His predecessor Dick Black managed four Presidential Disaster Declarations back to back including the flood of September 1975, ice storm of March 1976, and January Blizzards of 1977 and 1978. In the early 1980s, the program was renamed to the Emergency Services Department. Donald Betts became the county’s first Emergency Services Director. He directed the program for over 20 years and managed the County’s largest disaster, the Flood of 1986. With the addition of Homeland Security in 2002, the focus on the program grew. When Don retired in 2006, Newaygo County re-evaluated the program and determined the need to move from a part time program to a full time program. Russ Kolski was brought in to manage the transition period. The current program director, Abigail Watkins was appointed in January of 2007 by the Newaygo County Board of Commissioners as the first full time Emergency Services Director in Newaygo County.
Director Abigail (Abby) Watkins
Director Abby Watkins has over twenty years of experience in Emergency Management within the State of Michigan. She has served as the Newaygo County Emergency Services Director since 2007 and has coordinated 2 Presidential Disaster Declaration for Flooding and a Pandemic, 3 Governor’s Disaster Declaration for Severe Storms and Flooding, and numerous local emergency disaster declarations. She is a certified Professional Emergency Manager and a Community Emergency Response Team Instructor through the Michigan State Police Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division. Director Watkins is also a certified Incident Command Instructor through Center for Domestic Preparedness, a certified Master Exercise Practitioner and an Advanced Public Information Officer through the Emergency Management Institute, a licensed Medical First Responder, and certified American Heart Association Instructor. Abby holds an associate’s degree in Business Management.
As the Newaygo County Emergency Services Director, Abby also serves at the Program Manager for all services coordinated by the department. Director Watkins chairs the Local Emergency Planning Team, is the secretary/treasurer for the Newaygo County Fire Chiefs Association, Chair for the Region 6 Homeland Security Planning Board, and emergency management representative on the Region 6 Healthcare Coalition. Abby served on the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy Dam Safety Taskforce from 2020 – 2021 and is currently serving on the Michigan Citizen-Community Emergency Response Coordinating Council (MCCERCC).
In May 2024, Director Watkins was awarded the Professional Emergency Manager of the Year by the Michigan State Police Emergency Management and Homeland Security Department. The Professional Emergency Manager of the Year Award honors an emergency management professional who displays outstanding professional ethics, leadership and innovation, and offers essential contributions to the field of emergency management in Michigan. In February 2018 Director Watkins received a Wildfire Mitigation Award for her innovation and leadership displayed in her wildfire mitigation efforts. The Wildfire Mitigation Awards are sponsored by the National Association of State Foresters, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the National Fire Protection Association, and the USDA Forest Service. In addition, Abby was recognized in 2008, 2009, and 2015 for her work in Emergency Management by the Michigan Emergency Management Association and was awarded Coordinator of the Year for under 60,000 population.
Deputy Director Cory Lewis
Deputy Director Cory Lewis brings more than 17 years of combined experience in emergency services, military logistics, and public safety operations. His passion for service began in high school when he joined the Montcalm County EMS Explorer Program in 2002. This early involvement, along with a strong family legacy—his father being a fire chief (Retired 2014) and public safety official—laid the foundation for his career.
In 2007, Cory became a firefighter and medical first responder with the Newaygo Fire Department, where he served for five years before enlisting in the United States Air Force in 2014. Rising to the rank of Staff Sergeant, he managed and led global aerial logistics and supported critical missions across five continents. His work included rapid medical supply deployment, personnel movement, and humanitarian logistics during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cory also served as a Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) Tier 2 instructor from 2019-2023, delivering lifesaving medical training to non-medical personnel in operational and deployment environments. After separating from active duty in 2023, Cory returned to the Newaygo Fire Department, where he continues to serve. In 2024, he was recognized as Newaygo Fire Department’s Firefighter of the Year.
Appointed in May 2025 as Deputy Director of Emergency Services, Cory assists in coordinating Newaygo County’s preparedness, response, and recovery operations. He holds an associate in applied science in Transportation and Logistics Management from the Community College of the Air Force and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Fire Science Management from American Military University. He is certified as a Firefighter I & II and is a licensed Medical First Responder in the State of Michigan.
In 2023, Cory was awarded the Professional Deployment/Distribution/Transportation Certificate Program (PDDTCP) Level 1 Certification (PDC1), accredited by the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB). In 2012, Cory was recognized by the Newaygo County Board of Commissioners for his role as liaison for the Newaygo County FIREWISE Program, where he supported wildfire mitigation efforts through community engagement and interagency coordination.
Deputy Director Lewis’s military decorations include two Air Force Commendation Medals, two Air Force Achievement Medals, an Army Achievement Medal, the Armed Forces Service Medal for COVID-19 response operations, six Meritorious Unit Awards, two Outstanding Unit Awards and countless others.