CHAMBERSBURG – The Franklin County Commissioners have announced that Mary K. Seville has been named the director of Franklin County’s Department of Emergency Services (DES).
As DES Director, Seville will administer and direct the emergency management agency, hazardous materials program and the 911 communications center to coordinate safety activities and programs within the county. Seville stepped up to interim DES Director when Larry “Glenn” Holloway stepped down from the role earlier this year.
“Mary K. has demonstrated time and again that she has the knowledge, fortitude and poise to take the helm of our Department of Emergency Services,” said Franklin County Commissioner Chairman Dean Horst. “We couldn’t be happier or more excited to have someone as capable and respected as Mary K. in this role.”
Seville joined Franklin County’s DES in July 2020 as its planning coordinator. In addition to updating the county’s emergency operations and hazard mitigation plans, she created distribution management and COVID-19 mass vaccination plans and assisted in establishing and managing a community vaccination center. In 2022, Seville became the assistant director. In this role, she assisted in the day-to-day operations of the department and supervised all daily activities of the county’s emergency management program. She also served as the county’s deputy emergency management coordinator and worked closely with both local municipalities and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, among other responsibilities.
On multiple occasions, Seville has been recognized for her contributions to county operations. She was named employee of the month in May 2021 and October 2023, received the county’s 2021 SERVICE Value Award for Visibility, and was named the 2023 Employee of the Year.
Prior to joining Franklin County, Seville served as the planning and mapping director in Fulton County for 22 years. She graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in geography from Shippensburg University in 1997.
“It is my pleasure to continue working with the great staff at DES and the emergency services community,” said Seville. “I would like to thank everyone who has helped me along the way, and I am very grateful for this opportunity.”
Franklin County’s DES provides a comprehensive emergency management system for the county and coordinates activities through five phases of emergency/disaster that can be natural, man-made, terrorist, hazardous material, chemical or technological in nature. DES handles all aspects of call receipt and processing for fire, emergency management services and law enforcement agencies – with the exception of the Pennsylvania State Police Chambersburg Barracks – to 22 municipalities in Franklin County.
