I am pleased to submit the 2024 Annual Virginia Comprehensive Emergency Management Report. This report is submitted as required under Virginia Code § 44-146.18:4.

As the State Coordinator of Emergency Management, I write to you all with immense pride and deep admiration for our exceptional team at the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM). Our mission is clear and unwavering: to provide unparalleled excellence in emergency management through innovative practices, professionalism, and a spirit of collaboration with all our stakeholders.

In FY24, VDEM faced an array of challenges and celebrated extraordinary achievements. Our team supported emergency response to two wildfire events, and two cybersecurity events, brought the Commonwealth to bear in response to Tropical Storm Ophelia, and supported numerous local events in every VDEM region. VDEM’s success is driven by our dedicated and passionate team of professionals, whose resilience is a testament to VDEM’s ability to adapt and excel in the face of adversity.

The VDEM team is constantly seeking innovative and creative solutions to further enhance our daily operations. A few of the FY24 accomplishments include:

• Strategic Planning – VDEM took an intentional approach to revitalizing our strategic planning efforts, to include cadence, consistency, and participation. By creating Tiger Teams, and by using a scrum mentality, we were able to drive significant progress on our key results and initiatives

• Finance, Budget Automation, Grants, Good Government – VDEM has been ceaseless in its efforts to bring automation and good government principles to finance, budgeting, accounting, and compliance; our goal is 90% automation by June 2025. We currently manage more than $1.7B in disaster funds with zero audit findings across numerous audits.

• Policy, Plans, Legislation: VDEM has used the same mentality across its policy and planning portfolios to increase our collection and use of data, continue to professionalize our intergovernmental affairs efforts, and streamline our suite of disaster planning services.

• Outreach & Notable Partnerships: A main skillset and responsibility of VDEM is building relationships and leveraging partnerships before, during, and after a disaster. This year, the VDEM Communication team substantially increased media and branding efforts, and creatively leveraged social media best practices to drive engagement and impressions; for example, in June alone, we posted 103 times which created more than 520,000 impressions (all at no cost).

• Innovation & Projects: Virginia is the only state in the country awarded an enhanced regional catastrophic preparedness grant to plan for a scenario based on a nation state cyber attack (called the Blue Book Project), which brings together hundreds of public and private sector partners across Virginia and the mid-Atlantic.

This year’s annual report is more than a reflection of our achievements; it is a celebration of our collective dedication to protecting the Commonwealth. Though we are a small agency, our commitment to supporting local, state, tribal, and federal partners is unwavering. We strive not only to address immediate incidents but to continuously develop our capabilities, expanding our reach and effectiveness in emergency management.

As we look to the future, we do so with pride and determination, ready to meet any challenge that comes our way. Together, we are building a resilient and ready Virginia, and it is with this spirit that we will continue to serve and safeguard our community.

Respectfully submitted,

Shawn Talmadge
State Coordinator of Emergency Management