Benny Westcott
For the first time since 2019, the Sweet Home Fire & Ambulance District celebrated its own, holding its awards banquet Saturday night, March 18, at the Sweet Home Elks Lodge.
Near the top of that list of accolades were Wes and Shannon Strubhar and John Marble, all volunteers, who each won President’s Lifetime Achievement Awards.
The Strubhars were longtime volunteers with the district, Wes as an emergency medical technician and Shannon as an emergency medical responder.
“The two of them did it together,” said former chief Dave Barringer, who retired in June 2022. “Shannon had Wes’ back. If they were out there at night, he wasn’t alone. And that was a good thing.”
Wes was a captain at the Crawfordsville substation, where he and Shannon took care of the station with such duties as landscaping. Barringer said Shannon took on a lot of extra duties herself, running the Sweet Home Sharing Tree for 17 years and helping firefighters endure hot weather with cold compresses.
Barringer called Wes a “problem-solving individual” and a “Mr. Fixit” whose response to most requests was “Yes, I can.”
“When you’d run into stuff that was difficult and you didn’t have a way to come up with a solution, Wes had one,” he said.
Marble retired in March 2022 after 36 years at the Crawfordsville substation, where, according to Barringer, he boasted incredible local knowledge.
“One of the things that was super cool about John was that you’d show up to a call, and John would be there,” he recalled. “He’d already know who they were. They’d already have a rapport going. It was one of his neighbors, and John was taking care of them, they were calm and happy because John was there. If I were to define John, it would be a community-minded good Samaritan that was a great neighbor.
For the first time since 2019, the Sweet Home Fire & Ambulance District celebrated its own, holding its awards banquet Saturday night, March 18, at the Sweet Home Elks Lodge.
Near the top of that list of accolades were Wes and Shannon Strubhar and John Marble, all volunteers, who each won President’s Lifetime Achievement Awards.
The Strubhars were longtime volunteers with the district, Wes as an emergency medical technician and Shannon as an emergency medical responder.
“The two of them did it together,” said former chief Dave Barringer, who retired in June 2022. “Shannon had Wes’ back. If they were out there at night, he wasn’t alone. And that was a good thing.”
Wes was a captain at the Crawfordsville substation, where he and Shannon took care of the station with such duties as landscaping. Barringer said Shannon took on a lot of extra duties herself, volunteering for the Sweet Home Sharing Tree for 17 years and helping firefighters endure hot weather with cold compresses.
Barringer called Wes a “problem-solving individual” and a “Mr. Fixit” whose response to most requests was “Yes, I can.”
“When you’d run into stuff that was difficult and you didn’t have a way to come up with a solution, Wes had one,” he said.
Marble retired in March 2022 after 36 years at the Crawfordsville substation, where, according to Barringer, he boasted incredible local knowledge.
“One of the things that was super cool about John was that you’d show up to a call, and John would be there,” he recalled. “He’d already know who they were. They’d already have a rapport going. It was one of his neighbors, and John was taking care of them, they were calm and happy because John was there.
“If I were to define John, it would be a community-minded good Samaritan that was a great neighbor. “There was a lot of stuff that John did, and he took extra time and care for the community of Crawfordsville,” Barringer continued. “He came in on a lot of fires and stuff, and when I saw John, it put a smile on my face, because I knew Engine 23’s here. John’s here, and we’re going to be OK.”
Barringer himself came due for some banquet accolades, collecting officer of the year honors.
“The leadership that was provided to the district over the last couple of years during COVID has been second to none,” current fire chief Nick Tyler said. “I can attest to that, having seen different agencies’ response to it and our leadership here. That’s just one aspect of what [Barringer’s] done for the Sweet Home Fire District.”
Speaking on his own behalf, Barringer praised district personnel.
“Really it’s about the people,” he said. “And it’s hard for me to say that, because I miss you guys. I just want to say you’re doing a great job. I hear about it all the time. I’m proud of all of you.”
Barringer added that he remained involved with the district, now under Tyler’s watch.
“One of the things about life is you’re never finished,” he said. “When I left Sweet Home Fire I wasn’t finished. There was a lot going on and a lot of things happening.
“It’s been great to turn it over to Nick,” he continued. “He has a lot of experience and knowledge, he’s smart, and he’s done a great job. It’s neat to see that. I was super excited to see him take over and have things just keep rolling.”
