I’d like to express my deep heartfelt appreciation for the gifts, phone calls, emails and meals honoring me for my retirement and especially those folks that chose to honor me with their presence at each of my celebrations. I was completely overwhelmed and overjoyed with it all.
It has been a wonderful opportunity to work so many years for the Forestry Commission. When I joined the agency in February 1986, we were still using fire towers for detection and managing the fire wardens with county rangers in suppressing wildland fires. What a great experience it was for me to work in that system. It has been an evolution of fire management within the agency over the years and I truly feel privileged to have been a part of it.
Our folks in fire management do not just work the job; they live it. You are tied to the weather, and your family is too. It’s a lifestyle for certain. We have very special people that work for us and live such a restrictive life most of the year.
Our folks HAVE to love what they do, and that is what has made me the proudest to have worked with such dedicated and loyal coworkers. It will cut into family time, and you have to learn how to manage it, and so does your family. It’s a tough life. We go to work when others get off. What other people do outdoors affects us and our plans.
I never saw myself as anything special. I was always a part of a team, just doing my job. I hope I leave a legacy about which people will say I was positive and encouraging and tried to look out for my folks.
Our mission is very important to the citizens of this state, and it is accomplished by a very fine and extremely special workforce. We have to be ready when the call comes, in all areas. Our success as an emergency response agency is based completely on our people, and we have very good ones in all positions! We are all one team.
When Michelle Johnson came down to interview me for my bio, one of the questions she asked was how I wanted to be remembered among my peers. Thinking about that, I never saw myself as anything special. I was always a part of a team, just doing my job. I hope I leave a legacy about which people will say I was positive and encouraging and tried to look out for my folks. I showed compassion in making decisions. I tried to be the best that I could be for the agency and contribute as best I could. I hope I was someone who people wanted to work with and be around.
At my retirement celebration in Columbia, I referred to two very appropriate devotionals from the late great Billy Graham. One spoke of encouragement; it is our responsibility to encourage each other in positive ways. I Thessalonians 5:11 asks us to “Encourage one another and build one another up.” I believe this concept with all my heart is key for the Forestry Commission.
The other devotional allowed me to close out my celebration with an idea of hope. I believe hope is essential for us so we can successfully mitigate each day of our lives. Billy Graham states that hope brings comfort to our aching souls. It perseveres, persuades, and prevails. And it is God’s gift to us.
I wish for encouragement to you all in your jobs and what I desire for you each of you is hope, as stated in Romans 15:13, to give you daily fulfilment.
Thank very much to everyone for the precious memories from more than 39 wonderful years. I bid everyone farewell, but not good bye as the South Carolina Forestry Commission and what the agency and the people stand for will live with me rest of my life.