Page 10 - Volume 19

God had other career plans for me. When I was asked back to the Chief’s office for my follow up interview, I was more nervous than ever!
I could barely breathe or speak
when the two Chiefs asked if I was still interested in the position. If I wanted
it, they would love to have me join their team! All choked up, I said that this was the best thing that had ever happened to me outside of my wedding and the birth of my three healthy children. I think I even cried! I have heard there is no crying in firefighting but I could not control my emotions. The only catch was they had not had time to advise the other candidates of their choice, so I could not tell anyone I had been offered the position until they could talk to
the other guys. As I walked down the steps to the engine to report back to my assigned station, I was battered by my crew. I found it very hard to control my emotions, but I did not break. When I returned to the engine house, I closed my office door and called my wife with the great news. I was ecstatic to hear she was as happy as I was. What a feel- ing! Again, I had to rely on the family support group to keep my emotions in check and get myself prepared for the next step in my career.
While working in the operations position, I began to prep myself for that final step up the ladder to the Chief
of the department. Throughout my tenure as Deputy Chief of Operations,
I remained focused on the hopes and dreams I had from the beginning of my career. Again, the support of family and peers helped me in preparation for the ultimate step in my fire service career. At the time, the Chief allowed both of his Deputy Chiefs to experience all that he could in preparation for his departure one day. His leaving would put me and the other Deputy up against one another
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again for the position we both coveted. We both were prepared and ready to succeed. We both shared we would be honored to work for the other should either of us get the nod for the position. How great was that to hear.
Then the day came and the call from the trustees. I had been chosen for
the position of Chief. I had the right skill set and the timing was right. With the announcement came a flood of emotions. How would the working rela- tionship be between me and the other Deputy Chief? I immediately started to feel bad for him instead of feeling the jubilation I had expected to feel when I finally reached my ultimate career goal. My first call was to my wife; the second was to my fellow Chief letting him know I was really looking forward to working
closely with him on our new team; he stated he felt the same. What a relief to have that kind of support from family and members of the administrative team. Without this support, the transition would not and could not have been as smooth as it has been.
In conclusion, good things do come to those who wait and there is a reason things happen when they do. Now that I have that ingrained into my head, I can look back and relive the previous junc- tures of my career and understand why things happened the way they did, the importance of timing, and surrounding yourself with family and colleagues who believe in you. Oh yeah, and recognizing the importance of having faith that God does have a purpose and timing for you on your journey. u