The Holland Department of Public Safety is proud to announce that Lieutenant Anthony Venhuizen has been selected as our Firefighter of the Year.
Lieutenant Venhuizen began his career with the Holland Fire Department in 2011 as a firefighter/EMT and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in December 2018. Prior to coming to Holland, Lt. Venhuizen served as a member of the Allendale Fire Department for over 8 years.
In 2011 Lt. Venhuizen earned an associate degree in Fire Science from Kalamazoo Valley Community College. He has obtained his Michigan Fire Officer III designation and is currently one of two Fire Officers from the department participating in the Managing Officer Program. This program is offered through the United States Fire Administration’s, National Fire Academy and he is one of a small number of firefighters across the country that have been accepted into the program.
This honor recognizes his consistent positive attitude and commitment to the department’s core values of Compassion, Respect, Integrity, Professionalism and Dedication. Some examples of this commitment include his dedication to ongoing training and professional development for himself and co-workers, the compassion he demonstrates for the well-being of our community and other department members and the professionalism he exercises to make the department better and encouraging others to do the same.
These qualities where clearly demonstrated when he and another department member played an active role in developing and providing training for department members prior to the appointment of a department training officer. A second example is the recent development of a home fire safety video to be presented online at large multi-family apartment buildings which could not be delivered in person due to COVID-19 restrictions. Lt. Venhuizen utilized his training and knowledge in Community Risk Reduction to facilitate this effort with members of his shift.
As noted in Lt. Venhuizen’s nomination, “Some people are great managers and great leaders. What makes Lt. Venhuizen both of these, is being a great servant.”
Chief Messer made this announcement and presentation to Lt. Venhuizen on February 12, during a small ceremony at the Kollen Park Fire Station with on-duty personnel in attendance.