Firefighter Jessica "Jess" Fromholz-Inman: Rebuilding Through Service

In this episode of Frontline Voices, we sit down with Jessica Fromholz-Inman — a mother, educator, firefighter, K-9 search and rescue handler, and community leader whose story is rooted in resilience, perseverance, and service.
Jessica opens up about the realities of rebuilding life after hardship, balancing motherhood with public service, and finding purpose through teaching, firefighting, and search and rescue. From personal loss and starting over, to mentoring youth and serving her community, this conversation dives into the strength it takes to keep showing up when life gets heavy.
We also explore her work with Coffee & Camaraderie, youth firefighter outreach, the bond between handler and K-9, and the emotional realities behind life in emergency services.
This episode is about more than titles and uniforms — it’s about identity, growth, leadership, and the people who continue serving others while carrying their own battles quietly behind the scenes.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:04

This is Frontline Voices. Conversations with our local hearers. Here's your host, Matthew Blake.

SPEAKER_01 0:12

Well, Jess, thank you for stopping by. I'm way excited. You are the first female to be on this podcast, so like awesome. Way awesome. So starting out, why don't you tell me who you are?

SPEAKER_02 0:28

Oh gosh. What a loaded question to start with. I am a full-time school teacher. I teach high school, all grade levels. Got an ag background and a science background. And I also volunteer as a firefighter on the side and with a search and rescue team locally. I'm also a mom of four and uh just kind of constantly keeping busy and getting into things and learning as much as I can.

SPEAKER_01 0:54

Good goodness, it sounds like it definitely. So let's take it all the way back to the beginning. What can you tell me about your upbringing and the community that you grew up in?

unknown 1:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:04

So I grew up in a really small town, uh Sometville, Indiana. Um really, we don't even have a gas station anymore. Um but when I was there, we had a gas station, three bars, you know, that kind of gig. And um, of course, we had a fire department and a small school and lots and lots of churches. Um this little teeny tiny rural town. Um I grew up in the 90s with a couple of moms that were lesbians, and so that was an interesting um kind of background for me as far as like that kind of challenge growing up that with that upbringing. Um, but I was crazy about them, and they were crazy about us kids and my sister, who is a younger sister. Um we also had tons and tons of animals. We kind of did like a off-the-radar animal rescue type thing where we would take in kind of unwanted pets and things like that. And so I grew up with this big rich uh childhood being surrounded by all that. Um, and it was just it was fun, it was exciting. Every day was an adventure and go out in the woods and be gone for hours. A little bit unlike maybe some kids today that don't get that chance at opportunity, right?

SPEAKER_01 2:10

Stuck in the phone, right? Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. Um were there moments in your early life that built the character, your character, who you are, your resilience, stuff like that.

SPEAKER_02 2:21

Definitely. Um, I think it really started pretty early, just having a unique upbringing like that. Uh, and then from there, it just kind of continued to go that route for me. Um, I had lots of experiences along the way that really shaped who I was, and I got to meet lots of really cool mentors that had a huge influence on where I wanted to go, where I wanted to take my life. I figured out pretty early on that I really enjoyed teaching and instructing and helping others, and so I went down that pathway thanks to a lot of really, really good mentors and leaders that were in my life.

SPEAKER_01 2:56

That sounds awesome that having that foundation to grow up on. Can you tell me if there's um any values from childhood that still carry with you today?

SPEAKER_02 3:07

Definitely. I'm really, really big on integrity and just being honest as a whole. I didn't have a whole lot of gigantic, crazy, obnoxious rules. My mom, both my moms were really big believers in just having certain expectations and keeping that list small because when you give a kid a bunch of expectations, it's really easy to break those, right? So the big ones were definitely integrity and just being honest and trustworthy. And so, you know, no lying, always, you know, tell the truth. Even if you did something wrong, it's better to tell the truth than to tell a lie because the consequences are much greater. Um they also valued just giving back, they were both nurses. Um that had an in influence for me. They were always like taking care of people that needed a little extra care, and I think that meant a lot, and then add on top of it, taking in just animals that had all kinds of different uh backgrounds, dogs that perhaps you know weren't great pets. We were trying to take them in and help them out and find them the right home and stuff like that. So I just really I saw that as a really neat part of my parents and their background, just how much they hustled and they their work ethic was crazy because they would literally do shift change to actually come and one person be home with us kids, and then the other one went to work and flip-flop. Um so they really hustled pretty hard, and I think that's probably part of why I hustle now today.

SPEAKER_01 4:31

Going into that in this next question, I think you kind of already answered, but I I just want to check to make sure. Obviously, you came from you know, great examples of public service, I want to say. But as a kid, did you ever see your life turning into I mean, not just public service, but I mean the whole grommet of helping helping people?

SPEAKER_02 4:56

No, I would have never seen that coming. I really had my headset on being a veterinarian, and then I ended up having my first kid uh would have been in between my junior and senior year of college. And at that point in time, I was like, okay, I I'm really excited to be a mom and I really want to make sure that I'm doing this right. So I took a step back and said, okay, what is something else that I enjoy, something else that I have a skill set for? And that was teaching. So I ended up applying for a fellowship program that they actually took care of the cost for me to get my master's degree in teaching. And so I did my student teaching and my master's, all while raising a one and a half year old little girl and dragging her along with me all the way along the way. Um, so yeah, I I I never saw that coming, um, but I can definitely understand why that it you know transformed the way that it is.

SPEAKER_01 5:50

So it sounds like this managing this hectic lifestyle has pretty much been the norm for quite some time.

SPEAKER_02 5:56

It really has.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

This next part, we're gonna get into some of some of the harder stuff. Um there was a stretch there, a few years where you were going through some rough times, you'd gone through a divorce, you'd experienced some loss. What was that season of life like for you?

