A volunteer firefighter and a longtime secretary were honored by their peers at the Central Callaway Fire Protection District's annual Firefighter Dinner Saturday.
Matt Dodd was named Firefighter of the Year by his fellow firefighters, and Betty Dixon was recognized for her service to the board for 35 years.
Dodd earned the annual honor "for his dedication and his activity levels," according to Central Callaway Chief Greg Luebbert.
"It's pretty much common for him always to go above and beyond," Luebbert said. "He's an all-around good firefighter."
Dodd has been a National Guard member for eight years and works as a substitute teacher with Fulton Public Schools. He said he joined Central Callaway four years ago when a friend in the department at the time convinced him to come to a training session and has been "hooked ever since."
Dodd said receiving the award was "a definite compliment."
"It's a great group of guys up here at Central, and it's a pleasure to come up and serve with them and help everybody in the community," Dodd said.
Recognized as one of the top five responders of the year, Dodd is no stranger to active service as a volunteer firefighter. In fact, he and several of his colleagues were late to their own party - they were out responding to one of five natural cover fires that Central Callaway helped extinguish that day.