Among Moody on the Market stories are those that focus on interesting people you should know. One such individual is Ron Ridley, a member of the South Haven Area Emergency Services crew.
We received the following from our friends from SHAES, Chief Brandon Hinz and Tom Renner about a very committed volunteer.
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When the call went out for additional help to staff the fire station during the recent winter-storm weekend, among the first to volunteer was off-duty South Haven Area Emergency Services (SHAES) responder Ron Ridley.
No surprise here.
Ridley has been doing that kind of selfless act for nearly half-a-century.
Later this month the 67-year-old SHAES Captain will conclude a 45-year career of service to the community. It started in his high school days in Casco township.
“The owner of the farm where I worked was a Casco volunteer fireman,” Ron remembers. “When the alarm sounded, I would join him on the fire call. I didn’t have fire gear, but I pulled a lot of hose.”
Ridley became an official member of the Casco department in 1979, rising through the ranks to Chief in the final months before Casco became part of the new South Haven Area Emergency Services (SHAES) Authority at age 40 in 1995.
“At the age that some are looking forward to an early retirement, Ron was just getting started,” observed SHAES Chief Brandon Hinz. “Over the span of 28 years as a dedicated member of SHAES, Ron has not slowed down, has not turned down a call, has not sloughed responsibility; he simply has not stopped or slowed down one bit.”
The former South Haven and Casco fire departments had experienced a contentious historic relationship over the years, but members like Ron worked hard to show that the newly configured SHAES Authority would benefit the citizens of the at-large community. Today the department operates from three stations, including one in Casco, with 40 full-time and paid-on-call members.
Ridley left a 20-year career as a machinist at Getman Manufacturing to join SHAES. He was promoted to Captain 2010. He is a two-time recipient of the department’s Firefighter of the Year award (2002 and 2019).
“Ron has been an inspiration to all of us in many, many ways,” said Hinz. “He is extremely humble, hardworking with a servant attitude, attributes we should all strive to emulate. We don’t want to see him go, he’s more than earned the right to spend some time with family and friends.”
Ron and his wife, Maxine, plan to spend time enjoying their children, Brian and Robin, and five grandchildren. Typical Ron, he says he intends to remain active in the fire service after enjoying some travel.
