South Haven Area Emergency Services is honoring veteran firefighter Ron Ridley ahead of his retirement this month.
The agency says the 67-year-old SHAES captain will conclude a 45-year career of service to the community. It started in high school in Casco Township when Ridley met the owner of a farm where he worked. That owner was a volunteer Casco firefighter, inspiring Ridley to become the same.
Ridley became an official member of the Casco Township Fire Department in 1979, rising through the ranks to chief in the final months before Casco became part of the new SHAES Authority in 1995.
Ridley left a 20-year career as a machinist at Getman Manufacturing to join SHAES. He was promoted to captain 2010 and is a two-time recipient of the department’s Firefighter of the Year award, in 2002 and 2019.
SHAES Chief Brandon Hinz says over 28 years, Ridley “has not slowed down, has not turned down a call, has not sloughed responsibility; he simply has not stopped or slowed down one bit.” He says Ridley is “humble, hardworking with a servant attitude, attributes we should all strive to emulate.”