SPEAKER_02 6:15

That was a season of soul searching, really. Um at a point where I honestly wasn't really sure if I could handle much more, you know. Um, it was very overwhelming. Um, it was very much me trying to figure out okay, how do I come out of this as a good person, a good mom, and just a good citizen of society, really. Um so I think back to going through a divorce, it was one of those things where you realize, you know, it's just not working. Um, and it's okay. Um, I think a lot of people are scared to go through that, but sometimes we have to acknowledge what's not working and kind of push and move forward. Um it was at a point in time where I was now with two little ones and they weren't even in school yet. Um, so that was a whole nother thing, is helping them understand that you know sometimes people are better off without each other. And kind of we worked through that. The bigger challenge of that was I decided at that point in time that I really just needed a fresh start. I needed to kind of take a step back and figure out who I was, um, which you would think at 20-some years old you'd know who you are, but I at least the teenagers seem to think they know who they are. I I've got news for them. You don't really know until you get into those late 20s, early 30s, even. Um, so I kind of took that big leap and stretched my legs out a little further than I had been away from the small town to, you know, up this direction. And it was one of the best things I could have done for myself. But it was definitely um a trying time. It was a time where I realized I didn't really have connections in this new place, and I had to uh remake those connections from scratch. Um along with that, and I kind of moved away from my family, and I'm really, really connected to my family. We've always been really, really close. And unfortunately, during that time you mentioned loss, um, my mom back when I was in high school, she and my original mom they split up. So I kind of had a little idea on how to navigate the divorce thing for my kids. But then my mom got together and actually was finally able to marry her wife at that time, uh, thanks to all the laws and stuff changing way back, uh gosh, I can't even remember what year that was.

SPEAKER_01 8:36

Yeah, it's been it's been a minute.

SPEAKER_02 8:37

It's been a minute now, but it's still like I was a teenager by the time we finally they could finally do that, which was really cool and exciting. Um but unfortunately she got diagnosed with cancer um and ended up passing away from it, unfortunately. So um that was hard. Um that was even that made things even harder as far as having gotten up here, and now at that point I'd established myself, but then I felt really unsure, right? Um I was like, well, did I make a mistake in coming up here? Should I have stayed home and and been there? Um and then kind of walking my kids through that whole process of loss was kind of um it was a struggle. And there were some pretty dark moments for me between those two major events in my life. It was a matter of, you know, did I make the right moves? Did I make the right choices? Um and am I gonna be okay with those choices that I made? And when I look back on it, now it's been over a year since she's been gone. And um, so much has happened in that amount of time that many times I wish I could text her, call her, be like, hey, you know, that ruddy little teenager that kind of didn't like you a long time ago, like I really miss you. And uh I am working really hard to make you proud, basically. And I I that's kind of been my thing ever since her funeral. I felt like if I pour myself into the work that I know she was really, really proud of because she was very much about service work. Um she got a nursing award when she was still around, and I knew that that was the route I needed to go. It's dedicating a significant amount of time to making myself a better first responder. Um, so then that way I'm kind of letting her legacy live on a little bit. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:27

You're doing you're doing a roundabout way. Right, right, right. Well, and and it's interesting because uh some of the some of these questions you're kind of already answering before we get to them. So but it's it's good because it shows that we're on the right, right track here, and then it gives you a chance to evaluate or uh not evaluate, to build on that more. So I gotta ask you. You were going through this rough time, but obviously you still gotta be super mom. To the best of your ability, right? So how did you balance being a mother while still trying to hold yourself together?

SPEAKER_02 11:07

There were times that it did not balance so well. Um definitely there there were moments of weakness. Um and I spent so long like trying to make sure that they didn't see that. And then when I started reflecting on it, I was like, you know, they they need to see that like I am sad and I um am feeling lots of emotions in a safe and positive way. So it led to really a lot of good conversations between myself and my kids of like, you know, yeah, I I miss Susie too. Um, you know, yeah, things changed and things are different now, and it can be frustrating sometimes, but sometimes change is for the good. Like, think of all the good things that have taken place, and it's almost like when I'm telling them that, I'm telling myself that, you know.

SPEAKER_01 12:00

Reminder.

SPEAKER_02 12:01

Yeah, yeah. It really the truth of it is a lot of the times the advice I'm giving them, I'm like, you know what, that's the advice I need to hear it too. Um, and I think that's been a big part of it is really just finding that open honesty that is at obviously an appropriate level for them to understand. Um, because if I just constantly am the tough mom, you know, it kind of almost looks like I'm cold hearted, and I don't want that for them at all. So that's kind of the approach that I took to it.

SPEAKER_01 12:32

I completely understand that. That makes that makes total sense. We're gonna be done with the the hard the hard stuff. So I want to ask you now what does life look like now? How it how did the rebuilding process take place? And you know, how is life for you now?

SPEAKER_02 12:50

Well, it was a um whole progression, really. I mean, I made that big move, uprooted myself and the kids, and we hung up here and Gabby started kindergarten, Devin's doing preschool stuff, and uh I just started trying to figure out how to occupy my mind. Um, I'm one of those people that I don't really sit. Well, surprise. And so I originally started off doing some crafty stuff, and I made these wreaths and these cream catchers and stuff like that, and it really was occupying my hands, occupying my mind. And then it just really wasn't completely filling the void for me. Um, I knew that one thing I'd been passionate about before I became a mom was the fire department. I had helped out on my local volunteer fire department. We were doing, I was just 18, so all I could really do was ride third on ambulance, and it was fun for us as far as being out with each other and running on runs and getting work done, and then going and picking up a polar pop and then heading back to station was always the um kind of routine for us because we were a transport department. And so I was like, you know what? We'll just go ahead and put in an application locally up here, and and I did that, and I waited a little while. Um, understandably, my boyfriend at the time, uh, he was on the department as well. So uh I just kind of had to wait my turn for a little while, and eventually I got that letter and I got started on training, and it was like, wow, okay, now I'm starting to feel like I have a home here. Prior to that, I really didn't feel that way. Um, I felt very out of place. I didn't really know a whole lot of people. I had a friend that I did Taekwondo with, but that was really my friend group, and it was definitely isolating and put me in a place where I was like, whoa, I'm really struggling. And I tried to keep the kids from seeing that, but at the same time, you can only shield so much. And so I found that and got started, and I was working my behind off to get the training done at the same time as planning a prom and trying to be a teacher in a new school. I was like, whoa, this is a lot. I got done with training and had a very busy first year of just experiencing all the things. I was like, I had bad luck the first year. I was like, whoa, all right, making sure that I can actually handle the job. Um, so it worked out, and then I was still kind of trucking along, doing my thing, getting as much time in as I could, training and making the calls, three o'clock in the morning, all the fun stuff.

