Groveland Fire Chief Willie Morgan was awarded the South Lake Chamber of Commerce Community Public Service Award at the Chamber Breakfast on Friday, November 15.
Fire Chief Morgan will be retiring after 44 years with the City of Groveland Fire Department. In 1975 Chief Morgan began his career as a volunteer after a high school friend persuaded him into joining. In 1976, the volunteer Fire Chief Buc Tomlinson resigned, leaving an opening in the department. At that time, a person had to live in the city to be the Fire Chief, and the only person who lived in the city limits was Morgan. In September 1999, the department converted over to a full-time paid department, making him the city’s first career paid Fire Chief.
Since then, he has grown the department from an all-volunteer department to a paid full-time department with 22 highly trained personnel, staffing two stations 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This year, the City of Groveland will open another Station and will add nine new firefighters.
Chief Morgan also served on the Groveland City Council for nine years, from January 1977 up until January 1986. In 2013, he also served as interim city manager until the position was filled.
Chief Morgan is also a General Contractor by trade and has worked on many buildings throughout the Groveland and Clermont area in one way or another. He will now oversee the construction of the city’s new 33,000 square-foot Public Safety Complex located on Highway 50.
After its completion, Chief Morgan and his wife of 43 years, Donna, will be moving to their retirement home on a river in Alabama.
