First Ever Female Firefighter Receives DeKalb Fire Department’s Highest Award

January 19, 2025
By: Dwayne Page

A member of the Liberty Station has won the DeKalb County Fire Department’s most coveted award.

Alyssa Harvey is the 2024 Wilson Bank & Trust Firefighter of the Year. She is the first ever female DeKalb County Firefighter to win this award.

Harvey was honored Saturday night during the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department’s Annual Awards Program at the county complex auditorium. Wilson Bank & Trust was the headlining sponsor.  The emcee was Alex Woodward, a firefighter of the Cookeville Highway Station.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Andrew Harvey is the Liberty State Bank Officer of the Year and Alex Woodward of the Cookeville Highway Station was selected to receive the DeKalb Funeral Chapel “Git R Done” Award. The DeKalb Telephone Cooperative (DTC) Rookie of the Year Award went to Terry Phillips of the Four-Seasons Station and the Liberty Station was the FirstBank Station of the Year award winner. The Smithville Marine Station Commander of the Year award went to Frank Rodegeb.

Alyssa Harvey’s award was presented by Fire Chief Donny Green along with Chad Colwell of Wilson Bank & Trust

In making the presentation, program emcee Alex Woodward said Harvey was selected from firefighters demonstrating excellence in training participation, incident response, and community service.

“Alyssa serves the department in many different roles,” said Woodward.” She is very active in call volume and always ready to help and assist on the fire scene. Harvey maintains the firefighter attitude and spirit in working around obstacles and getting the job done both safely and efficiently in a timely manner. She is a team player and works well with others as a vital asset to the fire department,” Woodward continued.

“Harvey not only serves as an active member of the fire department, but she is also the mother of four children and works for the DeKalb County School system. Although she has a very busy and demanding schedule, Harvey attends fire meetings, work sessions, training, and responds to calls. She is also a member of two specialized teams within the fire department, the wild land and extrication teams. Harvey gives back to her community by volunteering to help with the DESA dinners, after school programs, teaching students fire safety and prevention, and installing smoke alarms for households in the community,” said Woodward.

“Another vital role is her being the Communication Outreach Officer, providing communication via text messages to the department with information regarding trainings, meetings, announcements, etc. She also publishes, creates and maintains all of the department’s social media outlets, with posts almost daily and resourceful information for the citizens of DeKalb County and the members of the department”.

“It can be seen why firefighter, Alyssa Harvey, is the 2024 Firefighter of the year”, said Woodward.

*Walmart DeKalb Fire Department Length of Service Awards

Nine members have earned Length of Service awards. The 5- & 10-year awards were sponsored by Walmart while Middle Tennessee Natural Gas sponsored the 15, 20 & 25-year service awards.

5 years of service: Jordan Lader (Johnson Chapel Station), Billy Parker (Johnson Chapel Station), and Blake Reffue (Equipment Officer)

10 years of service: Lieutenant Matt Adcock, Jody Lattimore (Short Mountain Highway Station), and Steven Lawrence (Blue Springs Station).

*Middle Tennessee Natural Gas DeKalb Fire Department Length of Service Awards

15 years of service: Nelson Davis (Cookeville Highway Station)

20 years of service: Jeremy Neal (Short Mountain Highway Station)

25 years of service: Michael D. Lawrence (Keltonburg Station)

January 19, 2025
By: Dwayne Page

The DeKalb County Fire Department honored one of the station commanders during Saturday night’s annual banquet.

The Smithville Marine Station Commander award was presented to Frank Rodegeb, Station Commander at the Temperance Hall Station. Chris Allen of Smithville Marine and DCFD Captain Blake Cantrell made the presentation. Wilson Bank & Trust was the program headlining sponsor.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Andrew Harvey is the Liberty State Bank Officer of the Year presented by Rhonda Caplinger and Noah Roberts of Liberty State Bank and DCFD Assistant Chief Anthony Boyd. Alex Woodward of the Cookeville Station was honored with the DeKalb Funeral Chapel “Git R Done” Award presented by Shannon Estes of DeKalb Funeral Chapel and Captain Brian Williams.

Banquet program emcee Alex Woodward made the award announcements except for his own award which was done by Captain Brian Williams.

The Station Commander award recipient is chosen by the fire department’s officers. Considerations for this honor include meeting or exceeding the following standard responsibilities of the Station Commander position:

*Leadership at the station level – setting the example for members

*Oversight and accountability of the station and equipment maintenance

*Loss Prevention

*Membership communication and engagement

*Community Involvement

*Participation and attendance at monthly officers’ meetings

*Understanding and communicating department guidelines and policies, and

*Timely submission of incident reports and monthly maintenance checklists and mileage logs

Based upon these measures, the officers selected Temperance Hall Station Commander Frank Rodegeb as the recipient of the Smithville Marine DeKalb County Fire Department Station Commander of the Year award.

