The St. Johnsbury Fire Department held their annual awards banquet

The St. Johnsbury Fire Department held their annual awards banquet and Firefighter Matthew Lennox was named Firefighter of the Year by Chief Bradley Reed. Lennox was nominated for the honor by his peers. “He received this award for his dedication to the fire department, commitment to our community, and for consistently going above and beyond to help others,” said Chief Reed in a press release. Lennox joined the department in May 2022. He relocated to St. Johnsbury from Poultney, where he served as a captain on the Poultney Fire Department. Also at the banquet, Firefighter Aaron Martin was recognized for 10 years of dedicated service. Call Firefighter Rich Plonski received the Highest Participation award for logging 188 hours of service in 2023. Former Waterford Fire Chief and local business owner, Kevin Fontecha, was presented with a certificate of appreciation for offering a residential building on Route 2B as a training facility between the months of October 2023 and January 2024. “This generous offer allowed for life-like training opportunities that are otherwise not available to area fire departments,” said the chief.  The St. Johnsbury Fire Department Annual Awards Banquet was hosted by the St. Johnsbury Elks Lodge. During the awards ceremony, the St. Johnsbury Fire Department observed a moment of silence in honor of Bruce Cushman, a longtime Elk member and coordinator of the fire department banquet.