The Conway Fire Department honored Assistant Fire Chief Mark Ledbetter on Friday with a retirement ceremony at the James H. Clark Auditorium at Conway High School-West.
Ledbetter retired after 33 years of service with the fire department.
Mayor Tab Townsell said, "Mark Ledbetter is a guy who has epitomized the fire service in Conway."
He said he thinks of Ledbetter as the last of the old breed of firefighters who went to fires one firefighter per truck, when Conway was much smaller. He is also the first of a new breed of firefighters who dealt with new elements and built something to be proud of, Townsell said.
"It's these guys that took what they had given to them over the past three decades and made Conway the best fire department in the state," he said. "We're sad to see him go. He's a good friend. He always has a smile and a handshake in the middle of a crisis. He's the portrait of a modern firefighter."
Fire Chief Bart Castleberry spoke briefly. He painted a picture of Ledbetter as someone he could joke with but someone he has also trusted with the lives of his family.
District Chief Dirk Sutterfield said he has known Ledbetter 33 years, and the two of them even worked together at their previous job at Hiegel Lumber. Over the years, Sutterfield worked both for and alongside Ledbetter, he said.
"Whether I was working for him or with him, he was the same guy," he said.
Sutterfield said he admires Ledbetter's dedication, confidence and the fact he is respected in the community.
Division Chief Randy Freeman said he attended grade school with Ledbetter. After becoming a firefighter, he initially had doubts and thought about quitting, but Ledbetter talked him out of it, he said.
Ledbetter's son Ty Ledbetter, a Russellville firefighter, said, "My dad's been a role model. I respect him more than anyone in this world. I was lucky to have him as a role model. I hope in 30 years I can be half the man he is."
The fire department presented Ledbetter with a plaque in honor of his 33 years of dedicated service.
Ledbetter said, "First of all, I thank my heavenly father for giving me the health to live out the childhood dream of being a firefighter." He also thanked his family for their support.
He concluded, "The most important honor you can give me is to assure me I will be a member of the Conway Fire Department for the rest of my life."
Following the program in the auditorium, the audience was dismissed to the parking lot, where the department's trucks were in a row with the American flag flying from a ladder truck. Firefighters in their dress uniforms waited for the final inspection of personnel performed by Ledbetter.
As bagpiper Chris Knife played, Ledbetter shook hands with and embraced each member of the fire department. Following the inspection, Captain Dickey Fortner presented Ledbetter with an American flag.
To close the ceremony, the Conway Fire Department dispatch sent out Ledbetter's final call, thanking him on behalf of the city of Conway for his 33 years of service.
(Staff writer Rachel Parker Dickerson can be reached by e-mail at rachel.dickerson@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1277. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)
