Millennium Magazine_4th Ed

211 Millennium - A Marquis Who’s Who Magazine GOVERNMENT AND MILITARY B ill G. Roberts did not foresee firefighting in his life journey, but one trip to Dallas and a stroke of luck changed that. His firefighting career began with the Dallas Fire Department in 1958, and throughout his years there, he slowly rose in the ranks. In 1964, Mr. Roberts was promoted to lieutenant and then in 1967, he was promoted to captain. However, four years later he was appointed to division fire chief, and then to assistant fire chief in 1979. Mr. Roberts left Dallas for Austin in 1983, where he was the fire chief of the Austin Fire Department until his retirement in 1994. Mr. Roberts received his Associate of Applied Science in 1980 from El Centro Junior College in Dallas. He was a student at Southern Methodist University and North Texas State University, and then took a graduate paramedic course at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in 1974. He was also in a graduate executive program for fire service at the Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University in 1978. Nine years after achieving his AAS, Mr. Roberts attended the National Fire Academy for a graduate fire officer program. Mr. Roberts believes that his career completed him as a person, and even when he was not on the clock, he found ways to still be part of it all. He was on the technical board of directors for Foundation Fire Safety in Washington, D.C., from 1982 to 1985 and was an adjunct faculty member at the National Fire Academy from 1981 to 1986. His dedication did not go unnoticed, as he was the recipient of the John Stemmons Service Award by the Dallas Fire Department in 1979 and was named an International Association of Fire Chiefs Scholar in 1967. Firefighting can be as fulfilling as it is dangerous, and Mr. Roberts has Chief Jones, with whom he worked at the Dallas Fire Department, to thank for mentoring him. He also wants to show his gratitude to his late wife Johana for her constant support. The road to becoming a firefighter was not effortless for Mr. Roberts, and his advice to future firefighters is to study hard and expect it to take longer than you think. BILL G. ROBERTS FIRE CHIEF (RETIRED) Austin Fire Department Canton, NC