BELTON FIRE DEPARTMENT: BFD Annual Awards Banquet

December 7 marked another annual event held for our fire personnel. This banquet is set aside to reflect on the happenings throughout the year not only for the fire department but the city in general. Chief Sims gave an overview of what our firefighters did during 2013 as City Council members and families gathered to enjoy food, fellowship and festivities. Several of our members were recognized for the great work that was poured into the fire department, but at Belton we believe all of our members are special and do an outstanding job. Matthew Hembree was awarded Explorer of the Year, displaying why we expect great things from this young man. Firefighter Chris Lang was recognized for "Outstanding Annual Performance" due to his dedication in training, station duty and willingness to serve with a positive attitude. Chris logged nearly 1,000 hours of total time for the city all while maintaining a full-time, third shift job. Firefighter Stephen Eller was recognized as the 2013 Firefighter of the Year due to his unmatched participation for our department and city. Stephen logged over 3,000 hours of station duty, training and call response during the year. This averaged out to approx. 52 hours of work per week. In theory, this equaled having another full-time employee working with us this year. The amount of time put in by this young man was outstanding and sets the bar very high for other firefighters. Other awards were the recognition of Assistant Chief Stanley Escoe for his 40 years of service to the City of Belton. His time includes service with the fire and police departments. Chief Escoe is a valuable asset to the city as his calm demeanor, years of experience and words of wisdom are essential to the success of our department. Also mentioned were the ten year service awards for Lt. Luke Riddle, Engineer Kevin Alewine, Engineer Ryan Sams and Firefighter Micheal Browning. Others that were recognized were former members Jackie Kay, William Norris, Honorary Capt. Bill Jeanes and Honorary Engineer Gene Harris. We thank all firefighters and families for their service during the year and look forward to an even better 2014.