Citizen of the Month for February is no other than Don Chambers. Not only has he lived in Italy since he was a freshman in high school but he has also served our community with his fire fighting skills since 1973. Is it any wonder he is the ‘Man of the Hour"’ this month?

Chambers was the Fire Chief for Italy Volunteer Fire Department for years and then he decided to retire. Well, retire is not really in his vocabulary! Don has not been just sitting on his heels so to speak. He has been really busy.

Two years ago he and a group of firemen started the North Texas Fire Fighters for Christ and of course Don was elected vice president. What these fire fighters do is help the needy. If you need help sprucing up your house or you need the outside of your home cleaned up they are the ones to call. They also go to fire stations with Bible in hand to spread the Word of Christ. This is called the love of Christ in action, don’t you think?

Six to eight months ago, the Ellis County Fire Fighters Association was established. Once again, Chambers was elected vice president. This association was established to help standardize training for the fire fighters. It also will work on standardizing county responses to emergency calls and fires. They also keep up with legislative changes in the laws that affect fire fighters. Their first called meeting was February 19th, 2013.

Not only has he been busy with all of the above, in 2008 he began serving as a deacon at the First Baptist Church of Italy. “Being a deacon has just turned by life around. I now look at life a lot differently”, explained Chambers.

When asked why he thought he was chosen as Citizen of the Month, Chambers replied, " I think the Mayor looks at people who are involved in the community. Since I have been a fireman for Italy Volunteer Fire Department for many years, I think this might be the reason." He went on to say, “I think God gave me the gift of being a firefighter and gave me the courage and strength to serve others in this field. It is an honor to even be thought of for this recognition of Citizen of the Month.”

“I want to thank the Mayor for the job he does, it is a thankless job. He and the city council work hard to keep things running in our town. I served a term on the city council and I know how it works, it is a lot of work,” Don said thankfully.

When asked what he thought of our little town of Italy, Don replied, “This is my home and I love it. I will not live anywhere else. It is home.”

Congratulations Don Chambers!