You will have to get up awfully early in
the morning to beat Hoyte Hale as he claimed the title of busiest fireman
during the Smithville Fire Department’s annual appreciation dinner this past
weekend at the New Life Connection Center.
“This award really shows his dedication to the department and to the city. He gets up at two o’clock in the morning to do these things and it really makes a difference,” declared City Fire Chief Charles Parker as the agency celebrated its 80th anniversary. “Having responded to 158 calls last year, that tells you how much he is committed to what he does at the Smithville Fire Department.”
The award is named after former
firefighter Robert Eller and recognizes the fireman who attends the most calls.
Eller’s name was attached to the award because he attended most calls which
went out for the city volunteer agency. In the case of Hale, he attended 158 of
the total 214 calls in the city. He also attended trainings and work events
with the chief noting the department accomplished 800 hours of combined
training this past year while going on 160 field calls.
While winning the award for a fifth year, Hale could feel Lt. Donnie Cantrell nipping at his heels as he attended 154 calls and Chief Parker was at 150.
In addition to praising the work of the volunteers, Chief Parker cited each individual firefighter, handing out service certificates and badges. Those being cited included Brenda Soto-Rookie, Dillon Hicks-Rookie, Caleb London-2 years, Ryan Herron- 3 years, Garrett Johnson- 3 years, Seth Wright-3 years, Kim Johnson-3 years, Robin Summers-3 years, Bradley Johnson- 5 years, Dalton Roberts-5 years, C.J. Tramel- 5 years, Shawn Jacobs-6 years, Becky Atnip- 6 years, Cory Killian-8 years, Glen Lattimore-11 years, Stephanie Wright-13 years, Gary Johnson-14 years, James Randall Hunt-14 years, Wallace Caldwell- Chaplain 15 years, Lt. Kevin Adcock- 20 years, William (Wink) Brown-21 years, Greg Bess-photographer- 24 years, Lt. John Poss-28 years, Captain Jeff Wright-33 years, Deputy Chief Hoyte Hale-34 years, Lt. Donnie Cantrell-39 years, Lieutenant Danny Poss-39 years and Chief Charlie Parker-39 years.