Fire chief ready for some Motorsports action
By Blair Dedrick
The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
Copyright 2007 The Commercial Appeal, Inc.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Cars and trucks were always a fascination for former Bartlett fire chief Gary Graves. His office was covered in them: a monster truck calendar, model racing cars and posters.
Now newly retired, Graves has taken the job of director of operations at Memphis Motorsports Park .
“I was a spectator at the first NASCAR event at Memphis Motorsports Park,” Graves said. “I told a friend then, ‘I’m going to be down there working next year,’ and I was.”
Graves started working the sidelines at events, which can have as many as 75 firefighters on-site for fire protection and emergency response.
When the director of operations position came open, Graves struggled with the decision.
“I hadn’t really thought about it,” he said. “But, I felt if I was going to make a career move, this is the time to do that personally and professionally.”
While happy with taking the job, which started Jan. 1, Graves said it was bittersweet to leave the fire department where he had been for 23 years and worked his way to the top.
As a fire chief, Graves said the best part of his job was getting letters from citizens thanking the firefighters for their help.
“It was tough giving that (resignation) letter - I’ve never resigned from anything - and making that announcement,” he said. “But, when people who know me found out what I was going to be doing, it didn’t come as a surprise.”
Graves’ new position involves both operational logistics and safety of the motorsports park. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, many sports facilities have sought to hire people with law enforcement or emergency-response backgrounds to ensure the safety of spectators.
“We want to provide the spectator with a good place to come and watch their favorite driver,” Graves said. “A place where if a terrorist wants to come, he’s not coming to our facility.”
Graves will also handle transitioning the motorsports park from NASCAR event preparation to events for as few as 100 people.
“You can sit there and watch a race on Sunday afternoon and not know about everything that leads up to the dropping of the green flag,” he said. “That didn’t just happen.”
Though he hasn’t been in the office every day yet, Graves has attended planning meetings for some of the major events.
Graves said he would miss the men and women of the fire department, but he’s taking one thing with him: Colleagues at the motorsports park are already calling him “Chief.”