CEO

CEO Wolverton comes to us as an Air Force Brat, living in several states and several countries during his life. CEO Wolverton has over 35 years of Law Enforcement experience from Municipal, County, State, Federal and Federal Corrections. CEO Wolverton has been involved in several large-scale disasters from floods, tornados, and hurricane responses. CEO Wolverton has a strong background in Public Safety Communications.

CEO Wolverton retired from the Macon Police Department in 2015 where he obtained the rank of Sergeant. He supervised a traffic division, served as Commander of the Technical Support Unit which supported SWAT Operations and provided Interoperability Communications to Homeland Security with his team. In 1999, Wolverton was deployed to Bosnia Herzegovina with the US. State Department for a yearlong assignment as a Police Advisor to the local Bosnian Police Force. CEO Wolverton was later deployed to Guatemala for a short tour assisting in training a security force.

CEO Wolverton is currently an active member of the Georgia Wing of Civil Air Patrol where he works at the state level Communications Team. He acts as Assistant Emergency Coordinator for the Macon Bibb Amateur Radio Emergency Services, also serving on the Macon Bibb EMA MCV Team.

CEO Wolverton is currently employed with Baptist Health System in Florida.

Christina Guiriba serves in the capacity of Chief Financial Officer for the Board of Governors of the SORT Organization. Christina is a nonprofit professional who has overcome life challenges and overwhelming self-doubt to break through barriers blocking her success, her goal is to become a Philanthropist. Christina grew up in Clay County, Florida where she went to Orange Park High/ Class of 2004 She then went to Douglas Anderson School of the Arts/Graduated in 2004.

Taking every experience as a learning experience, cultivating skills and thinking outside the box have contributed to Christina’s professional development. She is currently executive director of her own nonprofit; Christina is also a full-time student at Arizona State University Online where she will graduate with her Masters of Science in Organizational Leadership.

Christina’s Volunteer history includes the following.

Quigley House, Orange Park, FL

J.P. Hall Children’s Charities, Orange Park, FL

Betty Griffin House, St. Augustine, FL

Lighthouse Learning Center

Mistress of Ceremony SORT Awards Banquet

Maj General Eugene “Gene” Willis was born and raised in Warner Robins. He moved to Perry in 1994 and have been there ever since. Maj General Willis is currently employed as the Branch Manager for Professional Transportation in Macon, Ga. He supervises a great group of folks who drive small vans around the Norfolk Southern Railroad properties in and around Macon, Ga and across the state from Atlanta to Jacksonville and several points in between.

Maj General Willis enjoys amateur radio as a personal hobby and has achieved an FCC General Class license. He is the Assistant Emergency Coordinator for Houston County Amateur Radio Emergency Service and specializes in the SkyWarn program. He is scheduled to be training this coming year in weather spotting and reporting directly to the National Weather Service located in Peachtree City, GA. My goal here is to have all SORT members trained as certified severe weather spotters by the end of 2022.

Maj General Willis is in the process of establishing at least 2 amateur radio study/testing sessions this year. The goal is to give the opportunity to all SORT members, as well as any other interested members of the community, to test and become amateur radio operators themselves. This will not only allow them to become weather spotters, who communicate with other ham operators about severe weather conditions and assist public safety personnel in time of natural disaster. They can useful in missing child/adult cases where ground search is involved. There are also many non distress situations that he can help train radio operators to be the “eyes and ears” for the communities’ public safety personnel.

In the past several years we have conducted “Santa Patrol” where local amateur radio operators watch the local department store and mall parking lots for suspicious behavior and report it back to our own base station radio operators located side-by-side with actual dispatchers in the 911 operations center.

Commander Collier was born in Missouri at Whiteman’s AFB in 1972. Commander Collier has over 28 years in the public safety field holding various positions as career and volunteer organizations.

At the age of 18, Commander Collier started in the public safety field as a Volunteer Firefighter/EMR in Jones County Ga. In 2001, the same month as the attack of the World Trade Center, Commander Collier decided to change his status and become a career firefighter. He spent 7 years as a career firefighter with the Peach County Ga Fire Department, working his way up the ranks until health issues forced me to retire as a lead fire inspector of fire safety education and prevention division, where he was involved with building inspections, and public education. Collier then was employed as a certified emergency medical dispatcher with the Medical Center of Central Georgia EMS Service where he was employed until 2014 when he made the decision to retire fully. During his time employed he studies various land mobile radio communication systems, learning how various systems operated. He also volunteered with the American Red Cross holding various positions including being the State Lead of Emergency Management for the organization. He also held the title of Emergency Coordinator for Bibb County in the Amateur Radio Emergency Services.

