Fire Department Recognizes Community Partners
The Newberry Fire Department recently recognized two community partners from 2023. Both Whitaker Funeral Home and Prosperity Metal Recycling (PMR) in Newberry were recognized by the department and thanked for their partnership, Chief Gene Shealy said.
Shealy said the idea of honoring the department’s community partners came to him following the passing of Mark Thornhill, owner of PMR. While Shealy said he knew Thornhill would never want the recognition, that he had done so much for them and deserved a proper ‘thank you.’
“It made me think about all of the wonderful partners we have and how we needed to thank them,” Shealy said. “I know we can’t reach everyone at once, but over time, we can.”
Shealy says recognizing community partners is something the fire department plans to continue.
Prosperity Metal Recycling
The Newberry Fire Department’s relationship with PMR and Thornhill, Shealy said began several years ago when the fire service acquired the old Newberry County Fairgrounds land as its new training site.
Across the road from that land, is PMR and Shealy said they knew that would be a great way to acquire vehicles for extrication training of their firefighters.
“Mark did not hesitate to jump in and help and provided many vehicles over several years for both in-house and South Carolina Fire Academy regional training,” Shealy said. “He would orientate the vehicles any way we wanted to ensure we got the training we needed.”
Shealy said he had the pleasure of talking with Thornhill many times and he always had a smile on his face.
“At his funeral, it was displayed how many lives he touched,” he said. “In that moment, I felt we not only needed to recognize him, but other community partners. We look forward to showing our appreciation to all our community partners moving forward.”
Whitaker Funeral Home
Whitaker Funeral Home was also recognized by the department as a community partner. Shealy said they had been a supporter of the Newberry Fire Department for many years, always keeping them informed of any death that may have a connection with the department.
In 2012, the Newberry Fire Department started an Honor Guard. One of the larger responsibilities of the Honor Guard is to perform duties, upon request of the family at any active, retired, or honorary member of the department’s funeral.
“Not only did Whitaker Funeral Home allow us to train at their facility, but they also offered outside training opportunities to us and donated a casket flag to use for our training,” Shealy said.
Whitaker Funeral Home also sponsors the department’s annual Firefighter of the Year award, Shealy said and have done so since 2008. (Pictured: Chief Gene Shealy with Whitaker Funeral Home’s Christie and Doggett Whitaker)
“Newberry is a wonderful community, and we are dedicated to protecting it from all hazards,” Shealy said. “It takes a lot of commitment from our citizens and local businesses to ensure we provide the best prevention, response and recovery plan to make that happen.”
The Newberry Fire Department recently recognized two community partners from 2023. Both Whitaker Funeral Home and Prosperity Metal Recycling (PMR) in Newberry were recognized by the department and thanked for their partnership, Chief Gene Shealy said.
Shealy said the idea of honoring the department’s community partners came to him following the passing of Mark Thornhill, owner of PMR. While Shealy said he knew Thornhill would never want the recognition, that he had done so much for them and deserved a proper ‘thank you.’
“It made me think about all of the wonderful partners we have and how we needed to thank them,” Shealy said. “I know we can’t reach everyone at once, but over time, we can.”
Shealy says recognizing community partners is something the fire department plans to continue.
Prosperity Metal Recycling
The Newberry Fire Department’s relationship with PMR and Thornhill, Shealy said began several years ago when the fire service acquired the old Newberry County Fairgrounds land as its new training site.
Across the road from that land, is PMR and Shealy said they knew that would be a great way to acquire vehicles for extrication training of their firefighters.
“Mark did not hesitate to jump in and help and provided many vehicles over several years for both in-house and South Carolina Fire Academy regional training,” Shealy said. “He would orientate the vehicles any way we wanted to ensure we got the training we needed.”
Shealy said he had the pleasure of talking with Thornhill many times and he always had a smile on his face.
“At his funeral, it was displayed how many lives he touched,” he said. “In that moment, I felt we not only needed to recognize him, but other community partners. We look forward to showing our appreciation to all our community partners moving forward.”
Whitaker Funeral Home
Whitaker Funeral Home was also recognized by the department as a community partner. Shealy said they had been a supporter of the Newberry Fire Department for many years, always keeping them informed of any death that may have a connection with the department.
In 2012, the Newberry Fire Department started an Honor Guard. One of the larger responsibilities of the Honor Guard is to perform duties, upon request of the family at any active, retired, or honorary member of the department’s funeral.
“Not only did Whitaker Funeral Home allow us to train at their facility, but they also offered outside training opportunities to us and donated a casket flag to use for our training,” Shealy said.
Whitaker Funeral Home also sponsors the department’s annual Firefighter of the Year award, Shealy said and have done so since 2008. (Pictured: Chief Gene Shealy with Whitaker Funeral Home’s Christie and Doggett Whitaker)
“Newberry is a wonderful community, and we are dedicated to protecting it from all hazards,” Shealy said. “It takes a lot of commitment from our citizens and local businesses to ensure we provide the best prevention, response and recovery plan to make that happen.”
