After spending the better part of 48 hours helping residents recover from the April 15 tornado, Gary Roakes received a standing ovation from some of the disaster’s survivors and others at a public meeting in Elon last week.
Just more than an hour later, Roakes had an encore as gatherers at the Amherst County Board of Supervisors meeting stood to applaud and show appreciation for Amherst County’s outgoing director of public safety as he was honored for his service to the county.
Showing signs of a stressful few days but in good spirits, Roakes accepted a resolution from Board of Supervisors Vice Chairman L.J. “Jimmy” Ayers following a heartfelt embrace from his lifelong friend.
Thanking present and past board members, many colleagues in emergency services and Amherst County residents, many whom he knows on a first-name basis, Roakes said a team effort is what drives the office of public safety.
“The community makes these things happen,” Roakes said of the department’s successes and achievements across various branches of first responders. “I’m just a little spoke. The wheel will keep rolling. It’s all of us working together.”
Roakes, a county native, recently announced he is leaving the position he has held for the past 13 years to join a Maryland-based consulting firm. Serving as a member of the Monelison Rescue Squad from 1984 to 2005, including two stints as a captain, Roakes became the county’s director of public safety in April 2005.
Instrumental in launching the county’s first career rescue staff, Roakes instituted numerous innovative strategies for delivering fire and rescue services, including cross-training fire and emergency medical services, according to a resolution from the county. Under his tenure, the emergency services career staff grew from five positions to 25, which provide continuous full-time coverage for the county all year.
Ayers, who previously served 20 years as Amherst County’s sheriff and three decades in the Amherst County Sheriff’s Office, said Roakes wore whatever hat was needed in his unwavering service to the public, even when he lost his wife, Lisa, to breast cancer in 2011. Roakes “just kept going” and didn’t slow down, Ayers said.
“We were side by side in many situations … our eyes have seen and our hands have touched many things that human beings should never have to encounter in a lifetime. He’s done it because his heart and soul and his entire life has been Amherst County,” Ayers said.
Describing Roakes as a brother, Ayers said he was honored to present the resolution to him.
“He’s a special man,” Ayers said. “He’s going to be missed.”
Supervisor David Pugh said he has enjoyed getting to know Roakes over the years and praised his love of Amherst County and serving as an “ambassador” when emergencies arise.
“We’re certainly going to miss him on the TV,” Pugh said in jest. “I think they had him on speed dial. He did a good job representing the county.”
Roakes was pivotal in implementing an emergency medical dispatch system and a new 911 telephone system for the Amherst County Dispatch Center in 2013 and was a successful grant writer in his tenure, allowing the county to receive $2.7 million in grants to fund projects and purchases needed for public safety, dispatch and fire and rescue, according to the county.
The resolution praised his leadership in the summer of 2012 when the county was dealt a blow from the derecho that devastated much of the county and left many residents without power during a heat wave, along with helping contain a wildfire that scorched more than 11,000 acres around Mt. Pleasant in late 2016.
“This is more than a job for our public safety folks,” said Tucker. “It’s a way of life. Their heart and soul is in it.”
Though Roakes’ last day was set for last Friday, he decided to stay on through this week as the Elon community and county recovers.
At the April 17 meeting at Elon Baptist Church held to support those who lost homes and suffered heavy losses from the tornado, the emotional toll led Roakes to tears.
“I didn’t lose my home, but you did and I hurt for you. So it’s personal for me,” he said to those affected. “It’s been a tough couple of days, but we’ll get through it.”