The Glassy Mountain Fire Department named its 2013 award recipients for service to the community.

The 2013 Troy Cecil Pruitt Firefighter of the Year awards were presented to Shawn Jenkins, Volunteer of the Year; and Travis Peake, Career Firefighter of the Year.

The Cadet of the Year Award was presented to Branson Bowns; Officer of the Year to Captain David Hindman; and New Member of the Year to Zachary Coates.

Assistant Chief Bryan Bailey presented the awards during Glassy Mountain Fire Department’s annual awards banquet.

“We are very proud of all our career personnel, volunteers and cadets. Our organization relies heavily on volunteers to augment our paid personnel and we are always in need of more firefighters and first responders especially because of the size of our service area,” Chief Robert Staples said. “However, firefighters and first responders are not the only roles people can volunteer for, we also need assistance from citizens who can provide support to the District such as mechanical, electrical, technical, clerical, legal assistance, etc. – it doesn’t have to be responding to emergency calls.  If anyone wants more information on how to become part of our team, they should contact me at 864-895-4306 or go to our website at www.gmfd.net.”

The Troy Cecil Pruitt Firefighter of the Year Award is named in honor of the founding Chief of the Glassy Mountain Fire Department (GMFD). Troy Cecil Pruitt had the vision of the need to create fire coverage for the district and worked tirelessly to see the GMFD become a reality.

The Glassy Mountain Fire Service Area was established in 1988 for the purpose of organizing a volunteer fire department to provide fire/safety protection and a first response emergency unit within the community.  The Glassy Mountain Fire Service Area covers 54 square miles with a population of 7,500 residents in the area known as The Dark Corner in northern Greenville County, which stretches from the east at the Spartanburg County line on Hwy. 14 to the west of Hwy. 25 and begins in the south near Hwy. 414 to the North Carolina state line. The district operates five fire stations – Glassy Mountain (Headquarters), Beaver Dam, Oak Grove, Dividing Water and Cliffs (Mountain), with approximately 40 volunteer firefighters and first responders.

– article submitted 

by Sharyn Arnold