After retiring, Commander Collier moved to the coast of GA to enjoy the retirement life. His hobbies include fishing, hunting, walking on the beach enjoying the waves. He also enjoys the hobby of Amateur Radio where he holds an FCC general class license. He also enjoys continuing to learn about various radio modes in the communication field.

Vice Commander Garza retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2009. Prior to that he served in the U.S. Marine Corps as an Explosive Ordnance Technician. Col. Garza is a Veteran of Vietnam, Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom.

Vice Commander Garza has a strong Public Service background. He served as a Law Enforcement Officer in Prince William County, Va., as a K-9 Handler and Bomb Technician. After moving to Georgia, he served with the Macon Police Department as a Patrol Supervisor and Bomb Technician.

Vice Commander Garza is licensed as an Amateur Radio Operator in 2012. He holds an Extra Class rating. He is also licensed as

an operator with DMR and GMRS. Col. Garza has served in various capacities with the Georgia Amateur Radio

Emergency Service. He is currently an Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator, with Georgia ARES.

Vice Commander Garza has participated in several statewide radio exercises, and emergency communication exercises. He has participated in several emergency situations, relaying traffic to the State Operations Center as well as the affected areas. He is proficient in Winlink and Digital Communications. Col. Garza enjoys being on the radio and contacting people around the world.

Lt Col Stewart comes to us with many years of various first responder experience. He was born and raised in Macon, GA and currently lives in the city of Dublin, GA. Col Stewart works in the field of EMS, Fire, Auxiliary Deputy for local Sheriff Office, and Tactical Medic. Throughout his EMS Career, Col Stewart served on the Disaster Response Team and Infectious Disease Response Team in EMS. Over Lt Col Stewart's career, he has worked several tornado outbreaks, Hurricane evacuations/aftermath, and several infectious disease outbreaks. He has also been involved in several communications exercises and deployments. He has known and worked beside our Gen Wolverton in several different event coverages, disasters, and other communication points for over half of his life.

Maj Mitchell Fowler is a dispatcher for Piedmont Atlanta Hospital Public Safety and have been at the hospital for 22 years. He have been with the Special Operations Radio Team since 2019. He has a bachelor degree in Criminal Justice with an Emphasis in Homeland Security and Emergency Management from Colorado Technical University. 

Lieutenant Billy Walker is a retired law enforcement officer with close to 20 years of service. Billy Graduated from Mercer University with a Bachelor of Political Science degree and a Master of Education. Billy has always enjoyed communications and has had a fascination with severe weather. Billy holds an Extra Class Amateur Radio License. Billy is a member of the Amateur Radio Emergency Services (part of the ARRL). He currently serves as Assistant District Emergency Coordinator (ADEC) for the South Central District of Georgia. Billy is also the SkyWarn Coordinator for Telfair County.

Ben Rich brings with him over 15 years of extensive experience in IT, cybersecurity, and secure communications. His career began from the ground up, starting in IT support before progressing through roles in server administration, virtualization, and eventually into specialized security operations. Over the years, Ben has developed a comprehensive understanding of both defensive and offensive security tactics, making him a well-rounded leader in the field.

At SORT, Ben oversees the organization’s information security strategies and leads initiatives that protect the organization’s critical assets and infrastructure. His expertise lies in Blue Team operations, with a focus on threat detection, incident response, and strengthening defense strategies. Ben is also a firm believer in the importance of Red Team methodologies, continuously honing his skills in offensive tactics to better anticipate and neutralize security threats before they become critical issues. This dual approach ensures that SORT remains proactive in its defense, adapting to the rapidly evolving threat landscape.

Ben holds the GIAC Certified Incident Handler (GCIH) certification, which highlights his expertise in incident management and response. His leadership at SORT ensures a strategic alignment between security practices and organizational goals, safeguarding data, communication systems, and infrastructure while enabling the organization to thrive in a secure digital environment.

In addition to his technical and strategic expertise, Ben has a passion for continuous learning and staying ahead of industry trends. He believes in fostering a culture of security awareness across the organization, ensuring that every employee is equipped with the knowledge and tools to contribute to a secure environment.

Ben earned his Bachelor of Science (BS) in Computer and Information Systems Security/Information Assurance from Middle Georgia State College, laying the foundation for his ongoing commitment to excellence in cybersecurity. His combination of technical depth, leadership, and a proactive approach to security, along with his knowledge of secure communications, makes him a vital asset to SORT.