Award Named for Longtime Fire Safety Pioneer 

At this year’s Georgia Fire Safety Symposium, the Georgia Public Safety Educators Association (GPSEA) named their Educator of the Year award after longtime Cherokee County firefighter and fire safety educator, Captain Ann Segers.

Segers began working for the fire department on August 22, 1988, and was also one of the original Oak Grove Volunteer Fire Department members when they started in the early 70s. She was the first person in Georgia to obtain the credentials as an NPQ Fire Safety Educator and received her Basic Firefighting Certification in 1990. After retiring from CCFES in 2005, she continued to volunteer with the department at prevention and education events until her passing in May of 2022.

The first Ann Segers Educator of the Year Award will be awarded at the 2024 Georgia Fire Safety Symposium. For more information about the GPSEA or the Georgia Safety Educators Association, visit GPSEACRR.com.

EMS Wing Dedicated to Retired Medical Director

For more than 20 years, Dr. Jill Mabley has dedicated her time to the growth and success of emergency services for Cherokee County. Her name will forever live on at the Cherokee County Fire & Emergency Services (CCFES) Training Center, since the EMS Wing has been dedicated as the Jill Ann Mabley, M.D., FACEP EMS Wing.

Dr. Mabley joined Cherokee County in 2000, a time when the fire department was continuing its transition from a volunteer model to a career organization, and when ambulance transports were handled by a third-party vendor. An invitation to join a safety committee turned into more than two decades of training personnel, developing policy, building programs, and being a source for well-researched advice for those who needed it.

In her years as medical director for CCFES, Dr. Mabley, at 57 years old, became the first (and only at the time) medical director to earn firefighter certification in Georgia. 

“She earned a National Professional Qualification as a firefighter, and she earned state certification as a firefighter in the state of Georgia,” Chief Eddie Robinson said, adding that she also was responsible for implementing the Narcan program with law enforcement, allowing public safety to better combat the opioid epidemic and save lives.

Earlier this year, Dr. Mabley was honored with the Dr. Paul Nassour Lifetime Achievement Award at the Northwest Georgia – Region 1 EMS Awards Banquet.

Fire Station 7 Dedicated to Retired Fire Chief

For more than 40 years, Ret. Fire Chief and District 2 Commissioner Raymond Gunnin has served the public with integrity, honesty, and a desire to improve the lives of Cherokee County citizens. His legacy will forever be remembered, as Fire Station 7 has been dedicated in his honor. 

In December 2020, a resolution and proclamation were signed by Cherokee County Board of Commissioners Chairman Harry Johnston, recognizing Chief Gunnin’s dedication by naming Cherokee County Fire Station 7 in his honor. Now, a plaque memorializing this honor has been unveiled 

at the station.    

Gunnin joined Cherokee County as a volunteer firefighter in 1977 and became a full-time firefighter in 1980. Working his way through the ranks, he became fire chief in 2005 and continued to serve in that role until his retirement in 2011.