The Lincoln County Fire Chiefs Association held its annual awards banquet and lobster bake at the South Bristol Fire Department Aug. 18.
The association bestowed its ultimate recognition, the Bob Maxcy Lifetime Achievement award, on five former chiefs – Sheridan Bond (Jefferson), Jim Brann (Whitefield), Mike Martin (Nobleboro), Tim Merry (Wiscasset) and Ron Pendleton (Bristol).
The recipients of the awards sacrifice to serve their communities, Tim Pellerin, Chairman of the Lincoln County Fire Chiefs Association (LCFCA) Awards Committee, said. “There’s a lot of birthdays and holidays and anniversaries that are interrupted.”
The association named the award for the late Bob Maxcy. Maxcy passed away in 2007 after 58 years with the Waldoboro Fire Department – 43 as Chief.
“The award is voted on by their peers,” Pellerin explained after the banquet. The source of the recognition, from “a group of people you’ve worked with for 10, 20, 30, 40 years,” is what makes it “prestigious and honorable,” he said.
“That topped off the year after retiring,” Pendleton said Thursday. “After 56 years, it’s been rewarding.”
“My father was one of the original 14 members of the [Bristol] Fire Department when it was formed in 1944,” Pendleton said. “I used to chase him around back then and when I was 15 I joined the department.”
“It’s been a pleasure to serve the town of Bristol and I hope I’ve made a difference,” Pendleton said.
Sheridan Bond, too, began his firefighting career at the age of 15 and, like Pendleton, noted the influence of family. “I’ve been going to fires since I was nine years old,” he said.
Sheridan Bond’s grandfather, Willis A. Bond, was one of the founders of the Jefferson Fire Department, he said, and Sheridan Bond’s father, Irvin H. Bond, served multiple stints as Chief. A veteran of World War II and the Korean War, Irvin H. Bond was Chief between the wars and again after the Korean War, leading the department until his 1974 retirement.
Sheridan Bond served 32 years as Assistant Fire Chief and two as Chief. He remains on the department in his 41st year as a firefighter.
Sheridan Bond called the award “very heartwarming and unexpected” and said he was “very proud” to be honored alongside his friends and fellow chiefs.
Sheridan Bond has been a member of LCFCA for 35 years, he said. “It’s a great organization.”
“We’re lucky to have the talent that we do throughout the community,” he said. “It takes a team to make it work.”
Martin retired last year after 25 years with the Minnehata Fire Co. in Nobleboro, nearly half – 12 years – as Chief.
“Firefighting is always one of those things that you dream about as a youngster growing up,” Martin said. His service, he said, was “something that I could give back to the town.”
Martin said he was “very gratified” to receive the award. “It’s a nice feeling to have your former peers honor you like that.”
The Waldoboro Fire Department also left with an armful of hardware, receiving the Department of the Year award and the Officer of the Year award for Chief Paul Smeltzer.
“I look around the room at all the other chiefs, all the other officers in this room… I’m humbled,” Smeltzer said after the ceremony.
Since the beginning of his tenure as Chief in Jan. 2009, the Waldoboro Fire Department has undertaken a number of tasks, from building mutual aid partnerships with other departments to updating equipment, Smeltzer said.
Smeltzer credited his team for the department’s success. “There’s no finer group than the Waldoboro fire service,” he said.
The Firefighter of the Year award went to Lt. Neil Kimball of the Bristol Fire Department. Pellerin said Kimball “selflessly gives of his time and talent.”
Kimball’s honor took him by surprise. “I didn’t even know I was nominated,” he said. “They kept a great secret.”
A big part of Kimball’s work involves training and education of firefighters as well as local children during Fire Prevention Week. “I’m active in anything I can do to help make things better and safer for people,” he said. “I think it’s a good thing to give back to the community.”
Lynn Orne of Southport accepted the Citizen of the Year award. Orne works with several fire departments through the consulting business she owns and operates, Fire Service Compliance Associates. The business helps ensure department compliance with Bureau of Labor and Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) standards.
Eventually, Orne joined LCFCA. For the last two and half years, she’s served in a dual role as the association’s secretary and treasurer. Orne records minutes at association meetings, helps with fundraising efforts and handles accounting for the association and the Lincoln County Fire Academy.
“It’s a great bunch of guys,” Orne said. “It’s the least I can do.”
Orne thanked the South Bristol Fire Department for hosting the lobster bake, which involves days of preparation and a late night of clean-up while everyone else celebrates or sleeps off their king-sized dinners. “They do a great job and we’re lucky that they volunteer to do that every year,” she said.
