Members of the Darlington Volunteer Fire Company and top current and former Harford County public safety officials paid tribute Sunday to the late James. W. Terrell, a past Darlington fire chief and company president who was also a former county emergency operations manager, co-creator of Harford's 911 system and first chief of the county's HAZMAT unit.
Chief Terrell died in September 2014 at age 67. He spent 51 years with the Darlington fire company and served as fire chief from 1974 to 1985. He was remembered by the fire company's members and guests during the annual awards banquet, held Sunday evening at the main firehouse on Castleton Road.
The banquet was scheduled for Saturday, but company officials postponed it to Sunday because of the Saturday snowstorm.
Rick Ayers, the county's emergency manager and deputy manager of the Division of Emergency Operations, said during the banquet that Chief Terrell hired him to work in the county's Emergency Operations Center 31 years ago.
Ayers, who was in the Air Force at the time and stationed in Sacramento, Calif., said Chief Terrell told him he was looking to hire people to start a countywide 911 system.
"I really think Jim was the reason why I've been here for 31 years," Ayers said. "He helped me get that job, so I'm always going to be grateful for that."
Chief Terrell started working as an emergency dispatcher during the late 1960s and was Ayers' supervisor when he began working in the county EOC.
Ayers noted that Chief Terrell became much more than a boss, he was also his mentor and became involved in Ayers' children's lives and they even took vacations together.
"Jim became my best friend," he said.
Bel Air Town Administrator Jesse Bane, the former Harford County sheriff, said he had known Chief Terrell since they were children growing up in Dublin.
Bane noted Chief Terrell's mother was his third-grade teacher.
"Jim Terrell and I pretty much grew up together," he recalled.
He said Chief Terrell was "very studious and very quiet."
"He had this way that he would look at you that would just pierce your soul," Bane said. "He would look right through you. That was difficult to handle if you didn't know Jim, but if you knew Jim he was a gentleman, a great man."
Bane, who joined the Sheriff's Office in the 1970s, said he and Chief Terrell were part of a committee to establish the county's 911 system, which required the cooperation of the Maryland State Police, the sheriff's office, the three municipalities and the fire and ambulance companies.
"It took about four or five years, but eventually we found common ground to pull this off," Bane said.
He said Chief Terrell was "really the guy who was behind that [911 system] in the very beginning to bring that whole thing about."
Chief Terrell retired from the county in 1999, according to a tribute posted after he died on the Harford County Volunteer Fire & EMS Association's public information page on Facebook.
A chief's pin from Harford County Emergency Operations was presented to Chief Terrell's widow, Leslie, during the banquet.
Leslie Terrell, who was married to Chief Terrell for 33 years, is a past deputy fire chief for Darlington, and she lives in Dublin. She attended the banquet with their grandson, Jordan Scarborough, 11, of Bel Air.
Jordan, who is a cadet with the Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company, helped pass out awards to Darlington's top fire responders.
"He took it all to heart, because this is where he was born and raised, and he loved this county," Leslie Terrell said of her late husband's service to the fire company and county EOC.
Top awards
Robert Evans, who has spent 20 years with the company and is a firefighter and driver, received the company's highest honor, the James Warner Award.
The award, which was named for a former treasurer, is presented to members who go above and beyond in their service to the company.
"It's not required to be given every year," company President Michael Vincent explained. "It should only be given out when someone actually epitomizes selfless contributions to the fire company."
Evans, who is a past fire captain, thanked the members of the company who supported him over the years, and he noted that many are still with the company.
James Rost Jr. was named Fireman of the Year and R. Donald Thomas, the company's first vice president, was named Administrative Person of the Year.
Company officials also presented a special recognition to EMS Capt. Sam Sauers and two members who were training to be EMTs in October 2014, when they delivered a baby boy in the back of a Darlington ambulance while the mother was being taken to the hospital.
The trainees were Samantha Jackson, who was a cadet at the time and is an EMT student, and Karen McDonough, an EMT who was then an EMT student.
Years of service
Members Sarah Anderson, Susan Blake and Ashley Northam were recognized for five years of service. Robert Evans and John Singleton were honored for 20 years and Walter James was recognized for 25 years.
Robert Parsons and Fire Chief Dave Weissert were honored for 30 years and Raymond Evans was honored for 35 years.
Robert Nelson was recognized for 45 years of service, George Rockey for 56 and Donald Cassett and J. Alan Thompson for 58 years.
Top responders
The top fire responders for 2014 were George Rockey with 254 calls, James Rost Sr., 140, Rhonda White, 137, Samantha Nelson, 127, Nicholas Rockey, 122, Walter "Jim" James, 122, Justin Griffith, 118, James Rost Jr., 107, Brian Serra and Samantha Jackson, 105.
The top EMS responders were Bruce Lyons, who had 139 calls, Linda Thomas, 120, Vanessa Burns, 84, Angie Gullion, 77, Sarah Anderson, 69, Sam Sauers, 68, Rhonda White, 55, Edna Reeves, 38, Nicholas Rockey, 30 and Jason Gullion, 28 calls.
The top administrative volunteers were Mary Hickman, who had 789.5 hours, Edna Reeves, 774, Willard Evans, 483.5, Shirley Thompson, 450, Mary Lou Horney, 351.5, Thomas Taylor, 345.5, Jessica Churn, 330, J. Alan Thompson, 324, Donald Cassett, 266, and Shirley Roe, 224.