It’s not surprising that one of Howard’s Rotary mantras is “All In.” Howard is a District 6880 Leadership
Academy graduate; District RLI graduate; Past District RLI Chair; Past Disaster Relief Chair 2014-15;
past District Conference Co-Chair & past Mid-year Chair; Multiple PHF; charter End Polio Society
member; past District AG; past District AG Coordinator; MS-PETS Facilitator; District DG Selection
Committee member 2017-18; past District 6880 “Rotarian of the Year” 2017-18; and a District
Visioning Team member.
Howard said, “I began my Rotary experience when I was invited to join Rotary in District D5240 (CA) as a member of Bakersfield East
Rotary Club in District 5240. Almost immediately after joining, he served on the club’s major fundraiser committee as well as our
outreach committee to local elementary schools’ reading program. Howard was later sponsored by the club to attend PRLS (a multimonth long ‘Potential Rotary Leadership Seminar’ – similar to our RLI) and he ultimately graduated as a ‘Master PRLS.’ An interesting
footnote is that D5240 PDG Wade Nomura (who has since served as the RI President’s representative) was one of the lead faculty. An
amazing aspect of Rotary is the local and worldwide friendships you gain and the opportunity to ‘Do Good in the World’ through
Rotary.”
When Howard retired (the first time) and moved to Alabama in 2007, he was invited to join the Rotary Club of Fairhope by his banker.
He quickly became involved on the club’s major fundraiser committee which he chaired in 2012-13 and was later elected Club President
for 2013-14. His sons, were both involved in Rotary as Interact and RYLA leaders. His younger son was the charter President of the
Rotaract Club of Ole Miss, in Oxford, MS, and is a PHF.
Professionally, Howard began his career in college. A couple of early professors pointed him toward a public safety career beginning in
Juvenile Probation. After college, he became crime scene investigator, a Deputy Sheriff, and later moved up the ranks to a Sergeant-level
Investigator. His past assignments have included: Joint agency (federal/state/local) task force commander; Homicide & violent crimes,
white-collar crime, gangs & major narcotics cases as case supervisor where his collateral assignments included serving as an aircraft
FLIR operator conducting air surveillance and court ordered electronic wiretap investigations. Another assignment was to I.A./
Professional Standards where he served as an officer involved critical incident response team leader directing confidential investigations
into agencies across the more than 8,000 sq. miles of his office’s jurisdiction.
Howard holds a bachelor’s degree in Management from the University of Redlands, and has completed additional coursework including
at California State University – Bakersfield, the Wharton School of Business, and Stanford University School of Law. Howard was
elected to and served as a managing trustee for KCERA, a large (over $5B) public differed compensation retirement fund.
He has been certified by the U.S. EPA, F.E.M.A. and the State of California in Emergency Response Management and Mitigation and
Haz-Mat and was a CA Registered Environmental Assessor, holding a CA POST Advanced Officer Certificate. He has been granted life
member status in both the CA Haz-Mat Investigators Association and the CA Narcotic Officers Association. He served as a Range
master, armorer, firearms and chemical agents’ instructor.
After his first retirement and moving, Howard was hired to serve in the State of Alabama to start the Baldwin County’s Community
Corrections program, as its first Executive Director, and later with the State of Alabama’s 28th Judicial District as the District Attorney’s
Administrative Chief, responsible for helping coordinate office operations along with the prosecutor’s support staff. Howard still
couldn’t quite seem to fully retire, and contracted to manage properties and HOAs. More recently he had worked as an HR Specialist for
the City of Fairhope Personnel Department and at the federal level in courthouse and prisoner operations for the D.O.J. U.S. Marshal’s
Service – Southern District of Alabama as well as a stint as a contract “Special Investigator” conducting background investigations for
the U.S. State Department assigned out of the Southeastern Region, Miami Field Office Investigations section.
Beyond work and Rotary, Howard has also enjoyed serving on various other professional, civic, church and charitable boards. He has
previously served as a national board member for the Fellowship of Peace Officers and led two mitigation task force teams to assist
Gulfport PD after Katrina. He enjoys boating, waterfowl hunting and local football serving as a past Board officer of the Fairhope Pirate
Athletics Booster Club.