Episode 25: Chief Thomas Mills - Maglite HERO SERIES - PART 5
Welcome to the MAGTAC Hero Series with your host Lou Desmond. Join Lou as he talks with honored Hero Chief Thomas Mills of the North Beach Maine Volunteer Fire Department. Let's join Lou and Chief Mills to hear the uplifting story of this special honor and the event itself.
Lou Desmond:
Shifting gears, I want to go to Thursday night of last week. I was in the North Beach Volunteer Fire Department. By the way, a beautiful building with lots of great looking equipment. I had been there for a couple of days in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland representing Maglite, giving out this National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and Maglite Firefighter Hero Award.
Lou Desmond:
What was it like for you when you first found out you were going to get the award, and how did you find out?
Thomas Mills:
Well, the one gentleman that I think wrote this article, and the gentleman to my right had a secret plan to keep it from me and get me here for a drill. So two days prior, I got a phone call, and I ignored it because I was working. Then I got like 10 or 11 text messages that said, "Congratulations." I was like, "What?" I was thinking, "Oh maybe I got fired." So got a text message from my mom that said, "Congratulations." And I'll text her back. I said, "For what?" And she sent me the article that Southern Maryland Beacon newspaper or something had released a article when they weren't supposed to release it until Friday, the day after. That was on Tuesday.
Thomas Mills:
Just very humbled. I mean, I'm not in it for awards, I'm in it for the community. I love helping people, the people here at the station. I care about them a lot. I'm not saying my way is the right way, but I like to be able to give them some influence on doing things throughout my career. I've been in the fire department 30 some years, and I've seen a lot of stuff. I haven't seen it all, but I've seen a lot. I've seen things go south quick and I see things turn out great. Just through the years of experience and mistakes that I've made, I try to do the right thing.
Thomas Mills:
The award itself, it was super awesome, especially Victor Stagnaro that was from Fallen Firefighters. I hadn't seen Victor in about 15 years. It was good to see him. It was very nice to meet you. The stories that you told us about Maglite itself were inspiring, I mean, people need to really think about what we have here in this country. It's a beautiful thing.
Lou Desmond:
Oh, so you're referencing what I told everybody about Tony Maglica and why he gives out the award and why it's important to him and how it's really important to the company to honor first responders. And how Tony had such a rough early life as a American-born citizen, but then a refugee from war-torn Croatia, coming here, building a company from nothing, and how he says this is the only country in the world where he could have done that, because other systems just don't allow it.
Lou Desmond:
I am humbled like you were humbled to get the award. I am humbled to work for such a great man, for such a great brand, for such a great American company, and I am blessed to travel around the country and give these awards out.
Lou Desmond:
How do you feel about the fact that your name will be forever inscribed on a brick at the Walk of Honor at the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation?
Thomas Mills:
Words can't describe it. It's pretty awesome to think that somebody would take the time to do that for me. I appreciate it. The gentleman that submitted the nomination is stand-up individual. He is one of the hardest working guys at the fire department here. He gives 110% of what he can give.
Lou Desmond:
Now, your mom and dad knew about the award before you did and they flew up. Your whole family was there. There was a lot of emotion there, Chief. It was really great to watch. How proud is your family of you?
Thomas Mills:
Oh, they're still talking about it. It's kind of nice. My father is a retired career fireman from Prince George's County. He's always taught me, "You're here to help people that can't help theirselves in times of need." He instilled that in us when I was young. It's the way we grew up. We always were to help people that couldn't help theirselves.
Thomas Mills:
It was just emotional to see him and my mom. I hadn't seen him for three months. I talk to him every other day, as quite as often as I can. But to be surprised like that, it was pretty good. My father had told me he woke up like 4:30 in the morning from the day before, and he couldn't sleep. He told my mom about 8:00 in the morning. He said, "Get up, get out of bed." He said, "We're driving to Maryland." So she said, "Well, what?" He said, "We're going to go up." So they drove all the way up just for that, and they turned around and drove back the next day.
Lou Desmond:
Well, thank you for your service. Thank you for Stephen Stanton's service. Thank you for the gentleman next to you, John Tippett's service. Thank you for your dad's service. Thank you for all the guys and gals that are part of these volunteer fire departments around the country. Chief Thomas Mills, we are so glad to salute you from Maglite, from the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. You are certainly a very deserving person to get this award as a firefighter hero, and we just want to say thank you very much.
Thomas Mills:
I thank you very much. It was very humbling, and I appreciate it.
Producer:
Thank you for joining us for the first ever MAGTAC Hero Series. Join Lou for more incredible stories of heroism and triumphs coming soon, along with future episodes of the MAGTAC Podcast.