Dawson Primes is currently serving in his 19th year as Director of the Tangipahoa Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management through 13 Presidential Declarations. He took a non-existing department in Parish Government to operating an emergency management agency that is recognized throughout the state. Serves on the Board of Directors for the Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Association, currently as Past President for the 2nd time. Dawson is the Regional Director Representative to the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security. Emergency Management and Emergency Operations Center Management Instructor for Integrated Readiness Solutions. Prior to this position, he was appointed by Governor Kathleen Blanco to serve the LRA Louisiana Recovery Authority as the Governmental Liaison for the FEMA contractors developing the Long-Term Community Recovery Plan post-Katrina. He has been serving his country in the Louisiana Army National Guard for the past 27 years. Served on the Military Engagement Team charged with educating the Haitian National Government on Emergency Management and EOC Operations. Has deployed twice in support of Operation Enduring freedom, 1st to Afghanistan where he was awarded the Bronze Star and a Combat Action Badge and most recently to Kuwait.

Jim knew he wanted to be a Meteorologist from the age of 12, when a tornado struck his community in the Chicago area. Jim had a 32+ year career in the Federal Government, almost all of it in the National Weather Service (NWS). Jim worked as a Forecaster in Chicago, and was the first Warning Coordination Meteorologist in the NWS in Norman, OK in the 90's...in charge of the weather warning program in the most active severe weather office in the US. Jim was awarded a Gold Medal, the Commerce Department’s highest honor, for his work in developing warning systems in Oklahoma. He worked as Director of the Corpus Christi, Texas NWS in hurricane country, and worked on the west coast as the Director of the San Diego NWS. After retiring from the NWS, Jim was recognized by the American Meteorological Society as a Certified Consulting Meteorologist. Jim now works in litigation support to the legal community, and has enjoyed a variety of teaching positions. He has worked on weather based risk-reduction activities for the US State Department/USAID, The World Bank, the World Meteorological Organization, and the Hydrologic Research Center. Jim has taught classes in South Africa, Egypt, and China. In 2017 and 2018 the US State Department named Jim the special Meteorological Advisor to the Government of Myanmar, and he lived in Myanmar parts of both years.