The Albertville Fire Department and Albertville Fire Chief Eric Bullen took time to honor their own, recently, with a number of awards handed out at a special ceremony involving the Albertville City Council.
Honorees included the Paul Heinen Award winner – named after the late AFD volunteer who lost his life while protecting the city, as well as annual service awards and one special retiree.
Here’s a look at this year’s winners:
- Service Year Awards:
- 10 Years = Shawn Olson
- 15 Years = Eric Sovis
- 20 Years = Steve Long
- Special Recognition:
- 26 Years = Bill Valerius
- 34 Years = Albert Barthel
- Top Caller Award:
- 163 Calls = Jake Kreutner
- Paul Heinen Award :
- Winner = Brad Lawinger
- Top Volunteer Hours:
- Tim Trainor = 77
- Jake Kreutner = 67
- Paul Gonsior = 58
- Mark Driste = 57
- Retirements:
- Tim Daly – September 2000 – February 2016
“I think when you look at the group of firefighters we have, it’s a very special, dedicated group,” Bullen said of the department. “They’re a bunch of guys who are ready to respond at a moment’s notice to pretty much anything. With the highways and homes and businesses we have here, they play a very important role and they take that role very seriously.”
