I was born and raised in the Keystone Heights and Starke, Florida area, where I learned the value of faith, family, hard work, and serving others.

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  As a young teenager, I began attending Hope Baptist Church in Theressa, Florida, where God placed one of the greatest mentors in my life, Pastor Gene Coons (God rest his soul). His love for Christ and his servant's heart are remembered and still shapes the man I strive to be today.

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  Service has always been part of my family's heritage. My father, grandfather, and uncles proudly served as military members, mechanics, and volunteer firefighters.

 

  Following in their footsteps, I became a volunteer firefighter back in 1998 at the Theressa VFD. There, God placed another extraordinary mentor in my life, Bradford County Fire Chief Percy Sullivan (God rest his soul). His love for the Lord and the fire service was absolutely undeniable. He became the best father figure in my life, always offering humbling words of wisdom, and he loved me like a son. He is still remembered, and his example continues to shape my work in the fire service and my walk with the Lord as I carry his Legacy forward.

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  During my high school years, I worked as a groundskeeper, serving the elderly at Park of the Palms Retirement Community and serving customer needs at Ace Hardware. After graduating high school one year early, I worked as a mechanic for the military, still following in my family's footsteps. This allowed me to pay my way through EMT school and the fire academy at the Florida State Fire College in the early 2000s.

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  After graduating from the Florida State Fire College at the top of my class, I began my career in EMS and the fire service with Bradford County and the City of Starke, while continuing to serve as a volunteer firefighter in my hometown of Theressa, where I still live today. Through my dedication, service, and presence throughout the community, I earned the affectionate joking nickname "Theressa Mayor." And "Little Chief" for being among the first firefighters to become both State and National Pro Board certified as a firefighter and company officer.

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  Throughout my years in EMS and the Fire Rescue Services, another lifelong mentor, Dr. Pete Giannis (God rest his soul), one of the most respected Medical Director this region has ever known, was a father figure to the whole EMS community and trained some of the best EMTs and Paramedics in the state. His influence was a big reason many of us stayed in the small county community, rather than moving on to bigger departments.

 

  During my time serving, I discovered some of the greatest pleasures and callings a man could ever ask for. There is no greater privilege than saving a life, especially later, when they look you dead in the eyes and thank you for being there in one of the hardest moments of their life.

 

  Yet with those same privileges comes one of the greatest curses of the profession. Not every life can be saved, and the calls involving women and children can leave memories that never truly go away. Those moments stay with you long after the sirens are silent, reminding you that this calling carries both extraordinary joy and profound nightmares with PTSD.

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  But also, not every 911 emergency is a true emergency, and what may seem like a small problem to some may feel overwhelming to someone else or even like an emergency to the person living it. Needs weren't always emergencies. Often, they were just people quietly needing care and having no one else to call.

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  One call especially changed me. We responded to an elderly man having severe chest pain while mowing his lawn. He refused to go to the hospital because he didn't finish his lawn. (He loved his lawn!) He was not going anywhere until he finished. So, I knelt beside him, looked him in the eyes, and gave him my word that if he went to the hospital, I'd take care of his lawn. He agreed, had major surgery, and when he returned home, his yard was finished, just as I'd promised.

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  Moments like that show me that serving people isn't just always about true 911 emergencies; it's also about lifting burdens and helping people feel like they're not alone.

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  As my career continued, I took on leadership roles, trained firefighters, wrote grants, managed personnel and budgets, improved emergency communications and infrastructure, mitigated disasters, managed disaster relief efforts, provided interoperability liaison consulting, and served in Emergency Management and in multiple other departments in my county/community.

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  Alongside that, I operated a landscaping side gig on my days off, about one day a week helping others.

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  Over 10+ years, I became overwhelmed with leadership roles and responsibilities and mentoring others. I loved the mission, but the pace became overwhelming, and I knew I couldn't sustain this much longer and still try to find time with kids and family.

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  Praying and begging for a way out because I couldn't walk away, I watched my career in EMS, Fire Rescue, and Emergency Management slowly come to an unexpected close over the next few years.

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  Who knew doing great things would create enemies? It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by Winston Churchill: "You have enemies??? GOOD! That means you stood up for something, sometime in your life."

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  I chose not to let that define me. As the saying goes, Weak people seek revenge. Strong people forgive. Intelligent people ignore. So I prayed for wisdom because wise people know when to walk away. I turned my time into the landscaping business I'd slowly built over those last few dark years, focusing on serving people differently by meeting everyday needs through practical outdoor landscaping services, and became a private contract firefighter.

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  It didn't take long before I was overworked and overwhelmed again, missing the joy in my job as my job became just work, despite always saying, "If you love your job, you'll never work a day in your life."

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  I built a business, but I was way too busy trying to meet customers' needs and dealing with ungrateful people, and the work that once felt purposeful started to feel like just work.

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  I began letting go of many of my regular customers so I could focus on those who truly needed help: the elderly, single mothers, veterans, and families facing hard times.

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  Along my journey, I was blessed with three incredible mentors. Reverend Gene Coons strengthened my faith. Fire Chief Percy Sullivan showed me that ministry isn't confined to the church building. It can be lived out through your profession and service to others. And Dr. Pete Giannas challenged me in the EMS service, telling me I was going to do great things, that I was always meant for more, and believing in me when many didn't.

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  Together, these men helped shape my calling to serve both my God and community.

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  Today, after nearly three decades in the Fire/Rescue services, I continue serving as a contract firefighter part-time while pursuing the vision God placed on my heart: The Call2Serve Ministry.

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  My goal is to provide practical help to those who need it most, offering lawn care, tree work, pressure washing, Disaster relief efforts, and other outdoor services with honor, compassion, and respect.

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  Equipment costs, maintenance, fuel, and operating costs can make these services expensive, which is why I created this nonprofit Christian organization. With the support of generous donors, I hope to reduce or even eliminate the financial burden for those who can't do the work themselves.

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  Everything I do is rooted in one main Bible verse that has guided me for nearly three decades:

"Here am I. Send me." — Isaiah 6:8

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  Many people in this small county community know me by a simple phrase: "Call Tim." And now, that same willingness to answer the call has become the foundation of The Call 2 Serve Ministry.

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  Whether I'm responding to emergencies, helping after disasters, or providing outdoor landscaping services, my mission remains the same: to serve others with honor, compassion, and with the love of

Christ.

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    I believe serving people isn't just something I do; it's who God created me to be.