SPEAKER_00 15:32

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 15:33

And then one day we had started doing a lot of PR work for our department. So we were at Chautauqua Days, and James looks at me, which is my husband. He was like, you know, I haven't introduced you to Gian Abs yet, and I need to do that. As the dog team is walking in front of our fire truck. I was like, Yeah, that sounds cool. You should. Well, yeah, I ate his words on that one because within a week now I was on the search and rescue team working with them as well. But it was like all of a sudden I went from having very few in my circle to I have these two amazing families, plus my own family at home. And I finally was like, okay, I can do this. Like this is this is it. And it's really been that way from here on out. I mean, uh it's a very busy schedule every week, but I have my little um way of organizing it and getting stuff done, and it really fills my cup. Um, which I know sounds wild for a lot of people, you know, having so much going on probably drains people and makes them feel tired and stuff like that. But for me, like I want to be out in the middle of the woods hiding for a dog. I want to be up at the fire department training. That's what I want, and that is what makes me feel like me.

SPEAKER_01 16:54

I gotta ask you. So if someone's going through a dark period in their life and there's a there's a lot of question of, you know, am I ever gonna find happiness again? And and and and they're scared of the starting over thing and rebuilding, what would your message to them be?

SPEAKER_02 17:14

My message to them would be really to make the positives in their life. Sometimes we'd go searching for the positive things or we just hope that it'll land in our laps, and that's just not how it works. Sometimes you have to make the happiness exist. Um, I think back to Gabby's first year in European and kindergarten, and that kid would cry every day. Um she didn't want to go to school, um, she was going through a lot of stuff. I mean, that was the first year post-divorce, it was a struggle for her. And I would look at her and say, today's gonna be a great day. And in a way, again, I was saying that in part to myself as well. Um but sometimes that's literally what you have to do. You have to wake up in the morning and look at yourself and say, today's gonna be a great day. Period. I will settle for nothing less than a great day. I will make sure it is in some way a great day. And that is still even hard to this day. There are some mornings where I it's just been a bad morning, I'm frustrated, but the best possible thing I can do is as soon as possible, look at myself and say, nope, nope, we're not letting it go this direction. We're gonna stop it right here. We're gonna make something positive of it. Even if it's something little, even if it's you know, reading your favorite book for 10 minutes or something like that, or if you start to feel like for me, sometimes I'll get to a point where nothing makes me happy, and that's a real red flag, right? Even the things that normally bring you joy, if it starts to not make you happy, something's really, really up. And then I tell myself, no, we're not, I'm not taking a nap right now. I might feel like taking a nap, but I need to go do something else. You almost have to force it, and it's tough and it feels uncomfortable, but it truly is worth it. Because at the end of the day, if you go get up and you go do that thing, you are gonna eventually feel better.

SPEAKER_01 19:18

Earlier, you had mentioned about getting ready for a prom and and and public education. So I gotta ask you, what drew you towards education and and public service as far as educating the public? What being that teacher instructor role, what what brought that about?

SPEAKER_02 19:37

I had amazing grandparents. Um, my grandma was an elementary school teacher while I was growing up, and my grandfather was a high school biology teacher. And so I spent a lot of time visiting their classrooms when I was in kindergarten. I'd go up and visit my grandma because she was at the elementary that I was at. And then my grandpa would take me over to the high school, and we would ride skateboards in the hallway and silly stuff like that after hours, and he'd show me all the cool stuff he had in jars. He'd like a I think he had a two-headed cat and a cyclops pig and like weird little things in jars. And I just thought it was the coolest thing ever. He had chickens and stuff with his biology class, and I was just like, wow, this is fun, this is exciting. Um, then I got into high school and I needed some public service, community service hours with the high school I was going to, so I started helping out in a first and second grade classroom, and that was where I realized I had skills that maybe not everyone had. I had one young boy that he was really frustrated, really upset, and having a hard time with his schoolwork, and he kind of freaked out and got really, really upset, and I just kind of sat with him and walked him through that moment. Come to find out he was upset because he wasn't getting gonna see his grandma later that day. Like it was more personal than just the schoolwork for him. And from that point, I was like, okay, this is something I can do and be successful at. I really enjoy education, I enjoy learning, and I want other people to enjoy learning. So I figured I was like, you know what, we'll go do this. And I knew it would partner well with me having uh my daughter really young. I figured schedule-wise, it would end up working out really well and be a good successful career. And it it really has been.

SPEAKER_01 21:27

That's really cool that that that upbringing kind of guided you into that that profession. How do your own personal experiences shape how you connect with your students?

SPEAKER_02 21:40

I feel like because I have such a diverse background, there's almost at least one thing I can relate on some sort of level. Yeah. Um I have so many different interests. So like when a kid talks about video games, I can be like, yeah, like I used to do that. I still enjoy video games occasionally, not as much as I used to. Because I'd rather spend my time elsewhere. But I can relate on that level. I can relate on the personalized level. So the kids that I have that have been through split homes and they're they're dealing with that battle of one week they're at dads, one week they're at moms, I can be a little more sympathetic and understanding of their situation as well. Some of my kids that have other unique things about them, I can usually find something that clicks. But I try to make sure that I let them know that I try to be understanding as much as possible. I've got kids that they're in 15,000 different sports and they're struggling to stay afloat. I think that's one of the things I notice the most is these kids that have a lot of pressure on themselves to be successful tend to be the ones that are struggling a bit more with their mental health and stuff like that. And that that makes me kind of sad because I want to see them thrive and I know they can be successful, but they need to maybe not put so much pressure on themselves to be perfect, you know?

SPEAKER_01 23:14

You you had mentioned about how, you know, your boyfriend was part of the fire service, and you know, you already had interest in the fire service, and I gotta ask you, you know, what led you into joining the fire service? Because honestly, looking at it outside the box, historically, you know, the fire department is it's a male-dominated field. It's kind of the boys' club. We've gotten a lot better at trying to make it gender equal, but there's still a little bit of a stigma that girls don't belong. Unfortunately. So how did how did you get past those hurdles and become what you are today? Because like I said, I I commend everyone who walks through that door to begin with. I really commend them if they're female, because that takes a lot of guts. So if you could if you could build on that, that'd be fantastic.

