A veteran firefighter, Cliff Petty, received the coveted Firefighter of the Year award during the Nashville Fire Department’s annual awards banquet, Dec. 2, and the department’s first female firefighter, Jasmin Camacho, was presented the Officer’s Choice Award by Fire Marshal Justin Thornton.
Petty, Firefighter of the Year for the third time, also received his service pin for 36 years as a fireman here.
The selection for Firefighter of the Year is by a spontaneous and secret ballot vote by fellow firefighters. It is the highest award given by the department.
It is a testament to Petty’s long service that he also won the award in 1991 and 1994.
Camacho recently finished her one-year probationary period with the department, according to the fire marshal.
The selection is made by the fire chief, assistant chief and department captains.
Other awards presented by the fire department include the following:
Five-year Service – Clint Hostetler and Lee Worley.
Ten-year Service — Royce Miller.
Twenty-five year Service — Matt Smith.
Thirty-two year Service — Bobby Chambers.
Attendance Award — Kelly Hostetler.
Fire Marshal Thornton said: ”It is a hard decision to choose these
awards because we have a great group of firefighters and they all deserve these awards. We are very proud of all our firefighters and the job they do.”
Winners of the Firefighter of the Year Award since its inception:
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
2018 Michael Staten
2019 Kenton Miller
2020 Zachary Miller
2021 Kelly Hostetler
2022 Kelly Hostetler
2023 Lee Worley
2024 Derek Brewer
2025 Cliff Petty
