Battalion Chiefs Retire From Cherokee County Fire Department

From Cherokee FD: Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services hosted a dinner Saturday night at the Ball Ground Community Building to honor Battalion Chief Shift Commander, Dan Floyd and Battalion Chief, Kerry Hughes, who retired from the fire department after 64 years of combined service to Cherokee County.

After dinner and a slide-show presentation, Cherokee County Fire Chief, Tim Prather, came forward to thank Floyd and Hughes for their commitment and service to the citizens of Cherokee County. According to Chief Prather, “Dan Floyd came to work for Cherokee County EMS on July 16th, 1984 and was hired to work at the Oak Grove Fire Department on April 24 th , 1987. During his 34+ years of work with the department, Floyd received five letters of appreciation. In August of 1986, he was recognized as Cherokee County EMT of the Month and was later named Cherokee County EMT of the year. He was also nominated that year for Region 1 EMT of the year.” Floyd was also one of the last remaining members of the Oak Grove Fire Department. He is one of the last of the original career firefighters before the fire department went county wide. The remaining Oak Grove members are Battalion Chief Danny West and Fire Chief, Tim Prather.

Chief Prather also recognized Hughes for his many years of service, too. “Kerry Hughes had 30+ years of service to the department and started his career on July 31st , 1988 at the Little River Fire Department. During his career, Hughes had 3 letters of commendation and 9 letters of appreciation,” added Prather. Hughes was one of the last remaining members of the Little River Fire Department. The only remaining member is Battalion Chief Fred Dobson. Chief Prather then presented Floyd and Hughes with their “bugle” awards. The bugle or speaking trumpet is a reference to a megaphone like device that was used in the early days of the fire service. The two retirees came to the podium and shared some of their experiences in the fire department and thanked everyone for coming to the event. After the “bugle” presentation, chiefs, battalion chiefs, firefighters and friends came forward to roast Floyd and Hughes with funny stories about their careers with the fire department. Some of the speakers included Cherokee County Fire Chief, Tim Prather, Assistant Fire Chief, Eddie Robinson, Battalion Chief Brian Ward, Former Fire Chief Bob Nealey, Former Fire Chief and District 2 Commissioner, Raymond Gunnin, EMS Chief Danny West and Shift Commander Ryan McElwee.

Floyd and Hughes officially retired from the fire department at the end of last December. We congratulate these two on their retirement and we thank them for sixty-four plus years of combined service to Cherokee County and its citizens.

Images via Cherokee FD