A Mower County official has been recognized for helping Mower and other counties plan for the worst.

Mower County Emergency Management Coordinator Amy Lammey received the Homeland Security and Emergency Management’s Outstanding Emergency Management Coordinator Award for Minnesota and another award for Outstanding Commitment of Community Recovery at the Minnesota Governor’s Conference on Feb. 12.

The county board recognized Lammey for her efforts on Tuesday.

“Amy’s organizational skills and her ability to herd geese, as well as a positive attitude, reflects very well on our office,” Emergency Management and Veterans Services Director Wayne Madson told the board.

Over 2013 and 2014, Lammey helped coordinate an initiative to prepare for what would happen if an infectious animal disease was confirmed in the area.

That effort culminated Sept. 30, 2014, with a state-coordinated exercise simulating how counties would react if foot-and-mouth disease was confirmed in the area.

“In planning for the worst disaster we can possibly have, then we know that if we have a smaller one we can still step in and help each other,” Lammey said. “That’s where the ‘herding geese’ comes in.”

During that September event, about eight to 10 Mower County and law enforcement leaders gathered in the Mower County Emergency Operations Center to simulate their response. The work proved to be a unique type of training, as it was coordinated across 18 counties and included several departments, from emergency management to law enforcement to ag officials and environmental services.

As a county, Lammey said they learned it would take a large-scale team effort to respond to a foreign animal disease. However, she said they learned county officials are ready and have the needed resources to respond if something would ever occur.

While the Department of Homeland Security formed after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the agency isn’t just about responding to terrorism.

“We have to look at our local level and decide what we have to prepare for and respond to,” Lammey said.

Agriculture and animal planning is particularly important in Austin as Hormel Foods Corp. and Quality Pork Processors Inc. call for thousands of hogs being shipped on Interstate 90 each year.

Lammey thanked Madson for his support and called him a superior boss.

Lammey has worked with the county for about 17 years and has been the emergency management director for four years. Before taking her current job, she worked in public health preparedness. She was pleased with the award.

“It’s really humbling,” Lammey said. “It’s just really amazing to be recognized for the efforts, for the foreign animal disease contribution especially, because we’re an agriculture community.”