January 18, 2022
By: Dwayne Page
Capt. Brian Williams of the DeKalb County Fire Department was recognized Saturday night as Liberty State Bank’s Officer of the Year.
Williams was honored at the Department’s annual awards program held on a virtual platform this year due to COVID-19. Wilson Bank & Trust was the main sponsor of the program.
In presenting the DSL Officer Award, Chief Donny Green honored Captain Williams for his leadership skills and community service.
“In addition to his duties as Captain, Brian is the Department’s Training Officer and does a wonderful job coordinating and conducting our training activities. In fact, Captain Williams has taken our training program to a level that most paid fire departments would envy. Brian continued to lead our department being named “Elite Training Fire Department” by the Tennessee Fire Service and Codes Enforcement Training Academy for the 13th consecutive year. Of Tennessee’s 635 registered fire departments, both professional and volunteer, our department has ranked in the top 20 for the past 10 years. For 2021, the DeKalb County Fire Department ranked #3 in training hours among all volunteer and combined fire departments in Tennessee. For 2021, Captain Williams has completed 100% of his monthly training drills while attending other away training courses. When it comes to incident response, it consistently ranks among the best. If you know Brian, you know he neither wants nor expects any recognition for his service. He operates quietly in the background, always making sure things get done without any expectation of recognition, payback or celebration. As a member of the DeKalb Emergency Services Association, he played an important role in helping plan, prepare and deliver meals to the needy on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. Outside of the fire department, Brian is a captain with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department. This is just another testament to his love and dedication to his community. Leadership is not a title. It is an action. Brian’s example of leadership enhances the DeKalb County Fire Department and serves as a role model for other aspiring leaders,” said Chief Green.
Meanwhile, six county volunteer firefighters received pins for Walmart-sponsored seniority awards, including the following:
5 years of service: Bill Brown of Liberty Station
10 years of service: Lieutenant Dustin Johnson, Lieutenant Kristie Johnson and Captain Brian Williams
15 years of service: Gelasio “Marco” Chacon of Johnson Chapel Station
35 years of service: Chef Donny Green
Training attendance awards sponsored by Safe Industries were given to the following members with 100% training attendance: Anthony Boyd, Bill Brown, Blake Cantrell, Jay Cantrell, Tim Graul, Donny Green, Alyssa Harvey, Andrew Harvey , Christina Hovey, Kyle Hovey, Donnie Johnson, Dustin Johnson, Heather Lader, Jordon Lader, Michael D. Lawrence, Steven Lawrence, Tony Moore, Will Odom, Matt Olson, Cheyenne Phalin, Shawn Puckett, Brent Reed, Brittany Reed, Steve Repasy , Frank Rodegeb, Robert Sartin, Calvin Tramel, Brian Williams and Alex Woodward. Members with 75% training attendance were: Matt Adcock, Justin Bass, Matt Boss. Dam Bradum, John Bradford, Sandra Caffee, Neal Caldwell, Faith Caplinger, Gelasio “Marco” Chacon, Josh Davis, Erick Dodd, Luke Green, Cody Herman, Cindy Nixon, Andy Pack, Billy Parker, Anthony Scott and Robert Sutton.
An Honorary Life Membership award was presented to County Mayor Tim Stribling. Lt. Blake Cantrell was the presenter.
“Each year, the Department’s Executive Committee accepts and reviews applications for Honorary Life Members. This is a very distinguished award and recipients are selected by the Department’s Executive Committee based on the strict merits of their service and contributions to our Department,” said Lt Cantrell.
“An Honorary Life Membership Award is presented for 2021. County Mayor Tim Stribling was elected Mayor of DeKalb County in 2014 and is currently serving his second term. He completed the DCFD Citizens’ Fire Academy in 2015. He led and supported the construction of the Four Seasons resort in 2019. Mayor Stribling leads and supports the construction of the Wolf Creek resort where $75,000 in start-up funds was set aside to move forward with construction plans. He initiated and supported a rural development grant application which resulted in the acquisition of 3 used pumpers (Temperance Hall, Four Seasons and Belk) in 2019. He supported the funding of a part-time firefighter position in 2019. Mayor Stribling initiated and supported a CDBG grant application for a new tanker that was awarded in 2020. He supported building improvements to provide restrooms at 4 stations (Midway, Cookeville Hwy, Blue Springs and Johnson’s Chapel ) from 2020 to 2022. Mayor Stribling initiated and supported a rural development grant application for the new Liberty fire truck in 2021 and Mayor Stribling supported the acquisition of two used fire trucks (Cookeville Hwy & Blue Springs) from the county budget in 2021. He supported the formation of a new Multi-Agency Swiftwater Rescue Team in 2021. As you can see Mayor Stribling has been very progressive in supporting the a improved services and equipment for the DeKalb County Fire Department. In summary, whether through grants, county funding, or a combination of the two, Mayor Stribling, during his 8 years in office, was instrumental in building 2 new fire stations, upgrading 7 fire apparatus (2 new and 5 used), and hiring a part-time staffing position. These contributions have significantly improved services to our members and to the county. We are privileged to present Mayor Tim Stribling with his DeKalb County Fire Department Honorary Lifetime Membership Award,” Lt. Cantrell concluded.
