Rodni Leftwich has reached the 20-year milestone in his service with the Glen Cove Volunteer Fire Department. Quite an accomplishment for anyone in the volunteer fire service.
In Rodni Leftwich's case, you can add on a couple of footnotes, such as the Bronze Medal of Valor from Nassau County in 1996, and he is currently chief of the Glen Cove Volunteer Fire Department. Again, quite a few accomplishments for someone in the fire service.
Last and certainly least, Chief Leftwich is black. The first black chief of the department in the venerable history of the Glen Cove Volunteer Fire Department.
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While this fact does add certain significance to Chief Leftwich's notable career in the fire service, a person's color is irrelevant. To volunteer for the fire service a person has to have the compassion of heart to be of service to others, and the unselfishness of soul to put yourself in harms way for a stranger in need. The color of a first responder's skin plays no part in this service. Chief Leftwich has these characteristics and that is all that is important in the fire service. The only thing you don't want to see black in the fire service is smoke!
Godspeed, Chief Leftwich.
