Gov. Steven L. Beshear today announced the appointment of John W. Heltzel of Lawrenceburg as Executive Director of Kentucky’s Division of Emergency Management (KyEM). Heltzel will begin his new duties immediately, overseeing the daily operation of the state’s emergency management agency. Most recently the president and managing partner of CyberDefenses, Inc., an Austin, Texas-based computer security firm, and a Brigadier General in the Kentucky Army National Guard, Heltzel was chief information officer for the Department of Military Affairs and Kentucky National Guard from 1984 to 2006. He also previously served in the Division of Emergency Management as one the agency’s initial Staff Duty Officers where he directly assisted in development of the first duty officer handbook and establishment of internal standing operating procedures.