*2024 Liberty State Bank Officer of the Year Award.

Lieutenant Andrew Harvey has earned the Liberty State Bank Officer of the Year Award.

This honor goes to a recipient exclusively selected from officers of the department who serve at the rank of lieutenant or above and for achievements in training attendance, incident response, and community service.

“Lieutenant Harvey is being awarded for his commitment to service in the community beyond the fire service. He is known for his fostering spirit to protect lives and property from fire-related incidents as well as other avenues of service, such as changing a tire for an individual on the side of the road. Andrew actively participates in the DESA events serving those families in need throughout the community,” said Woodward.

“A notable example of Lieutenant Harvey’s commitment to fire service is the implementation of the Fire Safety Education program which provides safety training for individuals in the local schools, community centers and neighborhood gatherings. He also is committed to the installation process for community members that need a working smoke alarm. Andrew helps organize the installation process, either by doing it himself or delegating to another firefighter, to help individual households by having properly installed and working alarms, decreasing the risk of fire-related fatalities. He demonstrates a consistent dedicated role in the recruitment and retention efforts of the department. Lieutenant Harvey was instrumental in organizing a dinner to show appreciation for our Rehab team and their families. He is also instrumental in educating and engaging new recruits into their roles, with education and station visits. Andrew uses his vast amount of knowledge in teaching new recruits fundamental knowledge in the 16-hour orientation class as well as assisting with the Citizens Fire Academy,” Woodward continued.

“Despite the time and commitment shown to the fire department and members of his community, Lieutenant Harvey balances his family responsibilities caring for his four children and supporting his wife at home. He displays time management and dedication to both his professional and personal life setting a remarkable example for others”.

“These examples are just some of the characteristics and attributes that Officer of the Year Andrew Harvey displays for both members of the fire department and the community. Andrew’s consistent and impactful community service reinforces the DeKalb County Fire Departments mission which is to serve with honor, integrity, and compassion,” said Woodward.

*2024 DeKalb Funeral Chapel “Git R Done” Award

The 2024 DeKalb Funeral Chapel “Git R Done” Award went to Alex Woodward of the Cookeville Highway Station.

This award goes to a county firefighter based on community service, special projects within the fire department other than fire calls, special events such as fundraisers, and actions/accomplishments above and beyond normal to promote the success and image of the fire department.

“Alex has served his community in various ways over the past year. He has participated in the 2024 DeKalb emergency Services Associations meal delivery for the needy at both the Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve events in which both times more than 1000 meals where prepared and delivered. Woodward also spends countless hours volunteering his time with the Smithville Fiddlers’ jamboree and the DeKalb County Habitat for Humanity”, said Captain Brian Williams

“Alex serves as our Citizen Fire Academy Coordinator and sacrificed countless hours of his personal time to organize, plan, and present lesson plans for the 6-week academy. He serves on the Water Supply Equipment Task Force and has assisted with budgeting and acquisition of water supply equipment. Woodward has dedicated many hours working on our fundraising and project development for DeKalb Fire Inc. which supports the DCFD,” said Captain Williams.

“Alex has been very instrumental in helping plan, organize and fund our annual Awards Banquet. He has used his relationships in the community to successfully acquire many new banquet sponsors that makes this event and awards possible. Woodward is always going above and beyond to share his financial skills to help us budget and fund our special events. He has also been very successful in helping find funding for training facility projects, Water supply projects, and our annual awards banquet”.

“If you look at Alex’s accomplishments its easy to see that his actions go above and beyond in demonstrating a distinct pattern of community service, while he fulfills his assigned duty requirements and fire calls. His integrity, professionalism, respect, and accountability align with our department’s mission, vision and values, which has resulted in a positive reflection on the DCFD,” added Captain Williams.

*Safe Industries sponsored 100% training awards

Safe Industries sponsored 100% training awards which were presented to the following 27 DeKalb County Firefighters:

Justin Bass, Anthony Boyd, Blake Cantrell, Riley Fuson, Donny Green, Luke Green, Alvin Gunkel, Alyssa Harvey, Andrew Harvey, Kyle Hovey, Donnie Johnson, Ken Kobie, Will Odom, Matt Olson, Lauren Ostrander, Andy Pack, Cheyenne Phalin, Steven Phalin, Terry Phillips, Frank Rodegeb, Robert Sartin, Eric Snow, Airiana Stone, Calvin Tramel, Haston Waggoner, Brian Williams, and Alex Woodward.

*B&B Emergency Equipment sponsored 75% training awards

B&B Emergency Equipment sponsored 75% training awards which were or will be presented to the following 16 DeKalb County Firefighters (some were absent from the banquet Saturday night to receive their award):

Clayton Anstis, Triston Brandon, Bill Brown, Luis Caceres, Keith Elkins, Christina Hovey, Dustin Johnson, Heather Lader, Jordan Lader, Harley Lawrence, Austin Ostrander, Billy Parker, Kari Patrick, Shawn Puckett, Blake Reffue, and Steve Repasy.

