’ll get through this together as one team, one mission and one family.”

Precise advice from an emergency response planner. A compassionate admonition from someone who cares for his state, his neighbors and friends.

Thanks, Mike, for your service.