On Friday, September 12, the Kiwanis Club of Pampa presented the awards for 2025’s Outstanding Firefighter and Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. Kiwanis member, John Warner, presented the awards as follows:
Opening Remarks
“At 8:46 AM on September 11, 2001, our lives changed forever as a highjacked plane flown by suicide fighters from al-Qaeda crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City. A short time later after 9:00 as the first responders were trying to get the people out of the Twin Towers, a second plane crashed. All together, 2,977 people lost their lives that day. That included 343 firefighters and 72 law enforcement officers as they tried to aid the people. Since that time, Kiwanis has chosen to honor an outstanding firefighter and outstanding law enforcement officer each year around 9/11.”
Outstanding Firefighter of the Year for Hoover Volunteer Fire Department
“Our Firefighter of the Year for the Hoover Volunteer Fire Department is the son of Chad Snell and wife, Cindy Snell. Our honoree and his wife, Alexis, are the parents of a son, Lincoln, who is two years old.
Our Firefighter of the Year has been employeed by High Plains Filtration in Pampa as a sales representative for the last four years.
He originally served with the Hoover Volunteer Fire Department from 2011 to 2014. Then he went into the U.S. Marine Corps for eight years before rejoining the Department in 2022.
He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in February of this year. He holds a Firefighter 1 certificate from the fire school in College Station, Texas. He has assisted in training other firefighters in department training sessions.
He works in excess of 50 fires in a year. The most serious fire which he has served on was the 2012 Telephone Pole Road fire in Carson County, where he fought the fire off a brush truck. In the late summer of 2024, he fought a fire on Duncan Street in Pampa. It was a two-story house and was a very hot fire. He went into the house and rescued a litter of puppies. That is all in a day’s work for a Hoover Volunteer Firefighter.
His superior, Health and Safety Captain Johnny Goodson, says the Firefighter of the Year is the ‘top of the list of the Hoover firefighters.’ In a grass fire east of Pampa earlier this year the Firefighter of the Year worked into the wee hours of the morning to fight and control the fire. ‘His solid operation on his end of the fire is typical of how he carries out his duties,’ Goodson said. ‘He really works well with our other firefighters.’
He was voted outstanding firefighter for the Hoover Volunteer Fire Department this year by the 36 members of the Department.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Outstanding Firefighter of the Year 2025 for the Hoover Volunteer Fire Department-Coleton Bolin!”
Outstanding Law Enforcement Officer of the Year
“The Outstanding Law Enforcement Officer of the Year has been married to his wife, Nicole, for more than 15 years. They have four children; Shariden, Shaylynn, Addie and Cayson.
The Officer of the Year graduated from the police academy of the South Plains Association of Government in 2010. He worked for the City of Muleshoe Police Department for two years until he went to work for the Gray County Sheriff’s Office. He has been with the City of Pampa Police Department for the last nine years.
His mother, Debbie McDonald, was a dispatcher for the City of Pampa Police Department for 32 years, retiring in 2022. ‘I was proud to work beside her for many years,’ the Officer said.
The Officer of the Year was promoted from being a patrol officer to being a sergeant in the patrol division. Five years ago he was promoted again to being a sergeant in the Criminal Investigatin Division.
‘My proudest moments in law enforcement come when I have been able to help the community out and get to see the faces of people when I have recovered property for them,’ the Officer said. ‘That’s what keeps me going.’
The Officer of the Year grew up in McLean where he was a junior firefighter for two years until he reached 18. He serves as a volunteer for the White Deer Volunteer Fire Department and has been the Assistant Chief for the last two years. ‘As a volunteer firefighter, I have been able to support people in their worst moments, after losing their homes to fire,’ he said.
‘The City of Pampa is, indeed, fortunate to have an officer of his quality,’ remarked Chief of Police Lance Richburg.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Outstanding Law Enforcement Officer of 2025-Jesse Parks!”
Outstanding Firefighter of the Year for the Pampa Fire Department
“There is an old expression that ‘dynamite comes in small packages.’ That holds true in the City of Pampa Fire Department. Our honoree is the only female firefighter currently working in the Pampa Fire Department.
She starts off at a disadvantage because she is smaller that the other firefighters, but still has to do her part in pushing, pulling, and carrying, some of the typical duties firefighters do every day. A new test for firefighters set up high standards. On her off days, she hit the gym to beef up so that she not only passed the new challenges, but actually aced them, according to her Captain, Ben Glover.
A graduate of the Amarillo College Fire Academy in 2022, she has been with the Pampa Department for three years. She is a certified firefighter by the Texas Commission of Fire Protection. She is also certified as an Emergency Medical Technician. Her parents are Karissa and Chad Estes of Amarillo.
Captain Glover said that our honoree was chosen for this award because, ‘she solves problems, overcomes challenges, tackles things, and never gives up.’ He also notes that she is especially good with patients on medical calls. He reports that, ‘she is very empathetic and lets them know that their problems are understood.’
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the dynamic and Outstanding Firefighter of the Year for 2025-Harli Estes!”
Closing Remarks
We realize that these people put their lives on the line every day to protect and to serve, and on behalf of the Kiwanis Club of Pampa, we appreciate your service.”
