At their last board meeting, the Sedona Fire District announced their award winners for the 2021 District Awards.
Each year, the district recognizes staff members, outstanding citizens and community organizations for service-related and performance-related excellence.
“We took nominations in the month of December and in January our nomination committee met,” Sedona Fire District Chief Jon Trautwein said at their Feb. 15 meeting. “This is my third cycle through these awards and we always have great nominations.”
Firefighter/Engineer of the Year
Jonathan Scaife was chosen for firefighter of the year for more than 10 years of service with the Sedona Fire District. In July 2011, Scaife was hired as firefighter and EMT for the district.
“It’s a great honor because I’m nominated by my peers,” Scaife said. “And so what that tells me is that those that I work with are seeing what I’m trying to accomplish, and they see the value in it.”
Scaife was chosen, specifically for his proactive mental health campaign in the district for first responders, along with his continued dedication to the district itself. Since 2017, he has been educating his fellow firefighters and administration about the extremely high suicide rates for firefighters.
“My dad’s suicide was a big part for me. At 13, I went through the worst day of my life. And so I had this ability that I found in my 20s where I really could relate with people that were also going through the worst day of their life,” Scaife said. “I wanted to do something, be a part of something to where I could have a positive impact in my community in that regard. That’s what led me to firefighting because I can go out every day and I can help people out that are having the worst day of their life.”
Born and raised in the Verde Valley, Scaife has started and continued his career at the Sedona Fire District. And after only six months at SFD, Scaife was promoted to engineer.
“What drove me to Sedona specifically was the organization. I had a friend that worked for [SFD], and he had nothing but great things to say about the organization,” Scaife said. “And a lot of it was the progressive, innovative culture around Sedona Fire. We obviously specialize in emergency response, but we look for the best ways that we can serve our community in that realm.”
Prior to this award, Scaife was a part of a 2014 unit citation award for the Slide Fire Response. The fire covered 4,500 acres between Flagstaff and Sedona that spring.
Officer of the Year
Captain Todd Miranda has been with the district for 14 years and fighting wildland fires for more than 15 years. The officer of the year is selected for the officer in the district who has made the most significant contribution during the past year.
“Todd [has] exceptional leadership in our wildland program. The state and district leaned heavily on him last wildland season,” Trautwein said. “A lot of the work he did really extended throughout the southwest with the overhead teams too. He became pretty much an expert on what mitigations we needed out in that environment.”
According to the district, the recipient of this award would be a strong, forward thinking leader who faces challenges head-on and inspires their team to deliver with compassion and commitment.
Back in 2008, Miranda was hired as firefighter and paramedic. In 2019, he was promoted to captain. Miranda was also a part of the 2014 Unit Citation Award for the Slide Fire Response.
Administrative/ Support Employee of the Year
Geographic information system [GIS] specialist Emily Garding has been with SFD for 2 years with over 10 years in GIS analytic experience prior to coming to the district.
“Emily is a leader out there. She’s done some impressive work,” Trautwein said. “She works hard to produce a high [quality] product …We’re very happy to have an employee like her.”
Based on the award description, Garding has committed time and effort in exhibiting the core values of the organization since being hired in 2020. She is also recognized as this year’s Masonic Administrative and Support Employee of the Year.
Customer Service Award
Mechanic Mike Sheehan just began his 12th year at the district. He was hired on as a mechanic in December 2010. And by 2016, he was promoted to managing all fleet services as the lead mechanic at SFD.
According to Trautwein, Sheehan had a lot of nominations across the district and therefore was a natural choice for the award.
The customer service award goes to a staff member who has put the needs of external and internal customers first while balancing the goals of the district.
Sheehan also was awarded with the 2014 unit citation for the Slide Fire Response, as well as the 2018 Administrative/ Support Employee of the Year.
Community Service Award
For the second year in a row, Mark Feeney was given the community service award for his bike-ride fundraiser to benefit Sedona Toys for Tots.
In 2020, Feeney raised $4,300 for the organization. This past year, he raised another $1,734. Feeney is going on his fourth year at the district, after he was hired on as a firefighter and EMT in May 2018.
Feeney also received a unit citation award for their efforts at the West Fork Rescue in 2018, when two hikers were lost and injured during inclement weather.
Although the awards were presented to the awardees via Zoom, SFD intends for Chief Trautwein to personally meet with the individuals to present them with their awards within the next few weeks.
