Eagleville, PA – After completing nearly 19 years of service to Montgomery County, Thomas M. Sullivan, Director of the Department of Public Safety, will retire on January 5, 2021. During their December public meeting, the Montgomery County Commissioners recognized Director Sullivan and offered words of gratitude and commendation.
“Tom was supposed to retire earlier this year but deferred his retirement when COVID hit,” said Dr. Valerie A. Arkoosh, Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. “His steady leadership, expertise, and professionalism have been enormously helpful to me and, without question, contributed to an integrated and forward-looking response to this pandemic that has saved many lives. Tom, you will be sorely missed, and I want to thank you for your service.”
“Thank you for all the work you’ve done for Montgomery County, particularly in this past year,” said Kenneth E. Lawrence, Vice Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. “You helped us so much throughout the pandemic, always kept us together, and focused our team on solving problems and creating solutions. Thank you, Tom, for all of your work. You will truly be missed.”
“Whether it was handling an emergency crisis or managing the day-to-day operations of the Public Safety Department, Director Sullivan was always a steady hand and a leader that was cool, calm, and collected,” said Joseph C. Gale, Montgomery County Commissioner. “Tom is the definition of a gentleman and someone I highly respect. His steadfast service to Montgomery County will be missed.”
Effective January 6, 2020, Michael Vest, the Department of Public Safety’s Deputy Director for Emergency Communications, will assume the office of Interim Director. Deputy Director Vest started with the Department in 2009 after a 20-year military career in the United States Army in the fields of intelligence and aviation. He served two combat tours of duty in Iraq and was stationed in various other locations worldwide as an interpreter, strategic debriefer, liaison officer, flight operations officer, battle captain, and instructor pilot.
Deputy Director Vest is bilingual in English and Korean and holds a master’s degree in Emergency Services Management and a bachelor’s in Aviation Studies with a focus in the Korean language.