Foresman ’83: Emergency Management During a Pandemic By Scott Belliveau ’83, Communications Officer
It is doubtful that Robert H. Foresman ’83 will ever forget his first day as a public health emergency coordinator for the Roanoke-Alleghany Health District of the Virginia Department of Health. The reason is a simple one: On that day, March 3, 2020, he received his first briefing on COVID-19. He chuckles when he remembers the meeting’s setting. “We were gathered in a conference room with no social distancing.” Although Foresman was new to the VDH, he was not new to the field of emergency management. In fact, he will mark 40 years of volunteer and professional service in 2021, service that began when he was still a cadet. “My father—Hank Foresman Sr. ’41—instilled in my brothers and me the concept of giving back to our country through service. I could not serve in the military for physical reasons, so in 1981, I joined the Lexington Fire Department.” Foresman remained active in the department as a firefighter and an emergency medical technician until 2004, and he served as its chief from 2000-04. He looks back at his time with the department with fondness. “I immensely enjoyed serving the community, responding to calls, and helping people—many of whom were having one of the worst days of their lives.” He found his experience leading the department rewarding and instructive. “You learn fast that it is different leading volunteers than it is career staff. You learn to be a good listener and appreciate varying perspectives. The greatest lesson was the necessity to adapt, to change on the fly, based on new information.” In 2006, Foresman decided to apply his experience as a firefighter, teacher, and school administrator full time to the field of emergency management
and planning. Asked what spurred this career change, he replied, “It’s simple. Emergency management would allow me to broaden the scope of my service and have a positive impact on a greater number of people.” Foresman served as Rockbridge County’s emergency management and hazardous materials coordinator for 11 years. In that position, he dealt with a wide variety of emergencies, to include the largest wildfire in Virginia’s history, the fire that destroyed the historic Lexington Presbyterian Church in July 2000, and severe winter storms—the most notable was the winter storm of 2009 that closed I-81 for 28 hours and required a full-county response. Many of the stranded motorists were rescued by firefighters and EMS personnel utilizing four-wheelers. Numerous mass casualty events occurred, including two airplane crashes in which a total of six people died. “Most people never respond to an airplane crash in their careers,” said Foresman. “Either I was blessed or extremely unlucky to lead the response on two during my career.” It is interesting to note that one of his achievements was the development of a regional plan to deal with pandemic flu. In 2014, the Virginia Emergency Management Association named him the Virginia Emergency Management Professional of the Year. In 2017, he took on the responsibility of being the Henrico County Division of Fire’s senior emergency management planner. Foresman has been a leader in professional associations related to emergency management, and he is Virginia Emergency Management Association’s current president. He says engagement in these organizations is “important,” because it helps “build relationships within the profession. Let me put it this way, you don’t want to meet someone
Robert H. Foresman ’83 helps with a January COVID-19 vaccine distribution event in Roanoke, Virginia. He serves as a public health emergency coordinator for the Roanoke-Alleghany Health District of the Virginia Department of Health. His first day on the job was in March 2020 and was also the first time he received a briefing about COVID-19.—Photo courtesy Foresman.
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VMI Alumni Review