January 19, 2025
By: Dwayne Page

The Liberty Fire Station can claim bragging rights after being awarded the DeKalb County Fire Department’s FirstBank “Station of the Year” during Saturday night’s annual awards banquet. The headlining sponsor of the banquet was Wilson Bank & Trust. Awards were also presented to the DTC Communications “Rookie Firefighter of the Year” Terry Phillips of the Four Seasons Station and to the Town & Lake Realty Honorary Lifetime Membership award recipient DCFD Captain Blake Cantrell.

The DCFD also announced the promotion of firefighter Alex Woodward to the officer position rank of Lieutenant.

The Liberty Station Commander Kyle Hovey accepted the “Station of the Year” award from Lieutenant Matt Adcock and Scott Goodwin of FirstBank.

Alex Woodward was the program emcee and made the award announcements.

“The Liberty Station has spent a large number of hours not just with regular fire service and teamwork but also with a focus on service to the community in various ways. The station has placed extra emphasis on member involvement and training at the station level”.

“They have had at least four different station training sessions that the new members have requested while also inviting members from other stations. Specific training on Incident Command and scene size ups, water supply, pumping the station’s engine and training on ladders while wearing SCBA”.

“They have worked hard to keep their station organized and neat while also being accessible to the public while at the station”.

“Several members of this station pulled together to work on a giving box that was damaged. Together they repaired it as well as donated items to re-supply this box”.

“They hosted a community event at Halloween and also spent station funds to help a couple of families in their service area at Christmas time. They also decorated their engine and participated in the town Christmas Parade”

FirstBank is honored to announce that the Liberty Station 65 is the recipient of the 2024 DeKalb County Fire Department Station of the Year”.

*2024 DeKalb Telephone Cooperative (DTC) Rookie of the Year Award.

Firefighter Terry Phillips of the Four Seasons Station was named the recipient of the 2024 DeKalb Telephone Cooperative (DTC) Rookie of the Year Award presented by Justin Mauldin of DTC and DCFD training officer Luke Green.

This award is exclusively based on hours of training completed by a rookie firefighter who completed his/her basic recruit training during 2024.

Program emcee Alex Woodward made the announcement of the winner and the award was presented by Captain Brian Williams

“The DeKalb County Fire Department has a rich legacy of being recognized for its excellent training programs. For the 16th consecutive year, the DeKalb County Fire Department has received statewide recognition for being an elite training department. The department’s leadership feels basic and continuous training are the best tools to give rookies when they enter the fire service. Consequently, training is the sole criteria used for selecting the “Rookie of the Year”.

“We certainly want to recognize all members who have demonstrated an outstanding level of commitment to training. Today, we especially want to recognize this recruit for completing 273.09 hours of training during his 12-month rookie period.”

“DTC Communications is honored to announce that Terry Phillips, firefighter with the Four Seasons Station, is the 2024 DTC Rookie of the Year”, said Woodward.

*2024 Town and Lake Realty Honorary Lifetime Membership

The 2024 Town and Lake Realty Honorary Lifetime Membership honoree is Captain Blake Cantrell.

Program emcee Alex Woodward made the announcement and Jeff Williams, a previous honorary lifetime member presented the award

“Each year, the Department’s Executive Committee accepts and reviews applications for Honorary Lifetime Memberships. This is a very distinguished award and recipients are selected by the Department’s Executive Committee based on strict merits of their service and contributions to our department”.

The Honorary Lifetime Membership Award is being presented to one recipient for the year 2024.

“Captain Blake Cantrell has served as a Firefighter, Station Commander, Lieutenant, and now Captain for a cumulative time of 9 years. He has provided the following significant contributions during his time on the Department:

*Originally joining the Department in 2015 to help with communications but eventually learning there was more to accomplish.

*Since joining the department in 2015, he has been heavily involved in the implementation of new technology, including upgrade to APX radios and Apparatus mobiles, installing cameras at the main station, upgrading station doors to keypads, improving the technology for DCFD training facilities, build out of a new website, and many more improvement projects.

*Served as the Communications Officer for the department since 2016, managing the departments communication equipment and keeping it all up to date.

*Assisted with fundraising efforts through working the Jamboree and Fair booths, and most recently chairperson of the events committee.

*Currently serving as the Vice President of DeKalb Fire, Inc. Board of Directors”.

In April 2024, the DeKalb County Fire Department’s Executive Committee reviewed and approved Captain Cantrell’s application for Honorary Lifetime Membership”.

“This evening, we are honored to officially present Captain Blake Cantrell with his DeKalb County Fire Department Honorary Lifetime Membership, sponsored by Town & Lake Realty. As you can see, Captain Cantrell has served in a very honorable and dedicated manner”.

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