My name is David Milburn and I am a Republican candidate for the office of Summers County Commission.
I have lived in Summers County all my life and currently reside on the family farm located on Rt. 12 below the Department of Highways garage. My parents were George and Opal Milburn. George was an electrician, farmer and retired from the Summers County Vocational school as a teacher. Opal worked at A&P Grocery store and was a housewife. I am married to Sharon Bivens Milburn. Sharon retired from Summers County ARH after 44 years of service as a registered nurse, ending her career as the Director of Nursing. We have 3 children; Brian Milburn, Kristin Richmond, and Megan Meadows. We also have 4 grandchildren; Beyonka, Jace, Kaine, and Sadie.
My professional background includes 20 years in EMS as an EMT and paramedic/supervisor before beginning my employment at Summers County ARH Hospital, where I am still employed after 28 years. As an employee of SCARH, I am the Facilities Manager. This position allows me to be the director of Maintenance, Environmental Services, Materials Management, and Dietary. In addition, I am the Safety Officer, Security Director, and oversee all regulatory functions related to Environment of Care and Life Safety.
All the before-mentioned has made me very well-rounded in managing people, processes, and resources to maintain an annual budget of $1.6 million for these departments; while providing a clean, safe environment for patients and employees.
There have been many challenges over a 28-year span to maintain a hospital and clinics. This past year has been especially challenging with COVID, but our TEAM met the challenge.
One of the things I would like to see happen if elected is to revisit the numerous Community Needs Assessments/Surveys which have been performed. By doing this, we can identify what the citizens of Summers County feel are areas needing attention. An elected official can have some very good ideas, but with the input from the community as well as county employees, more ideas can be brought to the front with better results. After speaking with numerous residents as well as reviewing the needs assessments, there are three obvious concerns; public water, better internet, and public transportation. Much work has been done on most of these and the focus must continue to improve on all.
I believe in working as a TEAM. This will be with fellow Commissioners, fellow County Employees, the City of Hinton, as well as State and Federal agencies.
The recent designation of the New River National Park brings many new challenges and opportunities to Summers County. There are already homes and campgrounds being planned to be built in Summers County, partly as a result of the park designation. With this brings the need for additional utilities such as electric, water, sewer, and roads. Additional visitors will also require additional services such as restaurants, retail stores, and lodging; as well as emergency services and healthcare.
The County Government needs to be very active with these developments to assure the best outcome for all by either leading the process or assisting in these developments, all the while staying within the confines of the county budget, codes, laws, and policies.
These are but a few of the many items to focus on while assisting and guiding the various county departments in conducting the regular business of the county to provide the best outcomes for all of the residents of Summers County and our many guests who visit us each year.
By working as a TEAM, we can accomplish these tasks.
Your support will be greatly appreciated in the upcoming election. My only promise to you is that I will do my very best to represent all of the citizens of Summers County to the best of my ability.
Please email me with any concerns or ideas you have on ways to improve our great county, davidmilburnsc@yahoo.com.
