GREENFIELD — Officials with the Greenfield Fire Territory (GFT) held their annual banquet Saturday at Bradley Hall to congratulate and honor all the firefighters who earned awards and special recognition during 2023.
Dozens of GFT firefighters and officers were awarded for things like length of years served in the department and firefighter of the year honors.
Officials with the GFT noted they’re fortunate to work with some of the best first responders in the business and said this year’s winners were the best of the best in their respective categories.
Greenfield Fire Territory Chief Jason Horning presented awards to most of the recipients and noted what an honor it is to work with such dedicated public servants.
“It’s really enjoyable to be able to recognize all your people for their hard work and for the various times they go above and beyond,” Horning said.
Fortunately, Horning noted, he has a lot of great people within the department, and that’s a good problem to have when it comes to handing out awards.
“Thankfully, we have an awards committee of people from each shift who make those determinations and select the winners after discussing it,” Horning said.
While many awards were handed out, some of the more notable awards included longevity honors and top performers in designated areas.
Horning handed out a 10 year service pin to firefighter/EMT Aaron Graham and then a 15 year service pin to three individuals — Chaplain Steve Richwine, lieutenant Jeff Goble II and firefighter Shawn May.
The 20 years of service award pins were given to Deputy Chief, R.J. Beaver and Lieutenant, David Wickard while Horning was honored for 25 years of service to the community.
The firefighter of the year nominees were Travis Varga, Nick Mellene, Luke Eichholtz, Andrew Heller and Eran Uptegrove. The department ended up selecting two GFT members for the honor, naming Eichholtz, who also serves as the public information officer for the GFT, and Mellene as firefighters of the year.
The paramedic of the year was Easton Fields while the instructor of the year was Kurt Davis. Two GFT members were selected as officer of the year — Captain Greg DeWitt and Lieutenant Shawn Booker. The 2023 fire chief’s award is given annually to a firefighter who has made significant contributions to the department and is chosen by the fire chief. That award went to two men — Deputy Chief R.J. Beaver and Battalion Chief Scott
Elliott.
The rookie of the year was Michael Sempsrott while the cadet of the year was Hayden Keith. Horning also recognized the Hancock County 911 Emergency Center and Director John Jokantas along with his entire staff for all the hard work they do as they were named the Public Safety Partner of the Year.
While all the awards were special, Horning said the Silver Live Saving Award handed out to firefighter/medic Ben Slawta, firefighter/medic Kurt Davis, firefighter/medic Maddie Clock and firefighter/EMT Anthony Evans was a great moment.
“The mother of the man hit, whose life was saved by our crews, really gave a touching speech,” Horning said.
Horning also noted it was great to have so many City of Greenfield officials on hand for the ceremony to see the firefighters get their awards.
“Many of the award winners didn’t even want to be recognized because they look at it as they’re just doing their jobs,” Horning said. “But, it was great to see so many great people get a little bit of attention in front of the people who help run the city.”
