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Chief Mike Glasgow's Eulogy for Capt. Tony Grider Delivered at Columbia Christian Church, Columbia, KY, Wednesday, 24 Sep 2014: Click on headline for complete eulogy The words of Columbia Fire Chief Mike Glasgow: Ice Bucket Challenge, three words that were never really pondered until the day of August 21, 2014. That day these three words took on a very different meaning for our local fire services. Every time a fireman hears these three words from now on, you will think of Tony Grider. My definition of an ice bucket challenge is an event to promote a combined effort of team work to reach a common goal. ALS, a disease that the Campbellsville University marching Tiger Band was trying to raise awareness to beyond their call of duty. The Campbellsville/Taylor County Fire Department was there to enhance the achievement of this band's goal with their participation as well. That day, Tony was rendering to a public service event in an unusual non-emergency way. It goes without saying that the fire service plays many roles, besides saving life and property. The fire service is called upon about everything in today's society. Tony joined the Columbia/Adair County Fire Department on March 3, 2014, ten and one-half years of dedicated service. His time was definitely spread thin between Campbellsville/Taylor County Fire Department, Columbia/Adair County Fire Department, and Adair, Green, and Taylor EMS. But you know, I could always count on Tony to be there for us whenever he was available, because I tell the guys all the time, "we do in life what we want to do" and Tony wanted to be there every time. Tony and I, on his off days, would meet at the station and talk in depth about our fire department growth and what we wanted to achieve over the long haul. He played various roles for us, until July 8, 2011, when Sparky died as a result of a heart attack on a residential house fire. Our training officer was now gone, forever, and Tony had multiple training hours in all categories in his portfolio and he was our obvious choice to pick up where Charlie left off. He grabbed the bull by the horns and never missed a beat from that point forward. "G-dog" as a lot of his firefighters and EMS brothers called him, brought to the table a lot of fresh ideas which we immediately implemented into our training regimen. On the way home Saturday afternoon I held my composure very well as we passed underneath all the overpasses between Louisville and Elizabethtown with the tradition Fire Departments paying tribute to our fallen Firefighter. This was my second experience in witnessing this particular honor as they did the same thing for Sparky just three years prior. When we got off the I-65 ramp at Elizabethtown and pulled up to the stop light at the first intersection, I was sitting in the back of our box truck unit 122 and looking out the rear window, I observed hundreds of people showing their respect for us. However, I couldn't help but notice a small girl, maybe 4 or 5 years old, standing between her father's legs and waving an American Flag. I literally broke down and cried at this point. How could a small child know what was going on if it weren't for her parents' show of patriotism and a testament to what the Fire Department represents? A sign of compassion for what we do 24/7, 365 days of the year. Why do we do what we do? Why did Tony do as much as he possibly could? Yes, for the protection of life and property, but does it end there? Definitely not; it is an all-out consciousness effort to be a whole, Christian loving, caring and definitely unselfish person. That's what we do; we give it our all and Tony definitely gave it his all as well. So, Tony, as we are here to make our final run with you, to your final resting place, we want you to know that you were definitely a role model to look up to in the Fire Service and we wouldn't miss this final run with you for anything in the world. At this time I would ask the members of the Columbia/Adair County Fire Department and the Campbellsville/Taylor County Fire Department to stand as we pay a final tribute to our fallen comrade: The Firemen's PrayerGena, Orvis, Shirley, and kids, you not only have lost a husband, son, and father, but a man whom we believe had the greatest attribute of all and that is the attribute of love. He loved all of you in his own special way; and your memories of Tony will be permanently embellished into your hearts, just as his loss remains in the heart of his fellow firefighters, brothers gathered here today. Tony, on behalf of the Columbia/Adair County Fire Department, we just want you to know how important you ten and one-half years of service was to us. The comradery and brotherhood of firefighting is very evident here today, as it should be. Whether paid or volunteer, it is contagious; it is incurable; and it is very wholesome. It is these qualities that makes a person feel that he is in full circle, when he has family, friends, and firefighter brothers all in his life. To all the congregations gather here today, I know all of you are hurting because of our loss of this fine young man. If you are not hurting your heart needs to be transplanted to an alternate life source, because you are definitely not human. This story was posted on 2014-09-26 04:46:07
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