Jones County Fire Rescue volunteers were honored Saturday night with a seafood feast and awards sponsored by the county and members of the business community.
The Aug. 6 appreciation dinner was attended by three members of the Jones County Board of Commissioners, Chairman Chris Weidner and commissioners John Wood and Sam Kitchens.
More than 160 volunteers attended the event.
Emergency Management Director and Jones County Fire Chief Don Graham served as the master of ceremonies for the program, which was once again held at Bradley Baptist Church. Graham said the meal was catered by Gay Foods out of Moultrie.
To begin the program, Graham welcomed everyone and thanked Deputy Chief Thomas Coleman, Karen McMichael and others who helped with the program, door prizes and dinner.
The director also thanked the Jones County Board of Commissioners for their support and introduced Weidner, Wood and Kitchens. He announced that since February there have been 11 new volunteers join the department.
Coleman, assisted by McMichael, handled the drawings for the numerous door prizes that were donated by local businesses.
Graham moved on to the recognition of the volunteers starting with Bobby Johnson, who retired after 16 years of volunteer service, and J.W. Jenkins, who retired after 25 years.
The next recognition was for promotions. Bryan Parker was promoted to captain of Station 1, and John Gallagher was promoted to lieutenant of Station 1. Buddy Mayne was promoted to sergeant of Station 6. Steve Hall was promoted to lieutenant of Station 9, and Greg Beni was promoted to captain of Station 2.
The final recognition was for years of volunteer service awards. David McCullough, John Gallagher, Hunter Banknell, Ryan Coleman and Harley Hubbard received awards for five years of service.
Jerry Rowland, Ethan Carswell, Hunter Wynn and Steve Hall received 10-year service awards. Chris Mayo received an award for 15 years of service.
John Shipley was awarded for 20 years of service, and the final award was to Pat Harker, who had 35 years of service.
Weidner spoke at the conclusion of the meeting. He talked about small towns and how wonderful it is to live in Jones County, the closeness of the community and how people step up to help one another.
“You are a very big blessing,” he said to the volunteers.