SPEAKER_02 24:09

Yeah, definitely. Um all the way back to that first volunteer department I was on uh 18 years old. They really welcomed me with open arms, which was really cool, especially when you talk about that small town, and and sometimes there's that stigma of like, eh, women, I wasn't on fireside, I was only on the medical side of things. Um, however, I know that they would have supported me going in fireside if I would have chosen to. I just so happened to become a mom and at that point took a step away from the department. Um, however, I've been in close contact with them since then, and my old captain at the time, now chief of that department, he has been incredibly supportive from the word go when I started up here. And then starting up here, it was really nerve-wracking because of that part where my now husband was my boyfriend at the time, and he um had his position, and I really didn't want it to look like, hey, the girlfriend wants to come tag along. Uh, it was really my own desire that back when I was 18, I really would have gone fireside. And I wanted to make that happen now. I was like, well, here's my opportunity. I have this amazing supportive partner who I know is gonna back me and let me um do my thing and not restrict me in any way and not tell me that I can't do it, because I had heard those words before. You know, uh, why would we want a woman on the department because you know we can't drag our partner out. Um, and that was not any of the guys that I'm talking about from that old department. It would happen to be my at the time uh ex-partner and some other folks that just have their you know opinions on things, and that's fine, everyone has a right to their opinion, but for me, um, it just pushed me even more. You know, I gotta prove people wrong, right? So I was I was like, you know what? No, we're we're gonna do this. And I had you know a young daughter who I needed her to see that girls can do whatever they want. If you believe it, make it happen. It doesn't matter who you are. And so I was like, we're gonna pursue this. And I really didn't run into a whole lot of issues other than I had my own issues. I would get in my own head of what I was capable of, and I still to this day sometimes do that. I think it's naturally ingrained for me to think, well, I might not be able to do this job because I physically struggle with it. But when it comes down to it, I just need to do it different. I have to do it the way that works for me, or I have to be like, hey, come over here and help me with this. And I've done that more than a few times. But when I first started, I hesitate on that because I really was worried about proving myself. And I realized as time went on, no, we're all here to help each other out. Now you gotta do is ask.

SPEAKER_01 27:08

That's that's really cool to be able to stand outside that box and be like, no, I'm I'm proving you wrong. Side note, shout out to James with the whole amazing, supportive, encouraging husband thing. Take it easy, buddy. Leave some room for the rest of us. You had mentioned that you first made that connection at that PR event through the fire department for, and let me if correct me if I'm wrong, because I've struggled with it, the Indiana search and response team, correct? Yes. Okay, okay. So what pulled you into the iSart team and becoming a canine handler?

SPEAKER_02 27:45

Oh, I think it was a lot of the fact that I was still trying to really kind of solidify where I wanted to be with my training, with what skills I could offer. Uh, I had originally was like, I'm gonna do scuba, I'm gonna do, you know, dive rescue stuff, and that didn't really work out as far as there being a team that I lived close enough to. And so I was like, okay, what else could I specialize in? Because I knew I wanted to have some special skill I could bring to the table for the department, for the community. And so when James was like, hey, let's introduce you to Jan, I was like, oh yeah, cool, that'd be awesome. Um, I was still trying to develop those connections. And we sat down and we talked, and at the time I had Casper, and he was just but a little baby. And she was like, We'll bring him out to training and we'll take a look at him and see how he does, like if he has maybe some potential for a working canine. And we took him out there and he was doing really well, really well. He had so many good qualities that they were like, you know what, if you want to do this, you know, come out to another training, just you, and spend the day with us and see what you think. And I did that, and I was like, I'm hooked. Like that I would I'd love this. Great way to spend my Saturday morning. I'm using my brain, I'm moving around, doing all the things, I was staying active. Like, yeah, sign me up. So the next week I filled out all my paperwork and here we go, and I'm rolling on it. And again, I I know you just shouted out, James, but I could not do this stuff if he wasn't supportive because it does take up so much time. Um, we're looking at here tomorrow, Friday and Saturday. I'm doing a whole seminar over in Port Wayne with the team, and I'm gonna be there as much as I possibly can. And that means that he's gotta pick up the slack at home, and I appreciate him for that. So I really just was like, this is fun. Like, this takes me back to my roots. Um, my childhood was surrounded by animals, and they were all rescue animals, they weren't working animals, but I was like, you know what, I can still get back to that part of my childhood, and also now it can be a useful thing that I'm doing, not just you know, cuddling puppies and kittens.

SPEAKER_01 30:05

On the public side of it, a lot of people don't know what goes into that. So, what's something that you can tell us about IceArt that the public doesn't know?

SPEAKER_02 30:14

We put in countless hours, just countless hours training our dogs, staying sharp on our own skills. Um, you you know, we have our Thursdays and our Saturdays where we train as a team, but that is not the limit of it. Um, in order to have a good, solid search and rescue dog, we have to be training every day as much as we can get in. Um that's a big part of it, is really the commitment. Definitely the commitment. And we'll go wherever. Like we've been called to Ohio, we've been called to several different parts of Indiana, we've been called to Michigan, um, we have been on standby for the stuff in Texas and the Carolinas. So we really like it is not limited to us just playing hide and go seek with dogs. There's so much more to it. Um, so much work that really goes into it. And and we don't want recognition for the work, we just want to do the work because we enjoy it, because we know that there's a job that needs done. And I think that's really the coolest thing about the team. That there's not uh any sort of gain for us, not definitely not financially. It is a financial investment for us, but the reward we reap from it is just being able to serve the community and give back to them, and that's the glory of it.

SPEAKER_01 31:35

Right on, right on. So, and and I'm not I'm not gonna take it down to just just certain things because it's hard to fit all the different things you're involved in, but you know, you're balancing motherhood, your marriage, your teacher, your firefighter. Obviously, you do the search and response. How do you manage all this stuff?

SPEAKER_02 31:58

A really straight calendar.

SPEAKER_01 32:01

Very straight calendar.

SPEAKER_02 32:02

No, I genuinely I am a very like meticulous, organized person. I may not always come across that way. I can be a little bit goofy and a little bit silly, but at the end of the day, I have always got kind of a plan, um, especially week to week. I look at okay, what's my schedule look like? Okay, what kind of meals do I need to plan for certain nights? Because I still want to eat a nice home cooked meal as much as I can. I still try to prioritize things like my just physical health, which ties right into my mental health. Um, so that is the biggest part of it. I just know that there are certain nights of the week, Monday nights are fire training, Thursday nights are dog training, and Saturday mornings are dog training or even fire academy work, stuff like that. Um the biggest thing is really keeping that calendar and having a plan. Um I think if you go week to week and day to day and you don't really have a plan of what's going on, that's where chaos starts to ensue. I also believe in really good solid communication. So the calendar that I keep is all synced up and it hangs in the kitchen, and the kids all know what's going on every day. All they have to do is look. And they're very diligent about looking because they want to know what's on the agenda next. So I think that helps a lot, along with the fact that the kids and James, we all work together in this stuff. Um, I use the example of this past weekend. We had spring clinic for horse and pony as well as enrichment day, and that's stuff that both the older girls are involved in. And then we had um the pancake breakfast Sunday morning as well. And so we all got up early Sunday morning and we all went to the pancake breakfast and we got things set up and put out, and the kids were serving pancakes, and they know they know that that is part of the deal that we as a family go do these things together, and then when we have to, we divide and conquer. So sometimes, you know, one group goes here, the other group goes there, and we're all good with it. And that that's the biggest part is we talk about it and we communicate and make sure everyone's on the same page.

