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2020 DCFD Virtual Awards Program
Dusty Johnson
Dusty Johnson - . Lieutenant Dusty Johnson was named the 2020 Liberty State Bank Officer of the Year. Chief Donny Green








 

 

The DeKalb County Fire Department’s Annual Awards Program was held Saturday, January 16. The program was held in a virtual format this year to exercise safety precautions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The headlining sponsor for this year’s banquet was Wilson Bank & Trust.

DeKalb County Fire Chief Donny Green welcomed everyone to the program and highlighted some of the department’s major achievements in 2020 that have resulted in huge milestones. For the 12th consecutive year, DeKalb County Fire Department was recognized as one of Tennessee’s elite fire departments for 2019-2020 outstanding training achievement. Of the 732 fire departments in Tennessee, both volunteer and career, the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department ranked # 22 for 2019-20 training achievement by the Tennessee Fire Service and Codes Enforcement Academy. Among volunteer departments in the state, the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department ranked # 1. The department’s recruitment success was excellent in 2020. There were 39 new members added to the roster in 2020. In March the department sent a team to Putnam County to assist with the tornado search and recovery efforts. In August, the department was awarded a $427,360 Assistance to Firefighters Grant for the purchase of new self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBA). Also, in August, Blake Cantrell was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant to serve on the county-wide leadership team. In September, the department was awarded a Community Development Block Grant in the amount of $339,518 to purchase a new fire tanker truck. In November, the County Commission approved the purchase of two used fire engines to update the county-wide fleet. During Thanksgiving and Christmas, several of the department’s members participated in the DeKalb Emergency Services Association (DESA) meal preparation and delivery efforts for needy and underserved DeKalb County residents. For the year, the 81-member department donated a total of 8,866.53 hours responding to calls, attending training, participating in work sessions and fundraising events, and attending administrative meetings and special events. To put that in perspective, that’s 109.46 hours per member.

The highlight of the program was the presentation of awards to members of the department who have excelled in various areas. For the competitive awards, the award sponsors served as judges for the community service section of each nomination. The other nomination scoring criteria is based upon incident response participation and training attendance. Chief Green said multiple nominations were received in each category and the department has many members who excel in their service and commitment. “We are extremely proud of every member of our department for their personal sacrifice; and not only their personal sacrifice, but the sacrifice and support it takes from their families to allow them to serve. It takes a very dedicated individual to step up to the task and demands of being a volunteer firefighter in this department. Because of the support from our award sponsors, we have this opportunity to recognize and reward those who have achieved excellence so that others can clearly see our department’s mission in action.

As such, the following awards were presented during the program:

Steve Repasy, Station Commander at the Midway Station, was selected to receive the 2020 Saint Thomas DeKalb/Ascension Firefighter of the Year Award. Lieutenant Blake Cantrell presented this award that is exclusively selected from firefighters demonstrating excellence in training participation, incident response, and community service. Lt. Cantrell said Steve Repasy has exceled in all considerations used to evaluate the worthiness of earning this award. "Steve is willing to take on any project with a positive attitude. Whether it’s a work session, fire prevention/safety event, fundraiser, training, or fire call, you will see him there from start to finish. He does so much work behind the scenes that keeps our department running smoothly. As for his community service, Steve is very active in the Red Cross, the Smithville Lions Club, and Habitat for Humanity. He volunteers his time and skills to build wheelchair ramps, and reading to children at the library. DeKalb County Fire Department attempts to recognize firefighters who reflect a positive image of commitment and sacrifice to the department and our communities, and there is absolutely no doubt Steve has earned the honor of being named Saint Thomas DeKalb/Ascension 2020 Firefighter of the Year,” said Lt. Blake Cantrell.

Lieutenant Dusty Johnson was named the 2020 Liberty State Bank Officer of the Year. Chief Donny Green presented the award and highlighted Lieutenant Johnson’s achievements in training attendance, incident response, and community service. “As one of our lieutenants and Fire Prevention/Safety Officer, Dusty continues to grow in his leadership skills and does a tremendous job leading, planning, coordinating, and scheduling free smoke alarm installations and providing fire prevention/safety events for our community. Lt. Johnson is among the top when it comes to incident responses and training attendance. He unselfishly donates his construction skills and equipment to make improvements to our department. Lastly, he sacrifices his time for community service. As a member of the DeKalb Emergency Services Association, he played a big role in helping plan, prepare, and deliver over 500 free meals last Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. Dusty also serves our community in his role as Captain of the Smithville/DeKalb County Rescue Squad and he is also an active Emergency Medical Responder with DeKalb County Emergency Medical Services. We are proud to honor Lt. Dusty Johnson as the Liberty State Bank 2020 Officer of the Year,” said Chief Green.

