(Lawrenceville, Ga., March 21, 2019) – Pride and honor filled the Auditorium at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center in Lawrenceville last Thursday, March 14, 2019.  The Gwinnett County Department of Fire and Emergency Services combined a promotional ceremony with the graduation of firefighter-paramedic recruits. The ceremony included the prestigious custom of badge pinning coupled with pictures as family members stepped forward to share in the momentous event with their loved-ones.   

The new promotions included 10-Driver Engineers, 4-Lieutenants, 5-Captains, 1-Battalion Chief, 2-District Commander/Section Manager. The invocation led by Captain Tommy Rutledge not only reminded all in attendance of the tremendous leadership we have in our County and Department, but attention was also drawn to the privileged position that fire personnel have to serve the citizens of Gwinnett County. 
Below is a list of all the personnel that were promoted.  Some have already been in the position for a period of time and were recognized during last week’s ceremony.

DRIVER ENGINEERS
Rodney Hollon                Jeb Joiner
David Klein                     Jimmy Knowles
Web Marshall                Payton Miller
Justin Petty                     Ben Pierce
Zabi Polard                     Clay Scott

LIEUTENANTS
Miller Brown                  Josh Hughes
Will Kinard                     Justin Wilson

                                               
CAPTAINS
Charlie Bryson               Matthew Cook
Ronnie Ezell                   Keith Gawronski
Brad Sheppard


BATTALION CHIEF
Scott Lewis

DISTRICT COMMANDER/SECTION MANAGER
Derek Perkins                  Brent Dunbar

The Department also proudly announced the graduation of 17 new recruits who completed the department’s demanding training program to become certified Firefighter-Paramedics.  Additionally, there were 10 veteran firefighters with a desire to increase the level of medical service they could provide who successfully completed the paramedic training program.
After almost a year and a half of training that included basic firefighting skills, classroom instruction, and medical clinical rotations at various hospitals and on numerous ambulances, the recruits were recognized for their dedication to hard work and commitment.

The Fire Chief was joined by Gwinnett County Administrator Glenn Stephens, Deputy County Administrator Phil Hoskins, District 2 Commissioner Ben Ku, District 4 Commissioner Marlene Fosque, and Associate Medical Director Abdullah Almehbash in congratulating everyone for their many accomplishments.  The message to the culturally diverse recruit class from the dignitaries was consistent. Continue learning throughout their career and to always serve with kindness and compassion.   
   
Several class awards and recognitions were given out to include: Academic Award to Dezmond Sherrod, Core Values Award to Darrious Cook, Paramedic Star of Life Award to Michael Latimore, and Physical Fitness and Top Rung to Royce Harrison. 

Veteran Firefighters Who Completed the Paramedic Program

Charles Andrews            Zach Brooks
Jared Eager                    Ryan Hellmann
Andy Lane                      Austin Nash
Brian Prescott                Trent Smith
Justin White                   Evan Wiley

New Firefighter/Paramedic Recruit Graduates

Austin Anderson             Darrious Cook
Dominique Floyd            Royce Harrison
Charlie Hershman          Luke Holbrooks
Clinton Hughes               Jalanni James
Josh Kurtz                       Mike Latimore
John Leek                       Jonathan Nugent
Hugo Posso Ramirez      Alex Santiago-Hernandez
Rodolfo Sasso Cones      Dezmond Sherrod
Hung Vong