I was recently honored, yet humbled, by the effort put forth by our Santa Maria firefighters in recognizing my tenure as their fire chief, with a retirement celebration held on Oct. 16. My family and many friends—along with co-workers, community leaders, and several fire service colleagues—were treated to a first-class event that included the Central Coast Pipes and Drums Corps, great food, and a lot of good-natured fun.
The attention to fire-service tradition and heartfelt effort put forth by our firefighters, command and day staff, and fire prevention officers in making this event a success was quite evident. From my wife Scottie, our family, and myself, we say thank you to the Santa Maria community for being a big part of our lives for many years, and to the men and women of the Santa Maria Fire Department for making this night one that we will remember for a lifetime.
This article appears in Nov 12-19, 2009.