If you find yourself in Townsville and ask where to find Daren Small, you may get some puzzled looks or a shoulder shrug. But if you ask where “Squirrel” is, chances are you’ll be directed right to the fire station.
Daren “Squirrel” Small has been a fixture at the little fire department for more than 20 years. And although he has stepped down as chief, he said he’ll stay on – at least for a few more years.
As he put it on Tuesday’s Town Talk, it’s time to sit back and watch the scenery instead of being behind the wheel.
Small is the recipient of the “fire chief of the year” award given by Gang Free, Inc. as part of its celebration of Black History Month. Gang Free’s founder, Melissa Elliott, and community health worker Dasha Stutson spoke with John C. Rose about how and why Small and 3rd grade teacher Ebony Watkins were selected to receive the awards.
“I think that people need to have their flowers while they’re living,” Elliott said, instead of being remembered for their accomplishments after they’ve passed on. The recognition allows them to see how much their community appreciates them – and they get to participate in the celebration, too, she added.
Small said he and his wife were supposed to eat lunch at Ribeye’s in Henderson on Monday, but little did he know what awaited him.
“I’m humbled and blessed and really, really touched,” Small told Rose on Tuesday. Growing up in tiny Townsville, Small said he was always taught to give back. And that’s what he’s done through his career as a firefighter. He said he joined the county fire department in 1987, but his heart has always been with those who are volunteer firefighters.
Those volunteers have the heart to help – “it takes a special individual to do this job,” he said.
Stutson said she is especially appreciative of Small and what he means to his community.
“He’s been like a father figure to me,” she said. “He’s the sweetest man you’ll ever come across. There’s never a ‘no’ from him – it’s always an ‘I’ll try.’”
Stutson and Elliott expressed thanks for the numerous community partners and businesses that contributed gift cards that were presented to Small and to Watkins, especially Food Lion, Advance Auto, Auto Zone, NAPA and Tractor Supply.
Watkins teaches 3rd grade at E.M. Rollins Elementary School and Elliott said she creates TikTok messages each morning to help motivate and encourage her students.
Elliott said she was captivated by the fourth-year teacher’s energy and enthusiasm. So captivated, that she applied for a grant to supply the class with tablets.
“She’s doing a marvelous and phenomenal job,” Elliott said of Watkins. “We told her we were coming to bring her students tablets,” she added, and when they arrived, they also awarded her with the Gang Free “teacher of the year” award.
Her father works with the sheriff’s office and her mother is the bookkeeper at the middle school, and they both were present as the award was given. An added celebratory note is that the award was given on Watkins’s birthday, and Elliott said the young educator was overwhelmed with gratitude.
Elliott said she hopes the award serves as a thank-you to individuals for the work they’re doing in the community, but also “to let them know they are celebrated, appreciated and that the community loves them.”