Lt. Dade was recognized and presented with the Leadership Award at the February 3^rd Annual Party.

This year’s Leadership Award recipient is as approachable a man as you will meet.  He is sincere, dedicated, and passionate about his role as a member of the Quincy Fire Department.  He can be counted upon to be involved during training sessions, he often times will take the lead in the training and he is one of the best “cheerleaders” the Department has seen in awhile.

However, one must not mistake this man’s personality for that of a “yes man”.  He and I have had our differences.  The thing I respect most about him is his ability to be firm in his stance while maintaining the integrity of his position.  We have had some heated, but respectful discussions, but each time walked out of the meeting bearing no grudge.  This man has the ability to consider an issue for what it is and not allow a stance on a business issue to affect his attitude toward someone on a personal level.

This individual is never short on ideas.  We’ve all heard many of them and sometimes they are even pretty good.  He is the man who convinced me of the need for a “Crew of the Month” recognition, not just a “Firefighter of the Month” recognition.  This was due in part to his ability to articulate the need to promote a team concept in the fire service.  We all know that firefighting is about teamwork, but more often than not, we single out individuals rather than the group for recognition.

On a personal note, he takes time to show his concern for the person behind the job.  In a challenging year, he has offered me the support of someone who was generally concerned about how I was doing.  For that I am appreciative.

I consider this man to be a friend, a hell of a firefighter, a motivator and most importantly, a leader.  This is why I have chosen Lt. Demond Dade as the 2018 recipient of the Quincy Fire Department’s Leadership Award.