The city of Eatonton’s former fire chief and two firefighters were recognized and honored for their service at Eatonton Fire Department’s annual Christmas dinner on Dec. 14.
Jaelynn Presley and David Hooks were named Firefighters of the Year and recognized by EFD Assistant Fire Chief Carl Buckner.
“All of the firefighters vote to name which one of them will be Firefighter of the Year and this year there was a tie, so we honored both of them,” retired Fire Chief Eugene Hubert explained. “And Jaelynn has only been with us one year, so that says a lot about how hard she works for her to be chosen after only one year. Both David and Jaelynn work hard and you can depend on them to give their all."
Hubert, who retired after 45 years of emergency services for the city of Eatonton, also was recognized and presented a special plaque with the traditional firefighter’s ax mounted on it, along with an inscription by the city. The firefighters also presented him with another plaque they made that bears his white fire chief helmet and badge and each of their signatures.
“It was a big surprise,” Hubert said Monday. “I’m thankful for the recognition and for the city council members being there. It makes you feel better to be recognized like that after investing so many years of service.
And I want to thank all the firefighters, the city council members, City Administrator Gary Sanders and Mayor Reid, and the people of the community for all of their support over the years to help the fire department.”
Regarding the dedication required to be a firefighter, FireEngineering. com reveals that “most (firefighters) don’t fully grasp how much the fire service requires of (them) when they first decide to serve. If you work long enough to draw full retirement, you have effectively given the department, municipality, community, and fire service one-third of your professional life. These many years of service will have taken a toll on you mentally and physically. You will be exposed to things you will never forget and things that will haunt your mind the rest of your life.”
Mayor Reid said Hubert “was a good chief for the City of Eatonton. He brought a lot of needed improvements to the fire department” since he was promoted to fire chief in September 2015.
At that time, the department had six full-time firefighters. Today, there are 20 part-time or volunteer firefighters.
A new fire chief for the city has not yet been named, according to Sanders, who said he “expects a decision in the next month or so.”