Lieutenant Blake Cantrell was selected by the awards panel to receive the Allen’s Allstars “Git R Done" Award. Captain Jay Cantrell presented this award and said this award is aimed at recognizing members who demonstrate exceptional sacrifices going above and beyond responding to calls and attending training. “Lt. Blake Cantrell continuously shares his technology skills and goes well beyond his required duties as Lieutenant and Communications Officer. He is always willing to take on new projects, stays on task, and is always prompt. He prioritizes training and call response while still doing all these extra things that makes our department better prepared to serve and respond. With his excellent information technology skills, Blake has gone above and beyond by maintaining our security equipment, text messaging system, radios, pagers, and computers, and installing video cameras in our county-wide fleet. As for community service, it would be hard to find anyone more involved in our community. Blake is a former President of the DeKalb Emergency Services Association (DESA) and has led many community service projects including the Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve meal preparation and delivery projects where over 500 meals were delivered on each occasion. Blake demonstrates the model of a "Git-R-Done" firefighter. His commitment to sacrifice of personal time, both in our department and in the community, while leading with a positive servant attitude, clearly shows why the awards panel chose Lt. Blake Cantrell as the recipient of the Allen’s Allstars 2020 “Git R Done” award,” said Captain Jay Cantrell.   

Lt. Kristie Johnson presented the 2020 First Bank Station of the Year Award to the Liberty Station. This award is selected from among the 12 stations of the DeKalb County Fire Department based upon community service and work sessions provided by the station. In 2020, the Liberty Station exceled in both these criteria by demonstrating commitment to training through station drills, participating in the response team deployment to the Putnam County tornado event in March, volunteering to help remove a large tree from an elderly couple’s lawn in Dowelltown, participating in the DeKalb West School “Welcome Back to School” in August, hosting a community Halloween Give-Back Event in Liberty, and several members assisted with the preparation and delivery of the Thanksgiving meal program hosted by the DeKalb Emergency Services Association. In December, the station selected 3 needy families in the Liberty/Dowelltown communities for which they provided Christmas dinner and gifts for the children. “Based upon the excellent community service and display of station pride, the Liberty Station was awarded this recognition by our panel of sponsorship judges,” said Lt. Kristie Johnson.

The DeKalb Telephone Cooperative (DTC) Rookie of the Year award went to Firefighter Jordan Lader of the Johnson’s Chapel Station. Captain/Training Officer Brian Williams presented the award and said this award is exclusively based on hours of training and goes to a firefighter that completed his/her basic recruit training during 2020. Capt. Williams says the department feels that the most important thing the department can do for our new recruits is to give them basic training and reinforce the importance of continuous training. Consequently, training is the sole criteria used in the Rookie of the Year selection. During Firefighter Lader’s 12-month rookie period, he completed 185 hours of training which includes completion of the 64-hour Basic Firefighter Training and the 22-hour Live Burn Training at the Fire Academy. In addition, he has completed a long list of extra training courses to improve his firefighting skills. “We certainly want to recognize recruits who demonstrate an outstanding level of commitment to training. Our department is fortunate to have an excellent group of recruits who have contributed to our department being recognized with elite training awards for 12 consecutive years. We are proud of all of them and we are honored to name Firefighter Jordan Lader as our 2020 DTC Rookie of the Year,” said Captain Williams.

Lieutenant Dusty Johnson presented Walmart Length of Service Awards for the following 8 members:   

5 years of service:         Justin Bass, Main Station
Blake Cantrell, Lieutenant
Aaron Haggard, Keltonburg Station
Caleb Haggard, Short Mtn. Station

10 years of service:       Andy Pack, Belk Station                               

20 years of service:       Jay Cantrell, Captain
                                    Anthony Johnson, Liberty Station

45 years of service:       Wilson Williams, Liberty Station

 

Captain Michael Lawrence presented Safe Industries Training Achievement Awards.

Members achieving 100% training attendance were: Charles Adcock, Brady Anderson, Dan Bradam, Vicki Bradam, Bill Brown, Lt. Blake Cantrell, Joshua Davis, Erick Dodd, Tim Graul, Chief Donny Green, Alyssa Harvey, Andrew Harvey, Donnie Johnson, Lt. Dusty Johnson, Capt. Michael Lawrence, Cindy Nixon, Andy Pack, Shawn Puckett, Brent Reed, Brittany Reed, Steve Repasy, Robert Sartin, Peyton Taylor, Capt. Brian Williams.

Members achieving 75% training attendance were: Matt Adcock, Justin Bass, Asst. Chief Anthony Boyd, Sandra Caffee, Capt. Jay Cantrell, Kim Cantrell, Gelasion “Marco” Chacon, Luke Green, Anthony Johnson, Jordan Lader, Harley Lawrence, Steven Lawrence, Tony Moore, Billy Parker, Cheyenne Phalin, and Stevie Powers.

To conclude the awards ceremony, the department’s newest recruit, Fireman Frank, an associate of Ventriloquist David Turner, presented some humor and farewell remarks thanking the DeKalb County Firefighters and their families for their sacrifices and commitment to public safety in DeKalb County.