Cherokee County
Fire & Emergency Services
Fire & Emergency Services
On December 8th, 1973, the Oak Grove Volunteer Fire Department was established. Three years later it became the first career fire department in unincorporated Cherokee County and has grown into what we know today as Cherokee County Fire & Emergency Services (CCFES).
Nearly 300 fire department members, retirees, and friends of the fire service came together on Monday to celebrate the 50th Anniversary with an event sponsored by Elite Response Disaster Mitigation and Williamson Brothers BBQ. The event included a welcome message from Deputy Chief Kevin Lanier, presentation of the colors by the CCFES Honor Guard, invocation by Chaplain Dana McPherson, testimonials by citizens impacted by CCFES over the years, remarks from Cherokee County Board of Commissioners Chairman Harry Johnston, keynote speaker introduction by Deputy Chief Shane West, and an address by Fire Chief Eddie Robinson.
The keynote speaker, Sean Georges, was invited to speak at this event due to his wealth of knowledge on leadership and his own personal life experiences that has led him to have a great appreciation for public safety professionals.
Georges spent several days before the event participating in a ride-a-long with the firefighters of CCFES. He opened his speech by saying “I am amazed by these men and women.” He added, “they are professional at the highest level.”
During his address, Georges emphasized that leaders have a sacred responsibility to serve their teammates in the direction of a shared mission. He shared a story about how his daughter’s life was saved by first responders that shared their responsibility to lead as a team, stayed mission focused, and had the audacity of belief.
After Georges’ speech, Fire Chief Eddie Robinson addressed the audience. He thanked Georges for his inspiring words and lesson on leadership. Robinson recognized the fire department retirees in the audience as well as past and present elected officials, public safety agency directors, and county manager.
“The men and women of our fire department are physically and mentally fit, mission capable, well trained, and in a constant state of readiness,” Robinson said. He went on to say, “they embrace our core values of courage, commitment, and integrity.”
Chief Robinson closed out the event by reading the names of the Cherokee County firefighters who served in our organization and are no longer with us. Robinson stated “tradition has it that in the early days of firefighting a company would receive an alarm by ringing in a code. The alarm code 5-5-5 would signify that company returning home to quarters. Captain Ann Segers, Chief Bill Plymel, Floyd Puckett, Captain Howard Hanson, Chief Joe Carmichael, Chief Johnny Turner, Chief Larry Berry, Niel Clemenshaw, J.H. Payne, Don Smith, Joe Crain, Buck Sanford, Chief J.T Whidby, Chief Jeff Whidby, Captain Phil Sheffer, Chief Pat Patrick, Chief Perry Morris, Chief Weldon Ratcliff, Lt. Scott “DOC” Webb, FF Jeffery Roberts, FAO Chuck McCormick, Sgt. Clark Waters, Justin and Amber Hicks and others have returned home for the final time. These members touched us all in a special way and we thank God for lending them to us and for the blessings we received by knowing them.” Robinson invited everyone to stand and hold hands as he rang a bell in the 5-5-5 sequence.
A video highlighting the event can be viewed at www.youtube.com/@CherokeeCountyFire.
###
ABOUT THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Sean M. Georges, J.D., LL.M., recently retired as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Shoe Carnival, Inc., a publicly traded national retailer with nearly 400 stores and over 5,500 employees in 35 states and Puerto Rico. He is co-founder of On Mission Leadership, LLC, a leadership development training and coaching team, and recently accepted the position as Executive Director of the Evansville Wartime Museum.
Sean graduated with Distinction (English Honors) from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. He accepted a Commission as a Marine Corps Officer and was one of ten Marine Officers selected to attend law school under the Funded Law Education Program. Sean received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Illinois, and later earned a Master of Laws degree from The Judge Advocate General’s School of the Army at the University of Virginia.
During 13 years on Active Duty in the Marines, Sean served in numerous positions of responsibility from North Carolina to Okinawa. As a Judge Advocate, he served as Senior Trial Counsel and Senior Defense Counsel, Special Assistant United States Attorney, Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, and as Senior Judge Advocate for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.
Sean is coauthor with Dr. John Buford, Ph.D., of a recently published book on the nature and importance of an authentic leadership journey entitled On Mission: Your Journey to Authentic Leadership. His TEDx talk on The Essence of Authentic Leadership
has been viewed over 41,000 times. Sean frequently speaks on leadership, employment law, and culture.
ABOUT CCFES
Cherokee County Fire & Emergency Services is a full service, county-run organization, providing firefighting and emergency services to the residents and visitors of Cherokee County. The agency boasts an Insurance Service Office rating of 2 and International Accreditation through the Center of Public Safety Excellence. The agency has 27 stations covering 434 square miles and serving a population of nearly 275,000. To learn more about CCFES or how to join the team, visit www.cherokeecountyfire.com.