Local Fire Chief Honored

The Masonic Temple in Duncan Falls honored area volunteer firefighters at a special dinner Sunday evening.

According to Worthy Matron of the Order of Easteren Star, Valerie Norman, the dinner is the Masonic Temple and the Order of Eastern Star’s way to give thanks to the community and to volunteer firemen. She said sometimes they don’t get a thanks for the job they do each day.

“We wanted to do something to give back, and volunteer firemen may rarely hear a thank you for the jobs they do, so we wanted to honor them with a dinner to show our appreciation in the community,” Norman said.

However, the dinner wasn’t just about honoring all of the area firefighters. At the dinner, the firefighters, and the other organizations putting the dinner together, recognized one chief with decades of service. Wayne Township Fire Chief, Donald Alexander has been the chief for 35 years. Sunday, he received a plaque and many over do thank yous.

“I just couldn’t imagine that I was being selected,” Alexander said. “I was a little concerned, I saw other strange people showing up that were’nt in our fire department. I thought, ‘I don’t know what’s going on here.’ I even asked Bruce, but he didn’t know. So they truly did make it a surprise.

Chief Alexander said his love of fire trucks now and as a little kid gives him the desire to continue serving Wayne Township.