Lt. Shawn Damon, also known as “Kee-Kee the Clown,” is surprised after being “transported” from the beach where he was fishing as part of a magic trick during this year’s Clown Posse show. Lt. Damon retired from the Whitfield County Fire Department in June but agreed to come back and serve one more year in his role as Kee-Kee that he’s played for 22 years.
photo by Mitch Talley
During a skit about Exit Drills in the Home (EDITH), Lt. Wesley Williams’ daughter Natalie (far left) plays the role of Edith, running onto the stage whenever her name is called by the clowns talking about EDITH. Also pictured are (from left) “Crawl Space” (Kyle Lawless), “Skeeter” (Eng. Brandon Pewitt), “Expert” (Lt. Charles Blair), “Hose-A” (Wesley Williams), “Res-Q” (Eng. Robbie Sewell), and “Kee-Kee” (Lt. Shawn Damon).
photo by Mitch Talley
Dug Gap Elementary School students (from left) Andrew Cruz, Brady Brewer, Julian Franco, Emili Vasquez, Grayson Gadd, Halo Bender, Karen Perez, Lisel Almonte, Colby Newby, Matteo Mendez, Meiser Perez, Christian Torres, and Ms. Kasonndra Stanley laugh at Pluggie, a remote-control fire hydrant used to teach kids not to play with matches or lighters.
photo by Mitch Talley
Lt. Charles Blair, also known as “Expert the Clown,” performs the “Hat Hat Song” with Dug Gap Elementary students Parker Mitchell and Paisley Schenck.
photo by Mitch Talley
As students file out of the Dug Gap Elementary gym after another successful Clown Posse show, even the teachers get into dancing to the “YMCA” song.
photo by Mitch Talley
Dug Gap Elementary students and teachers pose for a photo with members of the Clown Posse crew.
photo by Mitch Talley
Lt. Shawn Damon may have retired as a firefighter earlier this year, but his more than two-decade stint as “Kee-Kee the Clown” continued for one more year as the Whitfield County Fire Department’s Clown Posse made its trek to all 13 county elementary schools during Fire Safety Week.
This year marked the first time the Clown Posse – organized 22 years ago by Lt. Damon and Lt. Chris West - has been able to bring its important fire safety message to students since 2019, forced to take a break the past two years because of the pandemic, and students and teachers alike proved happy to see their old friends once again.
“The teachers and schools have been very, very responsive,” said Lt. Wesley Williams, who organized the Clown Posse shows and also takes part as 'Hose-A the Clown' during the hour-long performances full of lively music and funny skits that drive home the fire safety message to the youngsters.
“We had a lot of good feedback out of our show at Valley Point this morning,” Lt. Williams said as the team was setting up for another afternoon show at Dug Gap Elementary. “Valley Point was super, super appreciative and actually told us that the show there was the first full assembly that they’ve had since COVID started two years ago. So they were pretty excited and very proud of their kids the way they responded and acted.”
Lt. Williams says that because of the two-year delay, most of the younger students have never seen the Clown Posse show, and he’s happy finally to be back at the schools sharing familiar messages like not playing with matches or lighters, devising an Exit Drill in the Home (EDITH), and learning about smoke alarms and “Stop, Drop and Roll.”
Earlier this year, Lt. Williams says the department noticed an uptick in the number of fires in the county. “We didn’t necessarily see any kids playing with matches or lighters or anything like that as the cause of these fires,” he says, “but it makes you start questioning why are we having so many fires now, that we didn’t have in the past. Could it be partially because of fire safety not being taught in schools the past two years? There’s no way to know for sure.”
Regardless, he’s glad the Clown Posse is back in the saddle again, pointing to the case of the little girl a few years back who woke up and alerted her family to get out of their burning house after remembering what she had been taught at school by the clowns.
“We know that our message works,” Lt. Williams says, “just that right there if it doesn’t help any other kids, that is one success story that you can say this program probably saved a life.”
Other members of the Clown Posse include Lt. Jason Phillips - master of ceremonies, Lt. Kyle Lawless - “Crawl Space,” Robbie Sewell - “Res-Q,” Lt. Charles Blair - “Expert,” Eng. Brandon Pewitt - “Skeeter,” AEMT Natalie Williams - “Edith,” Eng. Phillip Bowling - “Sparky,” Eng. Andrew Hambright - “Pluggie,” and Eng. Kade West - sound.
Lt. Williams expressed thanks to Hamilton EMS for letting his daughter, Natalie, take part in the show. She’s played the role of Edith for many years, dating back to her middle school days, and recently became a certified EMT for Hamilton EMS.