Firefighter graduates at 2023 County of Grande Prairie Regional Fire Service Awards Ceremony. Photo from County of Grande Prairie No. 1 Facebook

By Erika Rolling

County of Grande Prairie

Regional Fire Service members celebrated and sworn-in at awards ceremony

Nov 30, 2023 | 11:44 AM

The County of Grande Prairie held a special awards and graduation ceremony Wednesday night (November 29) for members of their Regional Fire Service.

This year’s ceremony featured ten Fire Service graduates, as well as 31 award recipients.

The awards included significant career achievements, special peer recognition, and years of service awards.

Regional Fire Service Chief Trevor Grant said in a release; “We are proud to celebrate the dedicated men and women who have taken the oath to serve our communities.”

“Their accomplishments, their bravery and their commitment to serving others is truly something to aspire to.” – Trevor Grant

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County Reeve Bob Marshall swore in graduates as their official and formal welcome into the Fire Service during the awards ceremony.

“I am immensely proud to honour these remarkable members of our community. The selfless dedication from all our emergency services professionals keeps our friends, families and neighbours safe, and supports the wellbeing of everyone in the community.” – Bob Marshall

This year also presented a new award; the Hickok Award, in memory of former member Greg Hickok and his wife Cindy, who both passed away in 2020.

The Hickok Award is given to a member of the Regional Fire Service who exhibits the best attributes of a firefighter. Nominees for the award are selected by fellow members.

The recipient of the 2023 Hickok Award is Tracay Depew. Depew is said to “embody the ideal firefighter: dedicated, hardworking, problem-solving, and always available for training and deployments.”

A full list of award recipients are as follows:

Hickok Award – Tracay Depew

Alberta Emergency Services Medal and Service Bars

• Kurt Schleiter
• Tracay Depew
• Tanner Boyne
• Kurt Birnie-Browne
• Kyle Toews
• Rob Campbell
• Stefan Kratchmer
• Randy Sims
• Doug Starr
• Garth Isaac
• John Lindberg

Chief’s Coin

• Harold Bulford
• Tracay Depew
• Candace Green
• Randy Sims

10 Years of Service

• Jordan Storey
• Matthew Smith
• Kurtis Taylor
• Luke Potter
• Matthew Remillard

5 Years of Service

• Anthony Wohlgemuth
• Ryon Hemingson
• Nicky Hemingson
• Steve Freeman
• Danelle Moody
• April Stuckey
• Jason Klimp
• Kathy McLaughlin
• Steven Fraser
• Katia Outerleys
• Dale Widsten

Firefighter Graduates

• Nathan Aubin
• Tim Hoekstra
• Kendra Walker
• Drew Rogers
• Lane Sorensen
• Steven Fraser
• Evan Letkeman
• Ashley Knight
• Justin Reed
• Travis Krahn