<strong>By Lee Levesque</strong>

It is with great pride that the Lady’s Island-St. Helena Fire District has awarded the 2012 Firefighter of the Year honor to Firefighter John Bekemeyer. John has served with the district for almost three years and in that short time has epitomized the agency credo of customer service, dedication and Brotherhood.

[caption id="attachment_9327" align="alignleft" width="271"]<a href="https://actionclub.site/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/News-Firefighter-of-year-1.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-9327" title="News-Firefighter of year" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/News-Firefighter-of-year-271x300.jpg" alt="" width="271" height="300" /></a> Firefighter John Bekemeyer poses with his son, Brock.[/caption]

This award is bestowed annually to a district member who is selected through a voting process where each member makes a nomination. John was nominated overwhelmingly as his peers wrote comments such as: “He is a firefighter of high character,” and “He willingly accepts new responsibilities and performs beyond expectations.”

In giving John this award at the district’s annual awards banquet, Chief Bruce Kline shared, “We are very lucky to have an employee like John Bekemeyer. He is dedicated to our profession, he is dedicated to our organization. John always goes above and beyond in everything he does. He has excelled in every aspect of our job; he consistently scores above average on all courses he takes. John is respected by all who work with him; he always has a good attitude. We didn’t find John, he found our fire district and we are extremely lucky.”

Firefighter Bekemeyer came to the district after serving in the Marine Corps where he was decorated for his service in Operation Iraqi Freedom to include a Navy Commendation Medal with combat “V” for valor and two Purple Hearts. While with the district, John has excelled at his training and served as a leader in every aspect of the firefighting profession.