SPEAKER_01 34:06

So, with all this going on, paint me a picture of what a real day in your life looks like. From the start the alarm clock goes off to the time the head hits the pillow. What are we looking at?

unknown 34:19

Gosh.

SPEAKER_02 34:19

Um, I on a normal weekday, it is get up in the morning. I try to get up a little bit before the kids, um, so that I have a little bit of that time to get coffee in my system and get going. Um, then they have their own alarm clocks set and they go ahead and have those go off. They get ready for the day. We all end up upstairs and we're all watching the news, getting our things around for school and work. Um, they'll have breakfast if they want to, if they don't, they just eat at school. Sometimes they're picky, things like that. Um, they take off for school, I take off for school. Um, end of the day, they all come they get home a little bit before me, and they all start on chores because of course they all have all their animals, horses and chickens and all that, rabbits. And once they get done with chores, they know that from there it's really whatever's going on that evening. Um, I'll get home, get my stuff situated, and kind of figure out what's next. And it really depends on the night. If it's a Monday night, they know it's fire training night. And so this past one we did some rope system work and we were uh actually repelling off the cans of the department, and the kids were like all excited to see that. Um so they got to watch and ask questions, and then they know some nights it's a Thursday night, and they're gonna be able to stay home and hang out, and a lot of times they'll Gabby, especially, she's always wanting to ride her horse. And I tell her, like, I have to leave, so you gotta ask James. And that's another thing where it's like, I'm not gonna tell you yes, if he's not agreeable to it, too. And you know how kids are, they're gonna try to play both sides of things. Um, but we're really open about that and say, hey, this is what's going on, and I I think it works. I mean, the it's a hustle all day long, but we try to make it kind of work out. A lot of times, James is the one cooking dinner because I'm the one that's you know, the busy, busy person that's going to and from different places. I'll cart kids to whatever they've got going on, whatever kind of events. So sometimes it's club meetings, um, stuff like that. But that's kind of what it looks like. It really depends on the day. But it's fun. We enjoy it.

SPEAKER_01 36:39

Early mornings and sometimes some very late nights.

SPEAKER_02 36:42

It is, yeah. But there are some nights where it is much later than others, but we do try to stick with like from seven to eight if if we don't have something on the schedule. That seven to eight o'clock time is time to watch a little bit of a movie or a TV show, read books, play Monopoly, um, stuff like that. So that seven to eight window is just as long as there's nothing on the schedule, that that's family time. And there's some nights where the kids are really good about saying, like, we need a family night, it's been a little while, and so we try to make that a priority. Like, if we need to erase something off the schedule so that the kids can have that time, that's gonna happen. Um, it's not abnormal for us to plan every couple of months to have a bunch of friends over with the kids. So I've had like 12 kids in my house at one time because they're all inviting their friends over.

SPEAKER_01 37:32

Oh boy.

SPEAKER_02 37:33

Yeah, I know, I know. I have a big picture. Um, it's like one of my favorite pictures, but the entire like it's one of those big uh sectional couches, it's packed with all these kids. Um, but they have a blast, and it's it's nice for them to feel like that's a safe place where they can have their friends and they can have fun and have a good time. So we try to make that happen. Um, and then Saturday morning I've got dog training, so good luck, James.

SPEAKER_01 37:59

Oh boy, oh boy. So with all this going on, have you ever experienced times when you're just overwhelmed? And and I hate to use the term burnout because it's it's so it's used so much, but being overwhelmed not necessarily means you're getting burnout. But do you ever get those moments when you're just like, I don't know if I can keep doing this? Because your schedule's packed.

SPEAKER_02 38:24

No, definitely. Um, and James would tell you, like, he can tell I'll get this weird glazed overlook, and it'll be like a Sunday morning, and I'll be sitting there, and like the kids are with us every other weekend because of the shared parenting time, and it's usually on a weekend with no kids, and I'm like, And James is like, We're not doing anything today, are we? Like, I wanted to do things, like I want to do things, so but my body has just said, nope, that's enough. And those will be days where we will we'll just kinda be lazy and boring, and you know, we might order taco bow, we might get Chinese food, and we just kind of take it easy. Um, take everything off the schedule, I'll get a nap in, which is rare. Um, but it literally takes me getting to a point where I'm like, all right, I just cannot keep going. If I don't rest, I'm not gonna be able to get up and get after it the next day. Um, I think it's better if you can recognize that a little bit earlier, um, but I'm really notorious for not recognizing that. It takes someone like James looking at me and being like, you're done. You need it, you need a day off.

SPEAKER_01 39:40

Yeah, you time to get it.

SPEAKER_02 39:41

And I appreciate that. If I I don't know what I would do if I didn't have that. I would probably burn myself completely dry on that.

SPEAKER_01 39:51

What do you use to keep you grounded? Obviously, family time is very important.

SPEAKER_02 40:01

Family time is very important.

SPEAKER_01 40:02

Having that break from things is very important. What's the thing that at the end of the day is like this is what is my my technique, this is what keeps me thinking about how I want to make sure that usually like a lot of times I think to myself, alright, if uh if I don't reset myself, I can spiral out of control and I could get to a place where it's really tough to move forward and I'm not the best person I can be for other people.

SPEAKER_02 40:54

Um if I get to that empty cup phase, all the things that I find joy in I I can't do because I don't have the energy to pour in to others. Um so I think that definitely is a part of it, just my own like mental reminder of like what my goals are um helps kind of ground me, reset me. I also like one of my favorite things to do is to be in the middle of the woods hiding for someone else's dog. Um because when you're out there, you can't really do really anything because you want to make sure that the dog is just locating you based on scent alone and and not noise and not any other obnoxious thing you might do, like scroll tick tock or anything like that. Um so for me, when I'm sitting there and I'm just waiting on this dog to show up, it's just there's just peace. There's just nothing but nature and the world around me, and you get to see cool things, just stuff that you wouldn't normally see because you're not paying attention to it. You know, it's the little uh carpenter bee looking for things in the woods, which sounds really dumb and cheesy, but it really it's one of those things that reminds you like there's so much more out there than just what's right here in front of me. And I think that helps ground me quite a bit. And when I don't have that, like in the last couple weeks, I've had to not be at trainings. My dogs were a little sick, and now they've been cleared to go back to training. I'm like, man, I really miss being just out there in the environment, just taking everything in and not having, you know, papers degrade and dishes to do and laundry and all the things that are those just uh really boring day-to-day things that pile up. I I need that just complete escape from it. And that is a good reset as well.

SPEAKER_01 42:55

You and James, you built this blended family together. And and I know just from conversations that I've had with you, and I've talked to James a little bit, um family's very important, and you guys have made it a priority. What do you hope that your children are learning from watching what you guys have built?

SPEAKER_02 43:18

I really hope that they are learning how to give back to others but still remember to take care of yourself. Um, I want them to live that servant lifestyle where they're pouring into other people because it takes a village really to get this entire thing done. To take a person from birth to adulthood and be a successful full grown adult, and they get to, you know, they're older and now they've seen everything. I it takes an entire village. I I think of so many people that were part of my village growing up, and if I hadn't had them, there's so many instances where I'm not sure I would have navigated things the same way. I wouldn't certainly wouldn't have made the same choices. And I think those moments would have been detrimental. I would have never gotten back into teaching if one of my old mentors hadn't called me up and said, hey, we need a long-term sub. Can you can you bring can you come back? So I want them to understand that being helpful and being a good human for other humans is essential. And part of that is also doing the things that bring you joy. So, you know, I go to trainings and I do these things, but what they understand is if I don't do those things, I am different. I am not filling my cup up completely. I am I'm not as happy. And happiness is so important. Um and I think that my daughter right now is starting to get that to a point where she's getting ready to transition into middle school, and that's just such a challenging time. And you have to, you have to make your own happiness during that time. So we're back to the years of when she was in kindergarten of trying to understand that like not everyone is nice, unfortunately, but you have to be nice. And if you are nice, niceness will find you. You know, and it's hard because there's some people we don't want to be nice to. Like there are some people that are so frustrating. Um, we want to get angry, we want to retaliate, especially when they say something mean. But if you can come back to them with kindness, with something positive, it always turns out better in the long run. And I want them to realize that that is a part of it, that by leaving living that servant life and giving back, you're building your community up, and when you build your community up, it builds you up, and then you can build more. It is a feedback loop, really, is what it is. Um, and I think they they have done that. I think um through some of the stuff we've done. I know we have um the Ferry and Gnome Festival coming up, and my kids love the Ferry and Gnome Festival in Kindleville. They always help with the fire safety trailer. They're super enthusiastic about it. They will walk other kids through it and talk to them about fire safety. And it is uh there there's one of them, maybe out of the four, that's actually gonna be a firefighter. Like he is insistent. I'm gonna be a firefighter, no one's stopping me. I'm like, right on, go for it, little dude. But the other three girls that they have no interest in it, but they have an interest in educating people and making sure people are safe. Like that is a value that they have, and I am so proud of them for having that value because they're always looking out for people, they notice little things. And not every kid notices that, especially some kids, they're just like this, just like the grown-ups that are around them, too. Um, so I hope that they get that out of it, that public service side, and then just being able to do the things that bring them joy. Um for the two oldest, it's riding horses. I mean, that is their happy place, is with those two horses that they have, and I love it. And it was so cool to see over the weekend. Um, one couldn't ride her horse, that he had had a little bit of a reaction to his vaccinations that he'd just gotten, so he just he was not feeling good. And instead of her being upset, she found joy in the fact that the other kid was able to still ride and she was being really successful and she she needed that. So there it is all together. Like we're having fun, enjoying the things that we love, but also letting other people find joy and and giving back to other people. Um I love it, it's so cool. Uh yeah, I could talk about that rather.

SPEAKER_01 47:49

We're gonna talk about some exciting things coming up. Um, you are the brains behind coffee and camaraderie. So tell us about that. What inspired it, and you know, where we're at with coffee and camaraderie.

SPEAKER_02 48:05

Um, so coffee and camaraderie started last year as the whole concept was just an hour, you know, stop by anytime, have a cup of coffee, chit-chat as first responders, it, you know, new and old, the whole gambit. And it started off pretty strong last year and it kind of trickled off a little bit, uh, as these things do. And so I went with a little bit different approach this year to where we're doing it more quarterly and it's more of a theme. So we did kind of a chili cook-off style um event when it was still a little bit colder. Here coming up, we have a taco bar that we're gonna do, and that is actually next weekend. Or is it this weekend? Now I don't even know. I'm gonna have to look at that. I think it actually is this weekend. Um, after yes, after Fire Academy skills. So um we're gonna do the taco bar style and then we're gonna do a cookout over the summer, and then we'll go back and we'll do more of a holiday theme um closer to the holidays. And it really was inspired by wanting people to get together as first responders. I think back to again my roots back at that volunteer department, where after a run, we all stood around, chit-chatted, you know, the typical volunteer fire department thing. And I haven't seen an absolute big giant ton of that in my experience now. And I want to bring that back. Um, I want people to choose to get together outside of the fire ground, um, outside of the training ground, in a place where we can just hang out and be people. And so that was really what Coffee and Camaraderie started as is just trying to build that sense of camaraderie within the department, within all departments, because I would love to see dispatch there, you know, uh any kind of first responder. We've had law enforcement officers show up. I want to see everybody get together because I don't want it to just be when we're at an incident, an emergency, or we're at training. It needs to be in a place where we're just being people and we're not necessarily doing the job.

SPEAKER_01 50:08

You've kind of answered the next question a little bit, but if you could uh uh build on that, why are spaces like that important for the first responder community?

SPEAKER_02 50:17

Because it's important to be humans. Sometimes it gets so remember you we feel like you're a robot. I don't think we get enough opportunities to just be who we are without the title of a firefighter, police officer, a medic. Just to hang out with those people that are like-minded, but remove the job from the equation. I I think that's super important for our own mental health and our own coping with what it is that we see and what we experience day to day. We can just be in this safe spot where everything's calm, there's no crisis going on, nothing urgent, we're just hanging out. And I think that goes for really everybody. People don't just hang out anymore. There's always something going on, and we need to slow down and take it. It's just an hour. You could spend an hour scroll on TikTok. Which one's worth more?

SPEAKER_01 51:11

Right. Absolutely. Yes. So you gotta tell us you got a big event coming up. Tell us the ins and outs of the youth fire firefighting camp.

SPEAKER_02 51:22

I'm so excited for this event. It is coming up super fast. Um, it's gonna be great though. We I originally started things off um just kind of taking a shot in the dark, um, applying for a grant that I didn't think I would get, and then I got the grant to cover a camp, and I could do really just about anything with it. It could be a multi-day camp, one-day camp. Um, I decided since I hadn't told my fire chief that I applied for the grant, I'll stick with being small and do a one-day camp. And he, once he found out, was very supportive and was just like, whoa, I didn't expect this and see this coming, um, which I do kind of like to surprise him. Gotta keep on his toes. Um, however, I was like, okay, you know, I can handle this. I probably won't get very many kids. I'm gonna put it out there all over Noble County, and I'm gonna try to get instructors from all over the place because I want that whole county response. We work together on mutual aid, we should work together on more than just that. And so I put my feelers out there and started recruiting instructors, and I put the registration form out there, and next thing I know, boom, boom, boom, I've got kids coming in. And when we closed registration on May 1st, we closed it with the goal of 30 participants. So we met our goal. Um, so at this point in time, I've got 30 kids from like six or seven different uh cities that are across Noble County and even up into La Grange. I know I added the six or two. I had to um so they're from all over, um just pretty much representing just about every territory in Noble County and even outside of it. And then we've got 23 instructors that are that are just volunteering their time. I'm not compensating these people, I don't have the ability to compensate them. The compensation is you get to be there and be a part of this event that is gonna be super cool and hasn't been done yet around here and to this extent. Um and I think we have almost every Noble County fire department represented with instructors as well, which I think is really unheard of. Um, and I'm really, really proud of it. I'm really, really excited for it. And the kids that are signed up through East Noble that I teach with, those kids are super excited as well. Um, I think that's so cool. So cool that they're all gonna be a part of that, and even cooler, we go back to the whole women in fire thing. We are almost 50-50, boy to girl.

SPEAKER_01 54:04

That is awesome.

SPEAKER_02 54:04

Which is just wild. I never would have thought that this is where it would have gone. I was definitely convinced. I was like, well, I can teach 30 kids in a classroom, I can probably handle it if it gets to 30 and I don't have any help. Because people are busy. And it's it's hard. People have a hard time being able to give up their personal time, and that is fair. Because it is so hard to come by, but I'm so thrilled to see so many people investing in this, and these kids are gonna have such a great time.

SPEAKER_01 54:37

What's some of the stuff that they get to do at the at the old fire camp?

SPEAKER_02 54:40

Well, they are gonna get a full spread of firehouse style breakfasts provided by some of the local fire chiefs, so that's gonna be really neat just to get things kickstarted that day. Um, they will have gear that they get to borrow, so they'll kind of get to feel what it is like to have that second skin that we have. And then there are three morning rotations, they're gonna do hose and hydrant operations, ground ladders, and go through tools and equipment, and there's some different games and things um wrapped into that. They'll break for lunch in the afternoon that's gonna be provided by uh Domino's Pizza, which is really, really cool that they're helping out with it as well. And we've got cookies coming from Watchama Cake, so we've got the buy-in too from the community as far as the businesses that are around, which is super ducing as well. Um the end of lunch, the instructors are going to do an auto-extrication demonstration, so they'll actually get to see some of the tools they used in the morning and action. And then afternoon rotation is gonna be an EMS-themed rotation that's gonna go over basic CPR, first aid, and some medical scenarios. They will have a search and rescue um station as well. They have a fire extinguisher prop rotation and blanking on that. Oh, obstacle course. I can't believe I almost forgot that one. We're gonna set up a full obstacle course for them to go through, and they will actually be going through the obstacle course side by side with an instructor. So I have enough personnel for it. I really wanted them to be paired up with an instructor, and that person really walk and coach them through the obstacle course because it is meant to physically challenge them and give them the reality of the job. Um, at the end of the day, we're gonna do a full-scale scenario where they'll be assigned the different tasks that they would see on the fire ground. And we're gonna say, you know, hypothetically, there's this scenario, this situation, have at it. And they have two instructors per group for that, so the instructors will really walk them through what their response would be like on the fire ground. So I was really gonna give them as much of a real life experience as I possibly can.

SPEAKER_01 56:52

What do you hope that these students take away from that day?

SPEAKER_02 56:56

I hope that they see that one, they are 100% capable of giving back to their community in this way. Um, I hope that they find just some fun out of it. Like they get they get a kick out of it, they see what it's like behind the scenes, what kind of work we put into it. I hope that they build some connections with people locally. Um even if they don't choose to volunteer for one of the local departments, maybe they just form a relationship, a connection, and and those people have their own connections. And what I found through the camp on my own is by knowing people, you can go so much further. Um, and I think that's a big deal for me. I also want them to know that you can do so much more than just what you you see, you know, in school. You can get out there and get after it. Um, I think about, you know, when we look at the fire department, police department, public service roles, they they they seem so intimidating because they are such pillars of the community. They're special groups. And I want these kids to see the doors open that day, and maybe it really changes the trajectory of their lives for them, you know. Um maybe they didn't see that as an option and they weren't sure. And maybe now they explore it and they investigate it. Um I'm also gonna really encourage them to know that it's not just firefighting, you know, it's not just EMS work, there's dispatch that plays a role in it, there's the search and rescue side. Um, there's so much more than just the one facet of public service. It's multifaceted. And I think if they understand they can bring something special to the table, like that'll make a huge difference. And at the end of the day, if they don't have very much to give, they still have something to give. It may not be the same as one person on the department, but it's still useful. Um, I mean, my background was I don't have me work on anything mechanical. I'm not working on drugs. Nope. That is not my skill set. But you want help with PR. If you want help with um storing files and understanding how data works on the internet, those are things that I'm good at. Social media, I can do that. There are certain things that I can bring to the table. Teaching, instructional strategies. Yeah, I got you. And so I think it's important for them to know that they can still give back and that they should. Because if again, in order to feed that feedback loop, you have to give to get.

SPEAKER_01 59:40

This may be way too early in the in the conversation of things, but you know, with with the growing success that you've seen and in the interest in the community so far, is this a one and done, or is this gonna be uh annual annual traditional in Noble County.

