If Whitfield County is successful in lowering the ISO rating for the county, residents can thank Lt. Gary Hamrick of the county fire department for his help.
Lt. Hamrick has played a key role in updating and creating informative documents for the Insurance Services Office over the past few months – documents that will hopefully result in lower insurance costs for local residents if the ISO rating does indeed drop.
For taking on this large amount of extra duties, Lt. Hamrick has been named Whitfield County Employee of the Month for January after being nominated by Battalion Chief John Chester.
“In the past, personnel at the lieutenant level have not had the opportunity to participate in the preparation of such an important inspection,” Chief Chester pointed out. “Our ISO rating is a critical factor in the financial health of this county and its citizens.”
When the department decided to participate in an ISO inspection, Chief Chester said Lt. Hamrick willingly offered his help to make sure the county obtained the best score possible.
“His efforts turned out to be very helpful,” Chief Chester said, “and his preparation and communication with our ISO representative helped create an inspection process that was efficient and seamless. He worked hard to present them clear accurate information, although it was time consuming and difficult work having to coordinate all the gathered information from 10 stations. He is glad to have had the opportunity to do it and is proud of what he accomplished for his department, as I am glad and proud to nominate him for this award.”
During his 23-year career with the department, Lt. Hamrick has received the Firefighter of the Year award and has been nominated for that same award several times. He earned an associate degree in Fire Science from West Georgia Technical College, and his background in the printing industry has helped him design and create information documents and literature for the department.
To help local residents learn more about him and his family, Lt. Hamrick filled out the following fun questionnaire.
Name: Gary Hamrick
Job title: Lieutenant
Time with the county: March 25 will be 21 years
Where I went to high school: Burns High School
My role as a county employee: Run the operations at Station 4 every third day
What keeps my job interesting: Meeting people in the county
What gives me a sense of accomplishment on the job: Being able to help the citizens of Whitfield County in their time of need
The most important thing I’ve done on the job: Delivering a baby
Where I grew up: Shelby, NC
Family: Wife – Bonnie, children – Derek and Tiffany, daughter-in-law – Faith, grandchildren – Landon, Peyton and Jaxson
After work, I enjoy: Spending time at home with my family
Favorite sport/sport team: Football is my favorite sport
Favorite meal: Anything my wife cooks
Favorite Whitfield County restaurant: Lisa’s Cafe
Favorite Whitfield County event: Prater’s Mill
You can pick four people to have dinner with (anyone from any time in history) – who are your four people and why?
Albert Einstein - So I could ask him what’s up with the hair.
Nostradamus - I'm specifically interested in the winning lottery numbers!
My younger self - If I could have dinner with my younger self, I could easily become the smartest person in history
Marco Polo-that guy's got to have some interesting stories
I’m most proud of: My children
Cats or dogs? Two dogs – Teddy and Ellie
Cake or pie? Either, I love sweets.
Favorite car? The one with no payments
Host or be hosted? Hosted, no clean-up
Early riser or sleep-in: Early riser
Favorite vacation ever: Every vacation is my favorite vacation.
Best teacher you ever had: I can’t remember her name, but she was the one that never gave homework
Pet peeve: People not using their turn signals
If I’ve learned one thing in life, it’s: Don’t get excited
What’s left on my bucket list: Everything – I don’t have time to do any of them.
If I could have been in any profession of my choosing, I would have been a: Firefighter
If I could have two wishes, they would be: True happiness and joy in life and a wife with a mind of her own that I could enjoy life with. Oh, I guess both of those have already come true.
You’d be surprised to learn that I: It would surprise people because I keep it secret! And a secret it will remain!
The best advice I ever got: Don’t take advice from strangers.