Adam Thornton

Broiler Service Technician,
Columbia Farms

I chose to educate young people in fire and emergencies by helping organize and offering assistance in a learning day for fourth and fifth-grade students from the three elementary schools in my county. As a training officer of the Five Area Volunteer Fire Department, I enlisted five firemen to provide students with simulated experiences in search and rescue situations that would equip and educate them if faced with that crisis. In doing so, an additional goal was to stimulate interest in potential involvement and/or support of firefighting. My home county is served solely by volunteer firefighters, and the recruiting process needs to start at an early age. I feel that my project not only benefited the community but also my personal leadership skills to put into practice the delegation of duties.

“My goal was two-fold: 1) to stimulate interest in the community in becoming a future emergency worker and 2) to promote safety in homes through fire and rescue hands-on experiences.”