Staff photo / Brandon Cantwell Ted Snyder, general manager of The Vindicator, right, and Jim Standohar, marketing manager at SERVPRO, left, present Jackson Township firefighter Anthony Jones with the Mahoning County Firefighter of the Year award at a regular trustees meeting Tuesday.

NORTH JACKSON — Capt. Anthony Jones thanked his family for instilling in him the value of hard work and pushing him toward the things he wanted regardless of how impossible they seemed in accepting his 2024 Mahoning County Firefighter of the Year award.

That recognition came from The Vindicator and SERVPRO, which recognized him at Tuesday’s Jackson Township trustees meeting. Ted Snyder, general manager of The Vindicator and Jim Standohar, marketing manager at SERVPRO, presented a plaque to Jones.

“We stand behind firefighters; we’re usually the people that come in after your job is done and help people restore their properties,” Standohar told Jones. “So supporting this award is, for us, a great pleasure.”

This is the program’s fifth year.

Jones recalled the impact retired fire Chief David Graham had on him becoming a firefighter and later, a fire inspector. Jones said when Graham initially reached out to him about being a fire inspector, his initial response was “heck no.”

But that quickly changed.

Jones said when he eventually changed his mind after two weeks of Graham’s pestering, he had a pamphlet in his back pocket waiting for Jones and offered to sign him up immediately.

“Without Chief Graham being persistent and pushing me to want to go to fire suppression school, I would not be where I am standing today,” Jones said. “(He) definitely had pushed me into career paths doing fire suppression and working with extinguishers and where I’m at now as a career.”

Jones also thanked Randall Wilson Sr., the township’s former assistant fire chief, who pushed him into uncomfortable situations to challenge him to grow further.

“I remember very specific times going out on these calls and standing outside of the burning house and the next thing you know, you feel like on the back of your air pack strap, pushing you forward, going, ‘Let’s go, kid. You’re gonna learn,” Jones said. “It was Randy Wilson behind me pushing me and taking me with him.”

“Being an assistant chief, he knew that he could push you to those limits and teach you in a situation that he’d be willing to go into himself,” Jones said.

That mentality of pushing others to go further is something he’s held onto, he added, pointing out he’s pushed new firefighters in the department the same way Wilson pushed him.

Trustee Tom Frost said Jones was an “integral part” of the department in giving his congratulations.

“You’re a very important part to us; our fire department’s going to be going through a huge transition over the next year and you’re a very integral part of that, which we’re counting on you for,” Frost said. “And we’re proud to have you with us, as are our fire department and our police department.”

“Our safety forces are second to none, in our opinion, and we’re only looking forward to the path forward with our fire department,” he added.

Jones started his firefighting career in Austintown with his uncle in 2015, going through his training with the department. However, he didn’t stay for long, swayed by the close bonds and opportunities Jackson Township’s department had.

East Palestine’s train derailment was what made him realize his true passion was public safety, Jones said. He quit FedEx, where he worked at the time of the incident, and began doing fire extinguishers and fire alarm inspections.

“Anthony’s involvement in department training, fire inspections and school visits make us better prepared if an incident occurs,” Brenda McDougal, the department’s battalion chief, wrote in her nomination letter for Jones. “His firefighters have more knowledge and hands-on experience. Our businesses are safer, leading to fires (being) prevented. The students and their families in our community are safer because they know what to do in an emergency.”

He actively encourages the department’s new guys to pursue different avenues within the field, such as race track safety, dispatch or fire inspections, as he says it’ll get them somewhere.