Staff

Newly promoted Lieutenant Keith Hebl has been serving as a Saginaw Township Firefighter for 17 years!

He got his start a little unintentionally when he picked up a job working with fire extinguishers and one thing led to another. When asked why he’s worked in this field for so long, those who know him well are not surprised to hear it’s because of the community service, finding a hands-on way to live as a community servant.

What does his promotion actually mean for him? More responsibility that can include some firefighter training. When you leave with the fire truck, someone is always in the right seat – most often an officer responsible for his crew at the fire or accident scene. A lieutenant could very well be first on the scene and therefore in command with responsibility for determining how to approach the emergency, making decisions on how to fight the fire, where it’s going, where it’s coming… doing this expertly enough to keep your crew safe and protect the township or resident’s property. My responsibility is not only to the crew, but to my community… keeping everybody safe.

Keeping Everybody Safe at Community Village

In addition to his promotion to lieutenant, Keith recently received his 25 year service award for employing his skills as Facility Manager of Community Village. In all, he’s worked at our current facility for 36 years!

For reasons far beyond preparing for a fire marshal’s inspection, Keith is driven to keep the Community Village facility and family safe for all emergencies. As a longstanding firefighter, I tend to see things a little differently when I walk into a room that has items blocking a window. There’s a constant awareness everywhere I go.

Without hesitation, when asked if there’s one thing he’d like people to know about Community Village, his response: from a safety standpoint, even though ours isn’t new, it’s one of the safest facilities around. It boils down to experience. I’ve been in a few local facilities that have serious infractions from the fire marshal. This concerns me.

The value of Keith’s experience and expertise at our facility cannot be overstated. Thank you for your diligence, Keith, and congratulations on your well-deserved promotion!

Seven or eight ladies will gather around my table with an announcement that they have just entered “Bon Bon’s Beauty Salon”. What happens in the salon stays in the salon! They laugh at the thought of having anything risqué to say. With each customer I ask things like, “Do you come here often?’ or “Stiletto, coffin, or regular?” Thank goodness for smart phones and Pinterest where I can show them exactly what I mean. We talk about our children and grandchildren, but never about men. “Men, schmen!”, I say. “No boys allowed!” They laugh because they remember feeling like that a time or two. We all know I’m kidding. We all loved our men.

Today, I sat with a new resident who is just a little older than me. She told me a little about her life and some of the hardships that she’s faced. When she mentioned missing her husband she began to cry. My heart stung because the loss is familiar. In that moment, I became more than an employee or a manicurist, I became her friend. The ladies are always required to pay me for their manicure… with a hug! My new friend got a long hug today and I whispered that I’ll be praying for her and if she needs to talk, I’m right here. I love giving the ladies manicures at Community Village.

Contributed by Bonnie Rowley, Activities Director