By Louie Graves
News-Leader staff
The fireman chosen by his peers as Fireman of the Year explains his enthusiasm for his firefighting experience as exciting and satisfying.
Kenton Miller, 30, is a newcomer with the Nashville Volunteer Fire Department, but he is a newcomer with plenty of experience. At the age of 18 he joined the Yancey Fire Department where he served for six years before joining the County Line VFD.
Being a firefighter is exciting, he says, but “there is something beyond that.” He says he appreciates being able to serve, and enjoys fellowship with fellow department members who include his brother, Royce. He also has three brothers serving in the Ozan VFD. Both his father and his grandfather were firemen, so wearing the gear and fighting flames is in his blood.
Miller and his wife, Crystal, have two sons — Cole, 4, and Cash, 1.
The Fireman of the Year award is presented at the department’s annual December gathering, and the recipient is chosen in one secret ballot — all firemen just write down who they think deserves the award, and the one with the most votes wins.
Firemen are no longer volunteers, but are considered to be part-time, on-call employees of the
city, according to Fire Marshal Jerry Harwell.
They are paid $35 per call. They must participate in continuing education and other mandatory training.
At one time, in order to be selected to fill one of the rare openings in the department, hopefuls had to go meet members of the department and lobby for their approval. Now, someone who wants to be a fireman needs to fill out an application which is available at Harwell’s office at the main fire station.
The department includes 25 individuals, up from previous years, but the manpower needs are greater now because many members have jobs that prevent them from answering every call.
Since the Fireman of the Year Award was started, winners have been:
1987 Roy Blakely
1988 James Daniel
1989 Terry Ray
1990 James Dyer
1991 Cliff Petty
1992 Ronny Woods
1993 Jerry Harwell
1994 Cliff Petty
1995 Roy Blakely
1996 Jimmy Mixon
1997 Bobby Chambers
1998 Jimmy Mixon
1999 Joe Dallas
2000 Gary Funderburk
2001 Alfred Neeley
2002 Matt Smith
2003 Mike Kinkade
2004 Terry Ray
2005 Matt Smith
2006 Jeff Westfall
2007 Jeff Westfall
2008 Jimmy Mixon
2009 Jeff Westfall
2010 Jeff Westfall
2011 Jeff Westfall
2012 Josh Worley
2013 Josh Worley
2014 Russell Sparks
2015 Andrew Westfall
2016 Michael Staten
2017 Kenton Miller