On Thursday, December 7, the Pierce County Fire Chiefs and Commissioners Associations held their annual banquet, where a variety of recognitions are made. This year, West Pierce Fire & Rescue (WPFR) Assistant Chief Ryan McGrady was presented with the Dan Packer Memorial “Chief Officer of the Year” Award by the Pierce County Fire Chiefs Association. For the past year, Chief McGrady has been serving as the Pierce County Fire Training Consortium (PCFTC) chief, which was formed to improve and elevate training opportunities for firefighters. The Dan Packer Award is in honor of fallen East Pierce Fire & Rescue Chief Dan Packer, who died July 26, 2008 in a wildfire in northern California.
This award is presented to a chief officer each year and Chief McGrady’s accomplishments are noteworthy. Taking on the PCFTC is no small feat, especially when combining training efforts for five agencies. In his nomination letter, WPFR Battalion Chief David Kuhn commended Chief McGrady for his leadership by saying, “Chief McGrady has instilled a standard by which we can all strive to achieve in a level of training and leadership.”
In another nomination letter from East Pierce Fire & Rescue, Chief Jon Parkinson wrote, “More than anything, the one thing that has made Ryan successful is his personality and skill in building strong relationships and teams. His efforts in the training consortium will bleed over into other areas of the fire service and will also extend beyond the five organizations that are currently part of the consortium. In short, AC McGrady has and will continue to leave a positive impact on the Pierce County fire service as he continues to lead this invaluable project into the future.”
West Pierce Fire & Rescue is not only proud of the work Chief McGrady has accomplished, but is honored to have this award presented to him. He is very deserving of this prestigious award and his hard work, dedication and leadership has not gone unnoticed. Congratulations, Chief McGrady, on being named 2023 Chief Officer of the Year.
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