Charles Holder

Long before last year’s November election, then-Undersheriff Charles Holder, who was sitting in Brazil’s Craft Beer and Wine Lounge as voting results poured in, knew he’d be moving on to something new — something rejuvenating.

Holder, who served under former Chautauqua County Sheriff Joe Gerace for 13 years, sat in his new office at SUNY Fredonia recently surrounded by large pieces of poster paper patterned with lists and yellow post-it notes on the wall. Phrases like “lockdown procedures,” “bomb threat” and “active shooter” were plastered on them. Holder was preparing for an emergency, he just didn’t quite know what it might be.

“My job deals with planning for emergencies that we hope will never happen,” Holder said during an interview.

Even with more than 30 years of law enforcement experience, Sarah Laurie, Fredonia’s Emergency Health and Safety and Sustainability director, said it was everything else Holder brings to table that made him most suitable for his new career.

“It’s great that he used to be undersheriff, that’s fantastic, but really it’s all of his other qualities that have been the biggest asset for us,” Laurie said.

In July 2018, SUNY Fredonia created its Emergency Planning Coordinator position within its Environmental, Health, Safety and Sustainability department. Holder, while still serving the Sheriff’s Office under Gerace, took up the part-time gig at Fredonia simultaneously. However, he informed Gerace it was his intention to retire from the Sheriff’s Office regardless of how the election unfolded. Gerace would later lose a close election to current Sheriff Jim Quattrone.

“I was ready for a change. I’ve been in law enforcement for a long time,” Holder said.

While still part-time, Holder has been solely focusing on the safety of SUNY Fredonia since Jan. 1, a job he said gave him new life.

While the job “came out of the blue,” the Sheriff’s Office veteran said he was keeping an eye for a line of work that was different, but was still close to home.

“I thought, ‘Maybe this is a sign,'” he said of the job opportunity.

Holder will be focusing on training, programs and policy as it relates to emergency responses. Some of his work is still “cop talk,” which he enjoys.

In his old job, his office was surrounded by trained protectors of the law armed with weapons, and beneath his feet was a secured jail housing inmates who, generally, weren’t happy to be there. Now, his office within the walls of Hendrix Hall at Fredonia is placed among college students, often sporting smiles, who are optimistic, he said. The contrast of both jobs and the eventual change of environment is, admittedly, a relief for the once captain of the Sheriff’s Office.

Gerace, Chautauqua Institution campus and security director, described Holder as a person who he was confident of and accomplished any task before him. Holder was Gerace’s longest-serving undersheriff during their time at the Sheriff’s Office.

“I’m very happy for (Holder),” Gerace said. “He was an outstanding undersheriff and a huge asset to the Sheriff’s Office and the county.”

The former sheriff expressed his excitement for Holder’s new career path. Gerace believed his former right-hand-man was well suited for his current position, citing his background with emergency planning and EMT training.

But the fact that Holder was succeeding in a new environment wasn’t surprising to Gerace.

“He really could be good at anything in life that he applied himself to,” he said.

In Holder’s new office with coworkers equipped strictly with pens and pencils rather than firearms, Holder discussed areas of concern throughout the campus.

It’s true that his role as emergency planning coordinator entitles him to contemplate possible active shooters and bomb threats, but those concepts are only one aspect of his occupation. Holder also has to consider hazardous spills and even impending winter weather that may shutdown northern parts of the county. Many of the scenarios Holder has to ruminate on will rarely occur, but Holder is determined to prepare staff and students in the event that one does.

During his short time as coordinator, he has created of a new Emergency Response Plan, or ERP. On his many charts posted on the wall, “Emergency Response Plan” was written the largest in red. The current version of the plan took about a year to complete and is under review.

The plan is “all encompassing” and serves as the baseline for all emergency responses. This includes a minor gas leak to an active shooter. Whatever the emergency, the more than 200-page booklet has to cover it so that people on campus “have procedures for any type of incident that may happen.”

“That’s the key, to have a template so that if something happens they can pull out this template and say, ‘OK, these are the things we have to do,'” Holder said. “There’s no way of creating a policy and procedure that can fit every type of incident, but if you have one that can fit most things — that’s the key.”

Fredonia previously had an Emergency Response Plan before Holder joined the ranks, but the prior plan was scrapped. The plan wasn’t where it needed to be, Holder said.

The ERP is a template for the entire campus, but Holder is also developing plans for each building he called “building emergency action plans.” These plans will provide photos and schematics of the more than 60 buildings associated with Fredonia. Holder had ariel shots taken of every building from “all angles” during a time when there no leaves on trees to provide clearer shots.

The building plans, photos and schematics will be shared with emergency response agencies who would respond to campus in the event of a disaster.

Additionally, Holder said he intends on hosting drills and training sessions at the college with outside agencies not associated with Fredonia to familiarize them with the campus.

New to Fredonia is the implementation of the “Stop The Bleed” program, designed to train non-EMT personnel how to stop injured victims of any incident from bleeding.

Fredonia recently welcomed incoming freshmen. Holder, discussing potential threats, often stopped to praise the positivity the younger generations bring to the campus atmosphere.

“One thing is, you’re dealing with young, bright, energetic people that are excited about their future,” he said with a smile.

And later he returned with more praise. “The college campus, you can’t beat it. Everybody is excited to be here,” he continued.

Holder previously served as the director for the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Academy for nine years. There, he found an appreciation for working with people much younger than himself.

He admitted to still missing the Sheriff’s Office and the people he worked with, but in retirement his new career is “perfect.”

“It rejuvenates you,” he said of starting over.