Battalion Chief Shannon Pettner earned employee of the year distinction. Tyler recalled her helping secure self-loading cots for the district and praised both her grant-writing abilities and work ethic.
“She contributes a tremendous amount of time and energy to the fire district,” Tyler said. “I’ve texted and called her at all hours of the day and night, whether she’s at work or not.”
Coury Gagne and John Sims were both named firefighters of the year.
“I can’t speak highly enough of both of these individuals,” Tyler said. “I’m extremely impressed with what they’re able to do in the fire district, and their level of commitment that they have to help us in our part time program and to keep the ambulances rolling.”
Retired Deputy Chief Doug Emmert, who moved to another city in August 2022, won the Keith Gabriel Humanitarian Award.
Tyler said that Emmert “had a huge impact not just on the fire district, but the community of Sweet Home as well.”
Mike Severns was given a Chief’s Award/Water Rescue accolade for his leadership in a successful effort two years ago to save a boy whose foot was stuck at the bottom of the South Santiam River. Severance ordered first responders to form a “human dam” in the water, helping to pull the boy from the river and carry him “mosh-pit-style” to the bank.
“[His] leadership under extreme conditions saved that boy,” Marble recalled. “Mike Severns displayed tremendous leadership under fire. And I’ve never forgotten it.”
Medic of the year Jonathan Lemar was hailed for his work throughout the county.
“He contributes a lot not just to Sweet Home Fire, but to the fire and EMS agencies in Linn County,” Tyler said. “He’s worked at Brownsville and Lebanon and is continuing to work for us even though he has a full-time career job in Lebanon.”
Rescuer of the year honors went to Christian Whitfield.
“I’ve personally seen him on multiple rescues, and I can tell you that if I have a family member that needs any type of assistance in the water or on ropes, this is the person I want handling that situation,” Tyler said.
J.T. Weld and Tyson Rust were named engineer and rookie of the year, respectively.
“I think [J.T.] he has a very bright future in front of him,” Tyler said. “This kind of shows the level of institutional respect that his peers have for him. [Tyson] surprises me all the time. He comes down and helps all the time and he does it with a smile on his face and professionalism. I couldn’t be more impressed with him, especially as a rookie, and I look forward to seeing what he has in store for us in the future.”
The following personnel were also recognized for their multiple years of service: Greg Mahler, Jeff Mather and Marble (35); Jared Richey (25); and Pettner, Rod Holman and Jared Huenergardt (20).
Chief’s unit citation awards were presented to Randy Whitfield, Tanner Funk, Josh Marvin, Ryan Paul, Kelton Gaskey and Sims for helping Sweet Home Police Department Communications Commander Penny Leland after she experienced a life-threatening cardiac arrest during her shift last October.
“It’s pretty amazing to have a cardiac arrest and get a return of pulse,” Tyler said. “It’s next to amazing when that individual leaves the hospital and is able to walk on their own accord. It’s even more amazing when you go back to work and you see that person at the police department fully functioning and working.”
Tyler announced that the community room in Station 21 would be named the Bruce and Sharon Smith Community Room in honor of the duo.
Of Sharon, he said, “She goes above and beyond and selflessly helps our firefighters and district.”
Mather thanked Danielle Kropf and Whitney Winslow for running the department’s pancake breakfast during Sportsman’s Holiday Weekend. He also thanked Ron Carter for his many years helping with Fourth of July fireworks, which last summer took place during that weekend.
“His level of expertise and knowledge in that carried the whole thing, including the fundraisers for it,” Mather said.
Wrapping up the ceremony, Tyler mentioned what he felt was the district’s best feature.
“The strongest thing the district has going for it is the people,” he said. “There’s a long list of all the attributes that people bring to the district that makes Sweet Home function. Over the last year, having the opportunity to sit and watch and kind of wrap my head around how Sweet Home’s able to do what we do with limited resources and people has been nothing short of amazing.”
He thanked the crew for accepting him in his position.
“In the last year, everybody has had to sit through a new chief asking a lot of dumb questions,” he said, “so I appreciate the tolerance for that and allowing me to wrap my head around why we do things and why we don’t do things.”
The chief closed the ceremony by commending the district’s positivity.
“Everything that happens is done with a positive attitude,” he said. “And I think that’s amazing.”