Christian Stoltzfus, Jr. joined the Fire Company as a Junior Firefighter when he was 17 years old. He is the fifth son in a lineup of nine boys in his family. All of his older brothers had become firefighters before him so it was natural for him to join too.
In addition to responding to fires, Junior has served as a lieutenant and a captain. Presently he is Captain 2. His specific assignment for the past seven years has been to manage the personal protective equipment for the Fire Company. This includes outfitting new firefighters in their firefighting gear, keeping track of inventory stored in the basement, and making sure every firefighter’s gear is in good repair and up-to-date.
Junior has also been active with fundraisers. During the Half Marathon weekend, he co-managed the parking. This is not a small feat as the attendance and number of cars have increased greatly over the seven years that the event has been held. From 2012-2014 Junior served on the Committee to Design & Purchase our New Tanker. That required
a lot of meeting time and research. He recalls making two trips to the Pierce Manufacturing, Inc. in Appleton, Wisconsin as part of the process of purchasing and customizing the new tanker that was put into service in March 2014.
After ten years as a member of the Fire Company, Junior claims that he would not know as many of his neighbors without this community involvement. He comments, “Not one person can do it alone. It is best to take everyone’s interests into consideration and then put them where their skills can best be used.”
Junior encourages young people to stretch themselves and take responsibility by becoming a firefighter. Get out and meet new people and then learn to work with them! It is a very worthwhile priority in life to help neighbors and that is what keeps Junior serving his community. Junior was named Firefighter of the Year at the Fire Company Turkey Dinner on November 16, 2016.
The Fireman of the Year is chosen through a peer nomination process.