Dickey Retires as Chief of Grapeland VFD after 20 Years
Dinner Held in his Honor
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
GRAPELAND – After 20 years, Roger Dickey is hanging up his hat as Chief of the Grapeland Volunteer Fire Department. A surprise dinner in his honor was held on Saturday, Sept. 11 at the First Baptist Church of Grapeland.
As he entered the Family Life Center at FBC, a look of surprise crossed his face. Dickey said he thought his wife was taking him to Little Mexico in Palestine, but realized something was up when they pulled into the parking lot of the church.
After the now retired Fire Chief was greeted by the 50 or so folks on hand, the new VFD Chief – Tommy Smith – spoke up and said, “As you know Roger is retiring as the Fire Chief after 20 years. He’s been with the department for almost 40.”
“Anyway,” Smith continued, “we just wanted to put this together to honor him.”
Dickey was presented with a statue of fireman’s hat above a plaque which read, “Presented to Roger Dickey in appreciation of 20 years of dedicated service as Fire Chief of Grapeland Volunteer Fire Department. Your leadership and guidance will always be remembered.”
After a few moments, Dickey commented, “I got into this business because it feels good to help somebody. It really is that simple. I feel as strongly about that today as I did the first day. I remember hounding some of those old guys in the department when I first got out of college. I watched them and asked if I could get on at the fire department. They said yeah, loaded me up and here we went. It’s been a good ride. I still enjoy it as much today as I did then.”
While he may have retired from his position with the Grapeland VFD, Dickey will continue to stay busy keeping the community safe in his role as the Houston County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
