January 22, 2023
By: Dwayne Page
DeKalb County Volunteer Firefighter Anthony Scott of the Main Station received the 2022 DeKalb Telephone Cooperative (DTC) Rookie of the Year Award Saturday night during the annual department awards program while Lieutenant Dusty Johnson was recognized as the Liberty State Bank Officer of the Year.
The DTC Rookie Award was presented by Captain Brian Williams.
“This award is exclusively based on hours of training completed by a rookie firefighter who completed his/her basic recruit training during 2022,” said Captain Williams.
“The DeKalb County Fire Department has a rich legacy of being recognized for its excellent training programs and for the 13th consecutive year, it has received statewide recognition for being an elite training department. The department’s leadership feels basic and continuous training are the best tools to give rookies when they enter the fire service. Consequently, training is the sole criteria used for selecting the “Rookie of the Year”, Captain Williams said.
“We certainly want to recognize all members who have demonstrated an outstanding level of commitment to training. Today, we especially want to recognize this recruit for completing hours of training during the 12-month rookie period”.
“DeKalb Telephone Cooperative (DTC) is honored to announce that Anthony Scott, firefighter with the Main Station, is the 2022 DTC Rookie of the Year,” said Captain Williams.
In presenting the Liberty State Bank Officer Award, Chief Donny Green paid tribute to Lieutenant Johnson for his leadership and community service.
“This award is exclusively selected from officers of the department who serve at the rank of lieutenant or above, and scored based upon the following considerations:
•training participation.
•incident response; and
•community service.
“This year’s recipient Liberty State Bank 2022 Officer of the Year serves as a Lieutenant and is the program leader for our Fire Prevention and Safety Programs. He does a tremendous job planning, coordinating, and conducting our fire prevention and safety activities. He spends many hours each week delivering and installing smoke alarms all across the county. He coordinated and led the Smoke Alarm Blitz we did last May with Red Cross, where we installed over 500 smoke alarms in one day”.
“For 2022, he made 100% of his monthly training drills while also completing other outside training courses. When it comes to incident responses, he is consistently among the most dependable”.
“He is always just making sure things get done without any expectation of recognition, repayment, or celebration. As a member of the DeKalb Emergency Services Association, he played a big role in helping plan, prepare, and deliver meals to the needy last Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. Outside of the fire department, he serves as a Captain of the Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad; just another testament to his love for serving his community”.
“Leadership is not a title; it’s an action. This officer puts servant leadership in action and makes DeKalb County Fire Department better. We are proud to honor Lt. Dusty Johnson as the Liberty State Bank 2022 Officer of the Year,” said County Fire Chief Green.