Horry official who led Bikefest planning, flood response honored

Randy Webster made the decision to move to Horry County while sitting on the beach.

He’d vacationed on the Grand Strand for years, honeymooned there and in 1989 he figured it was time to leave West Virginia.

“Wouldn’t it be great to live here?” he wondered from his perch on the shore.

Four months later, Webster got a first-hand lesson about the rougher side of coastal living when Hurricane Hugo struck South Carolina.

“It’s ironic because we didn’t know what to do,” the county’s emergency management director said. “Here I am … years later doing this job trying to help people with that.”

And Webster does his job well. On Wednesday, the 51-year-old was named the state’s top emergency management director by his peers at the South Carolina Emergency Management Association.

“[It’s] very emotional,” Webster said. “It’s something, from my standpoint, that I’ve kind of coveted since being in emergency management. It’s not something that is taken lightly and it’s not based upon one particular event.”

In 2015, Webster led the county’s efforts in planning for Bikefest on Memorial Day weekend, a holiday that had seen three murders the year before. In October, he and other emergency crews worked around the clock as the state dealt with a historic flood.

He’s also served on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hurricane Liaison Team, the S.C. Hurricane Task Force and the Pee Dee Regional Counter Terrorism Coordinating Council.

Brad Dean, president of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, called Webster “one of the hardest working and most collaborative leaders.”

“It’s been a pleasure to work side-by-side with Randy through our joint involvement in emergency operations throughout Horry County, including the recent high-profile events of Hurricane Joaquin and Memorial Day Weekend,” Dean said. “Randy is a tireless communicator, and his knowledge, creativity, passion, commitment and efforts are always focused on serving the people and businesses of Horry County. We appreciate our collaborative relationship with Randy and congratulate him on this well-deserved recognition.”

Webster’s boss, Horry County Administrator Chris Eldridge, also praised the director.

“Randy has been a true leader in our community,” he said. “And I am proud his accomplishments have been recognized not just locally, but statewide as well.”

Webster began his career with the county as a paramedic. He worked his way up to deputy EMS director, interim EMS director and became fire chief when the fire service and EMS departments merged. He’s served as emergency management director since 2003.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “Each one of those things has helped me now. You understand all the pieces.”

This story was originally published March 3, 2016 at 8:19 PM with the headline "Horry official who led Bikefest planning, flood response honored."