MACON, Ga. — A man who made a big difference in Macon passed away Monday.
Army Veteran and former Emergency Management Director, Johnny
Wingers headed up the agency for sixteen years in the late eighties and early 2000s.
He oversaw the EMA department during the Flood of 1994 and the 2008 Mother's Day Tornado when both of those disasters hit Macon-Bibb County.
Current EMA director Spencer Hawkins says he never met Johnny, but he’s heard a lot of memorable stories.
“Johnny Wingers was dedicated and that was one of the most commonly used words about him,” he said.
He’s moved on to another position but former Monroe County EMA director Matthew Perry says Johnny took him under his wing and counseled him.
“They relied on him, and when things were going to go sideways, you called Johnny," he recalled.
Johnny cared about everyone he met and took his job seriously.
“He loved Bibb County,” Matthew beamed.
Hawkins says the Army Veteran left a legacy during his 16-year career at first getting people through the Flood of '94. He was just over a year on the job when the disaster struck the area.
“Once he knew everyone was safe was establishing those points of distribution for water and supplies and things like that because our water plant which is Amerson right now was flooded out and there was almost no water for three weeks,” Hawkins explained.
The man who ironed and wore his uniform every day was also running things when the 2008 Mother's Day Tornadoes hit Macon, rolling down Eisenhower Parkway.
Johnny didn't always have the answers but Perry says the key to a good person at the helm is listening and finding solutions.
“And he was one of those people, he could just pick up the phone and it was like a light bulb went off in his head and he was like ohh we can call this person, he said.
You always hear Johnny took care of his people and that Suzanne Lawler and Don Buckindail.
In 2005, 13WMAZ news crew was assigned to go to Hurricane Katrina in the aftermath with Johnny in the mobile command unit and a lot of volunteers, and even though he had a lot on his plate he always kept our crew safe.
“He insisted we sleep in the mobile command unit,” Suzanne said.
In Macon, the bunker where Johnny spent so much time looks different, with big monitors and a lot of computer technology.
But Hawkins says Johnny's mark will always sit inside the walls, the simple yet key policy of getting all of the players in one room and on the same page.
“He was able to lay that foundation that the people mattered and the agencies mattered in working together for the benefit of the community," Hawkins said.
“That tradition is still there and I think he's going to be happy with what goes on there for a long time,” Perry said with a smile.
Johnny Winger's viewing will happen Thursday night at Snow's at Macon Memorial Park Chapel, from 5 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. He will be buried Friday with full military honors.