By Heather Lusk
Nearly 350 people attended the 16th annual awards program to honor and raise money for the Zionsville Fire Dept.
“It’s all about our personnel,” said Zionsville Fire Chief James VanGorder opening the evening. “This department wouldn’t be anything without our dedicated members.”
“They don’t want to be good, they want to be great,” he added.
State Rep. Donna Schaibley presented a special Sagamore of the Wabash award to firefighter Richard Ford. The award is “the highest honor that the governor of Indiana bestows,” she said.
Ford, a lifelong Zionsville resident, was asked to join the Zionsville Fire Department in 1972 as a volunteer. Last year he responded to 363 calls at the age of 85 after being in the service for more than four decades.
Other awards included Firefighter/EMT Ben Box who was named the 2015 Rookie of the Year.
“He encourages every person around him to do their best,” VanGorder said.
“This individual is the definition of calm, confident and reassured,” according to Van Gorder when presenting firefighter/paramedic Matthew Quigley with the Paramedic of the Year award.
EMT of the year was Cody Sawyer and Firefighter of the Year was firefighter/EMT Aaron Gibbons.
