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counties, in determining how to distribute the donation. Dixon, whose son, Ryan is a volunteer firefighter in Wheeler County, thought that the rural fire services might be worthy recipients of the funds. “She posed the suggestion and I thought it was a great idea,” Truxel said. He and Dixon met with representatives of the fire services from Toombs, Montgomery and Wheeler counties to determine what they needed.
Toombs County has 14 fire stations positioned throughout the 371-square-mile county. The City of Vidalia, with two stations, and the City of Lyons with one station, both have paid departments that are manned full-time. The Toombs County Fire Department, which includes 11 stations located strategically throughout the county for fastest response, are manned by both paid and volunteer crews. “We cover about 325 square miles of the county,” Moser explained. The headquarters station on Highway 15, which is also the county fire service training facility, is manned daily until 5 p.m. and is where Chief Moser is posted. Not all county stations are manned consistently since many are staffed by volunteers who respond when called out, Moser said.
Moser said after Hurricane Helene hit, at first, no one had enough equipment or manpower to effectively respond to the devastation; but within a week, the Toombs County Commission supplied the firefighters with what was required to help the citizens recover. Help came from not only the Commission, but many others, like Toombs Cares, and other organizations. Volunteers from outside the community also poured in to help, and everyone worked alongside the power crews to pull the community out of the chaos.
A short time after the hurricane devastated the area, more rain came, and waterways jammed by debris from the hurricane overflowed and flooded the area. The Toombs firefighters used their own rescue boat and borrowed other boats to evacuate some 150 residents from the rising waters.
“Toombs was in good shape because of support from the community,” Moser said of the immediate and long-range recovery from the storms, but he realized that one more, very important rescue tool was needed for the Toombs County Fire Department to be more effective in serving the community.
An engine housed at the department headquarters always rolls out first in answering calls, Moser said. If that engine could carry a smaller rescue boat, it would cut down on response time and maybe save more lives. He said that the Department’s larger rescue boat is pulled on a trailer and takes more time to reach accident and fire scenes.
On the very day he planned to call Toombs County Manager John Jones and request the much-needed boat, Moser got a call from Patricia Dixon inviting him to meet with a group from Dot Foods about a donation. Moser refers to that happenstance as “divine intervention.” When he met with Truxel and others about how the department would best benefit from a donation, Moser knew exactly what to say: he asked for a small rescue boat that could be mounted atop an engine, a boat motor, life vests for firefighters, and a boat trailer to use as needed.
In Montgomery County, the contribution from Dot Foods was dispersed to firefighting units across the area. Don Snively, Chief of the Tarrytown Fire Department and President of the Montgomery County Fire Chiefs’ Association, said the funds were divided among the six volunteer fire departments in the communities of Mount Vernon, Ailey, Uvalda, Alston, Tarrytown, Higgston, and the Montgomery State Prison fire crew, which responds to all fire calls in the county in a mutual aid agreement.
“I have been doing this (firefighting) 20 years,” Snively said, adding, “I have never had an organization contribute that amount of money. It is a first for our rural fire departments.”
He said the funds provided for each Montgomery County firefighting unit: a new chain saw; a new set of chaps (for chainsaw users); a space bar; an industrial-grade tower light for illuminating the scenes of accidents and fires; a charger and battery for the lights; safety vests; an allotment of blinking Guardian Angel lights that clip onto vests to identify first responders; safety cones; accident scene signs; stop and slow down signs; and gloves for extrication.
“It’s good to know that guys who work the scenes have this safety equipment,” he acknowledged.
Funds also went to Wheeler County, which has five volunteer fire departments at Glenwood, Alamo, Springhill, Crossroads, and Stuckey. Wheeler County Georgia Emergency Management Director and Springhill VFD Chief Steve Adams said the funds purchased new turnout gear, a thermal camera and miscellaneous equipment for Stuckey VFD. Springhill VFD will use the funds for a new computer board for its brush truck.
“We are thoroughly grateful,” Adams said, noting, “We don’t have a lot of operating funds, but as a result of this contribution we will be able to do a better job.”
Alamo VFD purchased chainsaws, an infra-red camera to be used to locate victims and to detect fire, a battery-powered rescue tool, a cutter, a spreader, and a ram for fighting fire and rescuing accident victims. “This is the largest contribution we have ever received by far during my 20 years with this department,” said Ryan Dixon of the Alamo Department. “These items replace some equipment that is 35 years old.”
Glenwood’s Mayor G.M. Joiner and Glenwood Volunteer Firefighter Billy Thigpen accepted the Dot Foods contribution at Glenwood’s City Hall. The funds will be added to the fire department’s budget for various items, Joiner said.
Dot Foods has16 distribution centers scattered across the U.S., as well as two in Canada, and one in Mexico. “Dot Foods is the nation’s largest food redistributor. We handle just about anything consumable,” Truxel said.
“Our company has a mission, and one of our goals is to benefit all the citizens where our company chooses to do business. We want everyone to know Dot Foods is here and because of it, you are better off,” Truxel said.
The company supports community events, nonprofit organizations, and also donates upward of a quarter of a million dollars annually through twicemonthly charitable giving in the Toombs area.
“That is the company routinely giving back, and we always make that budget. This money goes back into community schools, ball teams, and on top of that we donate $6,000$7,000 or more in food every week to local food banks,” Truxel said.
Wendy Nolen is the Human Resources Manager for Dot Foods in Vidalia. In addition to her other duties, she also heads the plant’s Charitable Giving Committee, which is composed of employees from each division, as well as administration. “We gather about every two weeks to consider applications for assistance, review the requests, talk about how the assistance will help the community, and vote on the amount. We have an annual budget we make sure we hit.”
Nolen said referrals come from United Way, Dot Foods employees, churches, or elsewhere. “We need something in writing to present to the committee. We will go outside of the area but focus primarily where the majority of our employes live, Toombs and Montgomery counties, but also Wheeler and Treutlen counties and other sites.
Donations often go to nonprofits like Rachel’s House, The Refuge, and CASA, because of the standards for charitable giving, but donations are also made to school athletic and academic programs, to recreation departments, and to festivals. “It’s a lot of ‘feel good’ that we are making a difference in the community,” Nolen said.
ALAMO PRESENTATION – Ryan Dixon, left, and Brian O’Quinn, right, of the Alamo VFD receive a contribution from Dot Foods, Inc., for fire and rescue enhancement. Patricia Dixon, Director of United Way for Toombs, Montgomery and Wheeler Counties, center, presents the contribution.
TCVFD RESCUE BOAT – Members of the Toombs County VFD place a new rescue boat atop an engine at the department’s headquarters station. The boat was purchased with funds donated by Dot Foods of Vidalia.
NEW ALAMO EQUIPMENT – Equipment purchased by the Alamo VFD with funds contributed by Dot Foods included chainsaws, an infra-red camera to be used to locate victims and to detect fire; a battery-powered rescue tool, a cutter, a spreader, and a ram for fighting fire and rescuing accident victims.
MCVFD CHIEFS WITH NEW EQUIPMENT – Montgomery Fire Chiefs pose with new equipment purchased with funds donated by Dot Foods of Vidalia. From left, Chief Don Snively, Tarrytown VFD, and president, Montgomery County Fire Chief Association; Chief John McLendon, Higgston VFD; Chief Randall Clark, Uvalda VFD; and Chief Patrick Fountain, Mount Vernon VFD.
