I guess I should begin by telling a little about myself. I am 57 years old and live in Fairview Tennessee. Where is Fairview? It's just west of Nashville in western Williamson County. When we travel we say we're from Nashville because no one knows where Fairview is located. I married Marilyn Perkins from Oakhaven High School in 1970. (so that you don't have to do the math we were married 36 years in April).
In 1975 we left Memphis and moved to Henderson County near Lexington, Tennessee to join my Dad in an auto body repair business. We actually lived south of Lexington on Pine Lake. We adopted a son (Grant Carlton Lane) in 1978 when doctors told us we could not have children. Grant was only 9 weeks old. He will be 27 on July 1. It was in Henderson County that I became involved in a volunteer fire department. I never thought at the time that this would eventually be a career changing move. In the winter of 1982 I began questioning where my life was going and where my career was leading me. I no longer enjoyed my job but truly loved my time spent working with the volunteer fire department. I had worked hard and was certified by the State of Tennessee as a firefighter. After several days of discussing our future, Marilyn and I decided it was time for a change. Sitting at the kitchen bar one evening, we sowed the seed for a career change. