Goodwill Volunteer Fire Company member Dan Tabler, 98, of Centreville, is the fire company’s longest serving member. Here Tabler attends the annual awards banquet Jan. 7 with his wife Ruth, left, and daughter Jan. Tabler, also editor emeritus of the Record-Observer newspaper and a military veteran, was recognized at Goodwill’s annual awards banquet for 76 years of service.
Goodwill Volunteer Fire Company top responders for 2022, from left: Jeff Kiel, 105; Branden Williams, 109; Thomas Parry, 115; Cliff Green, 116; Zach Gervis, 140; Sean Madison, 146; Ethan Frank, 166; Chris Tucker, 176; and Butch Kaufman, 285. Not pictured: Chris Tona, 99.
Goodwill Volunteer Fire Company’s 2022 Firefighter of the Year is Ethan Frank, who responded to 166 emergency calls in his first full year as a member of the fire company in Centreville.
Goodwill Volunteer Fire Company member Chris Tona Jr., left, receives the 2022 Chief’s Award, from Fire Chief Chris Tucker on Saturday evening, Jan. 7, during the fire company’s annual awards banquet at the firehouse in Centreville.
Goodwill Volunteer Fire Company member Dan Tabler, 98, of Centreville, is the fire company’s longest serving member. Here Tabler attends the annual awards banquet Jan. 7 with his wife Ruth, left, and daughter Jan. Tabler, also editor emeritus of the Record-Observer newspaper and a military veteran, was recognized at Goodwill’s annual awards banquet for 76 years of service.
Photo by DOUG BISHOP
Goodwill Volunteer Fire Company top responders for 2022, from left: Jeff Kiel, 105; Branden Williams, 109; Thomas Parry, 115; Cliff Green, 116; Zach Gervis, 140; Sean Madison, 146; Ethan Frank, 166; Chris Tucker, 176; and Butch Kaufman, 285. Not pictured: Chris Tona, 99.
PhotoS by DOUG BISHOP
Goodwill Volunteer Fire Company’s 2022 Firefighter of the Year is Ethan Frank, who responded to 166 emergency calls in his first full year as a member of the fire company in Centreville.
PHOTO BY DOUG BISHOP
Goodwill Volunteer Fire Company member Chris Tona Jr., left, receives the 2022 Chief’s Award, from Fire Chief Chris Tucker on Saturday evening, Jan. 7, during the fire company’s annual awards banquet at the firehouse in Centreville.
Photo by DOUG BISHOP
T.J. Palmatary, left, presents the 2022 President’s Award to Goodwill Volunteer Fire Company Vice President Steve Gervis.
CENTREVILLE — Among the many distinguished recognitions Saturday evening, Jan. 7, during the annual Goodwill Volunteer Fire Company banquet, none came with more respect than the standing ovation longtime member Dan Tabler, 98, of Centreville, received.
In his opening remarks, Goodwill Deputy Chief Jeremy Davis, who served as master of ceremonies for the evening’s festivities, called attention to Tabler who was seated next to his wife, Ruth, and daughter, Jan.
When Davis stated Tabler had been a loyal member of the department for 76 years, the audience spontaneously, giving a long round of applause. Tabler stood and thanked everyone for the recognition.
The annual awards and recognition ceremony provided members and guests with buffet prepared by Robin Lewis’ Personal Touch Catering of Easton, preceded by a blessing over the meal.
Following the meal, many awards were presented, starting with years of service awards. Members are recognized upon completion of years of service every 10 years. For 2022, two members were recognized, Robbie Turner for 10 years of service, and Joseph Pignataro for 20.
Recognition was given to the Queen Anne’s County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the QA commissioners, represented that evening by Phil Dumenil and Jim Moran, thanking both offices for their support of the fire company over the years.
On behalf of the Town of Centreville Councilman Eric Johnson, Jr., attended by his wife, Jamie, presented a check of $45,000 toward operating expenses for the upcoming year to the fire company. Said Johnson, “I understand that is the same amount we’ve given to the fire company for many years. I’m going to recommend that we increase that amount by another $5,000 next year to support our local fire service.” This statement was followed by applause from department members.
Among those awards presented to fire service volunteers the 2022 Top 10 Responders of the Year were recognized. Out of the 494 calls Goodwill responded to in 2022: Chris Tona made 99 calls; Jeff Kiel, 105; Branden Williams, 109; Thomas Parry, 115; Cliff Green, 116; Zack Gervis, 140; Sean Madison, 146; Ethan Franks, 166; Chris Tucker, 176; and Butch Kaufman, 285 — which was noted as being 55% of all calls for assistance from Goodwill VFC.
Fire department member T.J. Palmatary, standing in for Goodwill President Raymond Aaron, who was not able to attend, presented the 2022 President’s Award to GVFC Vice President Steven Gervis.
Goodwill Fire Chief Chris Tucker presented the 2022 Chief’s Award to Chris Tona, who has been elected to the fire company’s Board of Directors.
The 2022 Firefighter of the Year award was presented to first-year member Ethan Franks, who made a big impact, responding to the third highest number of emergency calls with 166.
Following the awards music was provided through Justin Davis’ Bar Crawler Entertainment DJ Service.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.