“Firefighting has always been in my blood,” says Jonathan. His grandfather was an original member of Callaway Volunteer Fire Department and helped construct the building in 1966. His grandfather was his inspiration to become a firefighter.
In April of 1994, when Jonathan was 16, he became a junior member of Callaway Volunteer Fire Department. Working on a dairy farm allowed him time to answer fire calls both day and night. He loved this, so in 1995, he took Firefighter 1 and Hazmat training with Jane Crawford. In 1996, he took Firefighter 2 and EMT training. He has had many additional training classes throughout the years.
In 2008, Jonathan was hired part-time by Public Safety as an EMT/FF; in 2012, he was promoted to full-time. In 2016, he was hired as an animal control officer and joined the Special Operations Team.
Jonathan has been married to his high school sweetheart, Amanda, for 24 years. They have 3 wonderful boys, Brandon, 23, Logan, 18, and Grayson, 6. He still has time to custom farm, cutting 3,000 acres of corn and beans. He says, “I love tractor pulling and traveling to different pulls. I enjoy camping with family and friends. Working for Franklin County Public Safety has been my dream job; I am happy working with my fellow firefighters and colleagues. It has truly been an honor serving my community.”