My experience in firefighting began in 1969 when my father became a volunteer/member of Fair Grove Fire Department. I would tag along when I could and when I turned 13, I joined the Junior Fire Department at Fair Grove, a program where youth can learn about firefighting and help out around the station and on some calls. Graduating from East Davidson High School in 1983, I then attended UNC Charlotte and earned a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and began a career in programming software. When I moved back to Thomasville, I rejoined Fair Grove as a “senior” volunteer firefighter and obtained my Firefighter certification. I began advising the Junior Department program, served as a Training Officer and became a qualified Firefighting Instructor. After working in the computer programming field for around 30 years, I heard about the new high school firefighting program being started by Davidson County Schools and began making inquiries about the program for the students in the Fair Grove Junior Fire Department only to learn that the county needed an instructor for the program’s second year. My son, Connor, 18, is a Junior Firefighter at Fair Grove as well.
