Sean C. Morgan
The Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District and Sweet Home Police Department named six award winners during their joint awards banquet at the Elks Lodge Saturday evening.
Crawfordsville firefighter Virgil Kropf was named Firefighter of the Year.
Dave Hickcox was named the SHPD Employee of the Year.
Paramedic-firefighter Josh Starha, the 2012 Rookie of the Year, was named SHFAD Employee of the Year.
SHPD selected Connie Conner as Volunteer of the Year and Heather Mann as Dispatcher of the Year.
SHFAD named Brandi Pickett its Rookie of the Year.
Emcee Randy Whitfield, SHFAD battalion chief, offered advice to younger firefighters – and older ones too, when the shoe fits. Among firefighters, he explained, giving each other a hard time and nicknames is a sign that other firefighters “like you,” and young firefighters shouldn’t really worry unless that isn’t happening.
Veteran volunteer firefighter John Marble, stationed at Crawfordsville, gave the Firefighter of the Year a really hard time Saturday night.
He explained that Kropf is such a hard worker that he never got his yellow hat ceremony, which signifies a firefighter has achieved “Firefighter I” status and is qualified to do almost anything. Kropf was getting ready to take off for a conflagration in California last year, but he was still wearing his black hat, a sign he was a new firefighter and not qualified to go on the conflagration, because he hadn’t had time for a traditional yellow hat ceremony.
The department switched out his hat without fanfare and sent him on his way. He still hadn’t had a chance to go through the ceremony as of Saturday night.
Marble fixed that for him and called him up to the stage for a yellow hat ceremony. He draped a yellow plastic poncho over Kropf’s head and turned him around where the audience could see Kropf’s name stenciled onto his new “hat.”
“He likes to do that kind of stuff for people he works with,” Kropf said of the veteran. “I was happy he did that for me. He tends to like to do little humorous things like that.”
On a serious note, Marble paid homage to Todd Carter, a retired Crawfordsville volunteer firefighter, who died two months ago. Carter embodied the idea that one may serve one’s self only by serving others, something Marble attributed to Greg Simonds, a ranch management consultant.
Alluding to that idea, Marble said “there is a young man who has taken this service to a whole other level.”
That’s evident in the high number of calls and drills Kropf responds to, Marble said, noting that Kropf likes responding to calls at 2 a.m.
When Marble reminded Kropf that 85 percent of the district’s calls are medical, Kropf began medical training to allow him to respond on medical calls. He volunteered at the recent Northern Farms Mud Festival, and he was in uniform Saturday night because he volunteered to be ready to respond to emergencies while other firefighters and medics enjoyed the banquet.
“Virgil has taken this service deal completely over the top,” Marble said, adding that’s why he was voted Firefighter of the Year by members of the fire service.
“He was a very, very deserving nominee. We’re really fortunate in Crawfordsville. There’s only four of us. We’re a small team, so when you’ve got somebody like Virgil, he kind of makes things happen.”
Kropf joined the fire department two years ago. Since then, he has earned his firefighter certification, emergency medical responder certification and “hazmat I” certification.
“It blew me away,” Kropf said. “I was not expecting that. Very honored.”
SHPD Sgt. Ryan Cummings said the department’s Employee of the Year is selected by a vote of peers and supervisors and not handed out by the chief of police.
“It is earned, day in and day out, by demonstrating a stellar work ethic, leadership, a willingness to help other department members when needed and the ability to consistently and positively resolve the issues that we deal with every day,” Cummings said.
Hickcox, he said, has been a dependable employee who has taken on many new responsibilities and shown a dedication to serve far beyond his basic duties.
He is “a natural leader,” Cumming said, adding that Hickcox has “taken ownership” in the department’s future, and his “integrity is without question.”
“I’ve had the opportunity to be with this person during challenging times, both on and off duty, and I have never had any doubt that (he) can handle the situation,” Cummings said, noting that he has asked himself for years if he would take the people he’s worked with into battle with him.
“And I don’t mean the scuffles we get into on the streets of Sweet Home,” Cummings said. “I mean real combat, the likes of which I have never personally seen.”
With Hickcox, the answer is always a resounding “yes,” he said. “And so it is with great pride that I present to you the Sweet Home Police Department Employee of the Year, Officer Dave Hickcox.”
Hickcox joined the department in 2012. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army. He is a member of the Linn County SWAT, and he is the range master for SHPD.
Battalion Chief Eli Harris presented the SHFAD Employee of the Year award.
“It is sometimes difficult to pick an employee of the year at Sweet Home Fire,” Harris said. “Our members are asked to wear many different hats and fill many different roles.”
Beyond their work as firefighters and medics, they are landscapers, plumbers, janitors, counselors, chefs, mechanics, information technology advisers and much more, he said.
“We have introduced many improvements to our department this past year, and it took many people using their talents to make that happen.
“So many of these people perform thankless jobs, but they do not go unappreciated. From coming in on a day off to put up shelving in a storage shed to staying up late trying to rewire an old engine, the members of Sweet Home Fire give of themselves often, and where they don’t have the time to give, they make it up in heart.”
Employee of the Year honorees aren’t people who just show up to collect a paycheck, Harris said. “They take pride in this fire house, looking for ways that they can make it better and will often use their passion and diligence to help motivate others to do the same. They tend to do more than their fair share to help share the load when someone is in need.”
Starha is someone the department can count on, Harris said. “He somehow finds a way to better himself in training, respond on calls, perform his daily duties and then still find energy to complete whatever pet projects are on his agenda. I have seen him take a list as long as his arm and somehow convince everyone on shift, including me, that we can all find some form of satisfaction in getting it done.
“After cursing, whining and bleeding knuckles, you may end up feeling duped at 11 at night when it’s finally finished, but there is a sense of camaraderie that he brings to the group that does not go unnoticed. Then he asks if you want to go to the gym with him.”
Starha went to work in Sweet Home as a resident volunteer, then spent a year as a paid intern before earning his paramedic certification and working in Salem for a year. He returned to Sweet Home where he was hired as a firefighter-paramedic.
He said it’s an honor to receive the award “from the people you look up to.”
Cummings presented the SHPD Dispatcher of the Year award.
In presenting the dispatcher award, Cumming said the job is “vital to the success of the mission and officer survival on the street.”
Mann does that job well with never a complaint – not even when she was nine months pregnant.
Battalion Chief Shannon Pettner presented the SHFAD Rookie of the Year award.
Becoming a volunteer firefighter requires a high level of dedication, and the volunteers must represent the fire district well. Pickett does just that, working hard and consistently showing up while never complaining.
“This person represents us very, very well,” Pettner said.
Community Services Officer Gina Riley presented the SHPD Volunteer of the Year award.
The department currently has 19 volunteers, Riley said. They help run a long list of events, including the Polar Plunge, Shop with a Cop, the annual Safety Fair, Citizen’s Academy, Child Abuse Awareness Month, the K9 Jamboree and more.
“None of these programs would be possible without you,” Riley said to volunteers gathered there, noting that Conner is a “yes girl” who rarely says no when called on to help out.
Fire Chief Dave Barringer presented years-of-service awards to Jill Ray, five years; Doug Emmert, five years; Jared Huenergardt, 10 years; Josh Bondesen, 15 years; and Ron Carter, 35 years.
The most tenured firefighter is Dave Trask, with 47 years, Barringer said.
Emmert is retired from the SHFAD but returned since then as a volunteer and most recently as a part-time assistant chief, earning his second five-year award with more than 40 years of total service.