What the job entails: Butler County superintendents share experiences, challenges in the role
Hometown Heroes
The township’s Sunrise, Noon and Sunset Rotary Clubs gathered Sept. 1 for a ceremony exemplifying what the county’s Hometown Heroes program is all about.
“The Hometown He...
September 27, 2023
Hometown Heroes
First Responder Profiles
Conrad Pfeifer was teaching police officers before they finally convinced him to become one.
Pfeifer said years ago he was a public safety dive instructor instructing pol...
Brian Greenawalt is the kind of person you’re likely to meet on your worst day.
A paramedic for Harmony EMS for the last 15 years, it’s the nature of his job.
“We see peo...
A township supervisor, a software consultant and a master firefighter, Cranberry Township’s Bruce Hezlep is, at heart, a family man.
“My priorities are my God, my family,...
Vern Smith, of Butler, retired as 911 director of emergency services for Clarion County six years ago, but he's not letting his 50 years of emergency medical services exp...
Melanie Hart is passionate about serving her community and rescuing animals. Sometimes, the two missions intertwine.
A member of the Zelienople Police Department for 25 y...
Karen Kennedy spent 35 years teaching in New Jersey before moving back to Pennsylvania. When she attended the Saxonburg Borough Police Department Citizen’s Police Academy...
Jeff Hollidge isn’t just the chief of the Harrisville Police Department. He practically is the police department.
As of September, Hollidge is one of only two officers on...
With a fireman for a grandfather, Robbie Keebler said he “kind of grew up in the fire house” in Collegeville, Pa.
A full-time undergraduate student studying environmenta...
Ryan Roberts never sees an end to the amount of training the Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company needs to do. Covering three townships and a borough makes lacking any partic...
Ed Steinmetz’s career in public safety may have begun on the playground, but it has crescendoed into a respected position as an officer with the Cranberry Township Police...
As a child growing up in West Sunbury, Jordan Smith had one goal: to be a state trooper.
“I knew a former trooper, he got me interested … he was a friend of my grandfath...
CHICORA — For Cody Craig, firefighting runs in the family.
Craig, chief of the Chicora Volunteer Fire Department, is a fourth-generation firefighter who entered the profe...
Kevin Smith’s entire world is firefighting, from serving as deputy fire chief of the Butler Township Volunteer Fire District or training young firefighters while serving ...
Nineteen years is a long time, but for Patrick Walker, it goes quickly when you enjoy the work you do.
Walker began his career in law enforcement with the Butler County ...
Mandy Cousins, community outreach coordinator with Cranberry Township EMS, said she began her career at 16 years old — and hasn’t lost her passion for it.
“That was a lon...
Kory Fleming, a Butler City police officer, finds his current job is a natural progression from the four years he spent in the United States Marine Corps.
Fleming, a seve...
Nathan Blackwood often has to bring work home with him.
There have been a few occasions when the Butler County 911 Center dispatcher has fielded a call about an emergency...
At 70 years old, Pat Kelly has spent 32 years serving her community as a deputy chief/paramedic with 28 of them at Quality Emergency Medical Services in Adams Township. H...
“If you pricked his finger, he’d probably bleed Evans City.”
Lee Dyer, membership chairman of the Keystone Rotary Club, said he’s never known someone more committed to co...
Talk to the people who know him best, and they’ll tell you that it’s not a surprise that Matt Springer was named a Hometown Hero.
Springer is a volunteer firefighter and ...
After almost 25 years of working in emergency medical services and with a passion for helping her community, 57-year-old Cindy Speer called receiving a Hometown Hero awar...
After more than 15 years volunteering with Herman Volunteer Fire Company, Larry Shuler transitioned to the Butler Bureau of Fire in June 2019.
The move to a different de...
Long before the Hometown Hero awards were created, Chuck Lewis is a name that many in the community likely would have recognized as a Hometown Hero.
At 64 years old, Lew...
When an emergency strikes, Jeremy Nickl, 48, of Mars, steps up to help and has been doing so for more than three decades.
He is a full-time 911 dispatcher for Butler Cou...
Aaron Natali has been the operations supervisor for the Butler Ambulance Service for the past six years, but he’s been involved in fire and paramedic services since he wa...
At 80 years old, Nancy Brice is like the Energizer Bunny, running circles around everybody she works with, said Kandi Nassy, fellow Karns City Regional Ambulance board me...
Empathy and compassion are what drive Allie Palmer to do what she does every day as a paramedic.
Palmer has worked as an EMT for about five years with the Slippery Rock ...
Ray McDonald of Evans City has worked his way through the medical profession from emergency medical technician to his current job as a registered nurse in the UPMC Passav...
He worked as a disc jockey to help raise money for EDCO Park, coached youth sports, served as a volunteer firefighter and worked as a police officer for 33 years, yet Joe...
Additional Coverage
Doing more for the men and women who protect our country at home and abroad is what the Butler County Hometown Heroes is all about, and the organization did just that dur...
November 04, 2023
Local News
Tickets are now on sale for the Hometown Heroes Celebration dinner set for 6 p.m. Sept. 30, at the ballroom at the Tesla MedBed Center, 139 Pittsburgh Road in Butler Town...
September 23, 2023
Hometown Heroes
Butler County’s unsung heroes are about to receive some well-deserved recognition.
With the help of Butler County’s 10 Rotary Clubs, the 2024 Can-Am Police-Fire Games, Sa...
September 09, 2023
Local News
Butler County’s unsung heroes are about to receive some well-deserved recognition.
With the help of Butler County’s 10 Rotary Clubs, the 2024 Can-Am Police-Fire Games, Sa...
September 02, 2023
Local News
Butler County’s unsung heroes are about to receive some well-deserved recognition.
With the help of Butler County’s 10 Rotary Clubs, the 2024 Can-Am Police-Fire Games, Sa...
September 02, 2023
Local News
