Mt. Pleasant Volunteer Fire Dept. installs officers, presents awards at annual banquet

By Debbie Adams

The Mt. Pleasant Volunteer Fire Department held their annual banquet on Feb. 15. Most of their
membership was in attendance, along with their families. Officers were installed for the
upcoming year. Several members were recognized with awards for their outstanding service to
the community in the past year.

President David Riddle emceed the event. He introduced the guest of honor for the evening,
Tammy Shepherd, who represents the Vinton Magisterial District (which includes Mt. Pleasant)
on the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors. She thanked the volunteers for their dedication
and selfless service to the community and for including her in their “family.”

Officers installed include:

• Chief: Eric Stump
• Asst. Chief: Lori Campbell
• Captain: Cody Southers
• 1st Lt.: Ruth Puckett
• 2nd Lt.: Rich Emmond

David Riddle will serve as president; William Prescott as vice president; Brennen Woodzell as
secretary; Lori Campbell as treasurer; and Craig Sheets as chaplain.

Auxiliary officers include President Alice Sheets, Vice President Lori Campbell, Secretary Abby
Jukes, Treasurer Jasmine Scales, Chaplain William Prescott, and Historian Carla Pickeral.

Fire and Auxiliary Officers and MPVFD members took an oath to “always conduct myself in a
manner to bring credit and honor to my superior officers and to the department.” The firefighters
also promised to “answer alarms, day or night, to which my company may respond, and to act
with all haste when going to a fire.”

Awards were presented to honor and remember past volunteers who laid the foundation of
community service through the MPVFD. Officer of the Year and Firefighter of the Year awards
are voted on by the membership.

The T.E. Gene Wagner Officer of the Year Award was presented to Captain Cody Southers.
Wagner was a former, long-standing chief of the department who pushed members to be their
best by demanding professionalism on calls and serving the Mt. Pleasant community.

Brennen Woodzell was the recipient of the new Mike “Gunny” Gee Rookie of the Year Award.
Asst. Chief Gee, a lifetime member of the MPVFD and fire academy instructor, was “an
exemplary leader in the Mt. Pleasant Volunteer Fire Dept. He always did the right thing, was
aggressive, motivated, compassionate, and pushed others to constantly do their best.” He passed
away last summer. This award was presented by Gee’s daughters, Heather Davis and Jessica
Redden.

There was a three-way tie for the Winston B. Adams Firefighter of the Year Award between
Adam Dean (currently on military leave), Ruth Puckett, and William Prescott. Adams was a
dedicated founding member who served as treasurer of the department for many years.
Prescott also received the Harvey Light Award for “Most Calls Run.” Harvey Light, also a
founding member, was a department legend for having run every single call– day or night–
during his many years of service.

The new “Paparazzi Award” was presented to Auxiliary member Abby Jukes for “spending
countless hours taking pictures and videos of training and apparatus responses.”
Brady Poindexter, Guilliana Dematea, Sumi Ishaq, William Prescott, and Brennen Woodzell
received Training Awards.

Chief Stump was honored with Life Membership in the MPFD.

The Mt. Pleasant Volunteer Fire Dept., founded in 1955, is celebrating their 70th anniversary this
year with their motto “Pride and Honor.”

Asst. Chief Campbell reported that in 2024 the department answered 184 calls, completed 1500
training hours, and served as standbys in the community for 200 hours.
It was noted during the awards ceremony that the Mt. Pleasant Volunteer Fire Dept. is one of the
few remaining active volunteer fire departments in the Roanoke Valley; they are excited to be
increasing their membership with new recruits.

The annual MPVFD banquet was held at the Mt. Pleasant Lions Club. The dinner was catered by
Pok-E-Joe’s of Vinton. Pat Musselwhite served as DJ.