La Salle County Health Department employee Connie Brooks has been appointed to the new position of assistant coordinator at the county Emergency Management Agency.

Brooks begins the new position on Tuesday, Dec. 1, the start of the county's new fiscal year.

The choice was lauded at Tuesday's meeting of the Emergency Management Agency committee.

"I'm extremely pleased to have her come over to EMA," said EMA Coordinator Mike Jobst.

Committee member Rick Scott, D-Ottawa, termed Brooks "an outstanding pick."

Brooks has worked for the health department for 10 years and has been serving as the department's emergency preparedness and response coordinator.

At the committee meeting, Jobst read a long list of Brooks' professional qualifications. He said among the most important were completion of the state Emergency Management Agency's Illinois Professional Emergency Manager and Professional Development Series, which cover emergency preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation as well as completion of the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program.

Brooks' salary will be $40,000.

Brooks, a registered nurse in her mid-40s, lives in Peru with her husband of 23 years and two children.

She said she moved to La Salle County from Ohio in 1975 and is a graduate of Serena High School.

Jobst said out of a field of many good applicants, Brooks was among three very strong finalists interviewed for the post.

"Connie just kind of stood out over the other two."