Winston Minor

In 1961 I came to B. T. Washington High School as an 8^th grader and was excited about high school. The next 5 years were full of fun and great memories of classmates that I got to know.

About six years after our graduation, our classmate Richard Tillman and I lived in the same apartment building and he was working for the Atlanta Fire Department. Richard told me that the Fire Department was hiring and that I should apply. My response then was “Man I don’t want to be no fireman”. Well, Richard continued to try to get me to apply for another year, at that point I gave in.

I passed the application process for the City of Atlanta Fire Department and was hired as a firefighter June 5, 1973. My first duty station was Fire Station No 7 in the West end area. Seven years later, in 1980, I was promoted to the position of Fire Captain and held positions at Fire Station No 23 located on Howell Mill Rd. and at the Fire Department Training Center. Holding the position of Fire Captain for 7 years I was appointed to the position of Assistant Fire Chief and held several positions within the organization in 1987. Eight years later, I was Appointed by Mayor Bill Campbell as Fire Chief of the City of Atlanta Fire Department in October of 1995. Just 9 months before we hosted the 1996 Centennial Olympics. I severed in that capacity for 7 ½ years before retiring May of 2003.

After my retirement and a total of 30 years with the fire department, I worked as a Homeland Security and Safety consultant for a number of years. Presently I am the President/ CEO of Troops To Firefighters, Inc. a non profit organization.

I like to tell the story of how I came to work for the Atlanta Fire Department because it has a BTW connection directly to our class. Makes you wonder how God puts people in your life at the right time.

PEACE and BLESSINGS