Firefighters hold Pinning Ceremony

The North Hays County Fire Rescue Department recently honored some of its firefighters at its 2020 Awards/Pinning Ceremony at the Hill Country Bible Church.

“The Fire Service has a strong tradition in conducting an annual Awards/Pinning Ceremony. North Hays County Fire Rescue annual ceremony gives our organization an avenue to recognize the achievements of our personnel,” Sheri Gomez, NHCFR Office Manager, said. “These achievements can range from higher education, professional development, time in service, and promotions. We also recognize our personnel for performing life-saving resuscitation efforts, and other successful rescues within our community. In addition, this allows us to thank our member's families for their continued support of our Firefighters as it’s a time to celebrate all of their great achievements.”

At the beginning of the ceremony NHCFR Fire Chief Scott Collard spoke about the history of the awards, and U.S. Army Master Sergeant (Retired) Alan Cotton spoke about the significance of the awards.

The following firefighters and persons were recognized:

YEARS OF SERVICE

    = 5 Years=

●          John Czerniec

●          Mike Carroll

●          Chas Humphrey

= 10 Years=

●          Mike Wyche

●          Sean Owen

= 15 Years=

●          Paul Carroll

●          Chris Hartley

●          Jason Caldwell

= 25 Years=

●          Todd Colvin

FIREFIGHTER OF THE YEAR

●          Evan Smith - Career   

●          Rich Villa – North Hays VFD 

●          Sean Owen – Driftwood VFD

●          David Wright – Henly VFD

MEDICAL CERTIFICATIONS

●          Cindy Lott – EMR

●          Rachel Guyette – EMR

●          Rich Villa – EMR

●          Charly Simmons – EMR

●          Richie Rodriguez – EMT

●          Frankie Hefley – EMT

●          Tom Lambrecht – EMT

●          Miguel Munoz – EMT

●          Lance Ferrell – EMT

●          Grant Ferrell – EMT

PRESIDENT’S AWARD LETTER

●          Jon Thompson

CERTIFICATIONS

TCFP BASIC

●          Tom Lambrecht

●          Tanner Daves

TCFP INTERMEDIATE

●          Eric Davidson

TCFP ADVANCED

●          Michael Chavez

TCFP MASTER

●          Jacob Wade

SFFMA FIRE I AND II    

●          Richie Rodriguez

SFFMA Master Firefighter

●          Todd Colvin

BACHELOR’S DEGREE

●          Lance Ferrell

CERTIFICATION MENTIONS

WILDLAND

●          Doug Brombach

●          Martin Taylor

●          Rebekah Swarts

SWIFTWATER

●          Cindy Lott

●          Richie Rodriguez

●          Grant Ferrell

●          Lance Ferrell

●          Rachel Guyette

●          Emily Haddock

●          Tom Lambrecht

●          Rebekah Swarts

LIFE SAVING AWARD

●          Corby Kokemoor

●          Michael Eden

NFPA 1410 AWARD

●           A Shift – LT Cory Pavlica, D/O Josh Peters, FF Eric Davidson, FF Elizabeth Brady

Gary Cutler, Hays County Sheriff, then conducted NHCRF promotions and oaths.

NEW ASSISTANT CHIEF

●          Jeff O’Leary

NEW DRIVERS 

●          Evan Smith

NEW CAPTAINS 

●          Michael Chavez

●          Chas Humphrey

●          Jacob Wade

NEW HIRES

●          Justin Brown

●          John Courtney

●          Kegan Hogge

●          Craig Lalonde

●          Tom Lambrecht

●          Nick Riley

●          Christopher Robbins

NEW MEMBERS/VOLUNTEERS

●          Doug Brombach

●          Grant Ferrell

●          Hunter Kegher

●          Miguel Munoz

●          Rebekah Swarts

"Our Community can be proud that we have such a large group of dedicated community members who proudly serve our organization,” NHCFR Fire Chief Scott Collard said of his department in a prior interview with the Century News. “Our volunteers are held to the same training accountability as our career paid staff. Also, our combination work force is not just about responding to calls, it helps us manage all aspects of our department. Fire prevention programs and public education is a large part of what we do, and they are equally trained in fire prevention procedures, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards, and all professional aspects that a firefighter needs to serve their community."

About North Hays County Fire and Rescue

North Hays County Fire/Rescue is a combination department consisting of a career and volunteer staff. We provide services to 244 square miles of Northern Hays County. The department has 6 stations located in and around the surrounding areas of Dripping Springs, Driftwood, and Henly, Texas. Station 71 is located in Dripping Springs and has a full-time crew on duty at all times. Station 62 is located in Driftwood and has a full-time crew on duty at all times. Volunteers are on call at all times and often staff other stations within our department. During 2019 the department responded to over 2600 emergency incidents.  Visit http://www.northhaysfire.com/ for more information.

Twitter: @John_E_Pacheco