Beach, Chavez Get First Responder Honors

Photo courtesy of ERFD – Lt. Len Beach, left, was recently named Firefighter of the Year during a luncheon held by the Optimist Club.

Lt. Len Beach and Officer Anthony Chavez were recently honored as Firefighter of the Year and Officer of the Year by the East Ridge Police and Fire Departments.

The honors were bestowed during the Optimist Club’s annual luncheon that honors first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice on September 11, 2001.

According to Fire Chief Mike Williams, the rank-and-file of the ERFD submit recommendations for the Firefighter of the Year. Beach, a 25-year veteran of the department, was selected in part because of his integrity, experience, trust and compassion, Chief Williams said.

“This man has led by example and has been a mentor to all that have known him,” Chief Williams wrote on a Facebook post ER Fire and Rescue. “He is a true brother in the fire service.”

Officer Anthony Chavez

Officer Chavez started his service with the ERPD in December 2016, said ERPD Chief J.R. Reed. Chavez completed his training at the Walter’s State Regional Academy in March.

“Though his service with the police department has been short, hid dedication has reflected the values of integrity, ethics and professionalism,” Chief Reed said.

Reed said that Chavez has been a devoted police officer in his short tenure, demonstrated quality policing and has been a positive influence on morale of the department.

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.