Fire department awards achievement

Sisters firefighters and EMTs honored their own Saturday evening in the annual Sisters-Camp Sherman RFPD awards dinner held at FivePine Conference Center.

"This award banquet is when we celebrate the best of our ranks for the year," said fire district board chair Chuck Newport. He noted that the honors are not conferred by board or administrative staff, but by the firefighters and EMTs themselves. That peer recognition makes the awards all the more significant.

"I think this is the best kind of recognition they could get," Newport said.

Nyle Head was named Firefighter of the Year, while Matt Millar garnered both Rookie of the Year and EMT of the Year honors. Doug Myers earned Volunteer of the Year status.

The Lifesaving Award recognized the efforts of Captain Jay Crawford, Fire Medic Rob Harrison, students Matt Millar and Nyle Head and volunteer Bill Hayes in saving a man who collapsed in cardiac arrest while dancing at last year's My Own Two Hands celebration.

Fire Chief Roger Johnson presided over the evening's events, and he turned over the podium to his brother Jeff Johnson, a retired fire chief who is now working as a consultant in the areas of fire service technology and organizational best

practices.

Johnson emphasized that the Sisters fire department is in the business of helping people, that there is no option except excellence when people are calling because they have nowhere else to turn.

He also noted that Sisters is unique and should never aspire to be anything else.

"You are all motivated," he said. "You all want to serve and you are all unique. And this department is unique.

"There's no value in trying to be like somebody else. The only thing that has value is serving our taxpayers in the most efficient way, with the biggest heart you can drum up."

The Sisters fire department, which integrates an active volunteer cadre with its career staff, has high morale and camaraderie. Newport noted the importance of teamwork.

"While we recognize your peers' outstanding performance, it's teamwork that makes this department remarkable," he said.

The following is a complete list of the awards:

• Lifesaving Awards: Captain Jay Crawford, Fire Medic Rob Harrison, Students Matt Millar and Nyle Head and Volunteer Bill Hayes

• Rookie of the Year: Matt Millar

• Outstanding Fire Fitness: Rob Harrison

• Student of the Year: Luke Boskovich

• Volunteer of the Year: Doug Myers

• EMT of the Year: Matt Millar

• Firefighter of the Year: Nyle Head

• Auxiliary Volunteer of the Year: Marsha Marr

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

• Email: editor@nuggetnews.com
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