SPEAKER_02 59:58

Yeah, I am planning for annual for sure. Um, I have already had some conversations with some folks from Parkview for the EMS side of things. I've had some conversations with some other folks as far as more of the special ops kind of thing. And so we're thinking next year we may go a special ops route, cover things like hazmat, search and rescue with the dogs, not fire search and rescue. Um, maybe some rope work, stuff like that, some more of the technical side and specialist side of things. So then that way kids can see like if you do get involved in the fire service and public service, you can go down one of these avenues and specialize. You know, you could be fire investigator, you could go so many different routes, and I think it's important that they know that exists. So that's kind of the direction I'm thinking next year. I'm already kind of planning for financial resources on that, things like that. I mean, I I was told by someone I care very much about that I could not let it just be one year. He has already said you have to do this again next year, and really every year after. And he has been a huge supportive person. So I really appreciate him and I look forward to next year as well.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:12

With that, if there's anybody that listens to this podcast and they, as a business owner or as a corporation, they want to help with this, or there's other fire departments that want to contribute, what do they got to do? How do they get a hold of you?

SPEAKER_02 1:01:29

Yeah, reach out. I mean I'm on Facebook, email, all the things, or just really contact Kendallville Fire Department and somebody will get you my direction. Um, I know again, it takes a village. Like this stuff is not happening just because of little old me. There's so many players in the game, and I really appreciate those people because without them, I I don't think it would have gotten to the point that it is now.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:57

Alright, so you've got all these major projects in the work. You're continuously building them. What's next?

unknown 1:02:05

Gosh.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:06

I don't know. I'm I'm always thinking goal setting, goal setting, goal setting. Like I do go by a week at a time and and live my day-to-day life, but I do have ultimate goals. Um, I would love to see almost a public safety academy in this area. I would love to see the opportunity for kids that are in high school because I I've had kids that I know the four walls of a classroom are not good for them. If anything, it stifles them. And I want to have something that they could get involved in that would really make them feel like they have purpose and meaning. Because a lot of times I think that's what some of us are missing, and some of those kids are missing. So a public safety academy would be cool, a place where kids could investigate dispatch work, they could investigate law enforcement, fire, EMS, search and rescue, um, working for you know, task force one type stuff, disaster work. I want these kids to know that there's so many really cool careers they could get into that again, they're gonna build their community up, and by building their community up, they're building themselves up. So that's kind of the direction I'm headed with it. I want to see that in place. I want to see an opportunity for high school age kids to really um learn what service is about. Uh there's been this decline of people going into volunteer work and into service fields, even that are paid. I want to see that change. That's my goal. I want I want to see more kids find this valuable, more people find this to be valuable. Because if we lose those pillars of the community, what do we have?

SPEAKER_01 1:03:48

Absolutely. You know, one of the things that that I've really had a lot of conversations with lately is the public, especially the youth. You know, they see firefighters, they see EMS, so yeah, you're you're doing, you know, putting the the wet stuff on the hot stuff, and you're taking care of people like that. But I don't think people, especially kids, realize the vast opportunities there is that fall under this ceiling of the fire service. And it's one of those things that I wish there was more public knowledge out there. I mean, anything you you like drones, there's a whole that could be your career. You like swimming, that could be your career. I mean, there's so many things that aren't even discussed that fall under this canopy of of possibility. And I it's one of the things that I personally want to push forward is like we're really good at telling kids go to college, we're really good at kid telling kids, you know, go to trade school. And it's like there's this whole world of possibility that is really untouched. So I I really appreciate that, that that's that's kind of where you want to go and and get that knowledge out to them and show them the possibilities, be able to dip their toe in the water, you know, and see what those are. This next part, and I tell everybody this when I first started asking this question, this was this is one of the original questions from the first podcast that I that that I I did with Frontline Voices, and it was a useful way to see people self-evaluate themselves. And then as some time passed, I I seen, you know, it's it's a message that can be very important in the event that that day comes. And it's gonna be hard for you because you've got a lot of years left. At the end of the day, when you're done, you're done being the teacher, you're done you're done being in the fire service, you're done with all that stuff. What do you want your legacy to be? And what do you hope people remember about you? Students, your family, your brothers and sisters in the fire service. Everything. What's the thing that you want them to go?

SPEAKER_00 1:06:10

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:12

Jess was XYZ.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:24

I don't want them to define me as one thing. That's something I fought against for a while. I didn't want to be just a mom. I don't want to be just a firefighter. I don't want to be just a wife. I wanted to be as many things as I possibly can be. I wanted to give as much as I possibly can give. So I think of the children's book, the uh giving tree. That book. And I actually got a tattoo. Um it's not the identical tree. We we had to put a cool spit on it because my tattoo artist is very insistent on things like that, and I appreciate her for that reason. So it's my own little spit on it, but um the reason I originally got it was my logic was going into teaching, and that was just teaching before I even thought of the fire service as you know something I would do regularly or search and rescue. I wanted to make sure I gave everything I had, um, as much as I possibly could, down to the stump. You know, I want people to remember me that way, and I want people to, instead of fixating on that, really, I want other people to choose that path. I want other people to give as much as they can possibly give. Within reason. You know, you can't give it all, you know, for the most part. You don't want to, you know, shoot for giving it all, I suppose, is the bigger thing. Because do some people do give it all, you know, some people lay it all on the line and they're gone, and all we have left is memories. Um instead, I want them to give everything they can while they're here and still take care of themselves. And I think that's really, really, really important. Um there's so many hours a day that we can waste doing things that don't really add value to the world around us. If we can think to ourselves, you know, is what I'm doing right now adding value? And if it's not, maybe we rethink while we're doing it. If that makes sense. I want people to be thoughtful, um, intentional, stuff like that.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:38

Well said. Well said. That is that is a legacy to be left behind. All right, enough with the heavy stuff. Last question, real easy. Do you have any recommendations for somebody to sit in that chair?

SPEAKER_02 1:08:53

I have so many, but I'm gonna narrow it down to a couple.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:57

Um Jason Meek, and we've talked about him, and he has been um really inspiring for me in my fire service career so far, and Bob Amber, both really just strong people in the fire service that I look up to a lot. Um, they've been super supportive, huge advocates for me, and they have never tried to slow me down in my time. I mean, in six years, I've come a really, really long way. Um, things have gone really, really fast, and they have never tried to stifle that. If anything, they constantly are building me up, and I really appreciate their mentorship, and I think they would be really cool people to hear from.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:42

Absolutely. Sounds good. We'll do our best to get them on here, and uh like I said, I believe we're we're at that time mark now, so I want to thank you for for volunteering your time to come up here. I mean, almost almost three counties out of the way here to make it make it to the studio. So I very much appreciate that, especially after a long day of teaching and all that stuff. So I I appreciate you for that.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:07

Yeah. Not a problem.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:10

Thank you again, and we'll catch you all later.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:19

This is Frontline Voices Conversations with our local heroes.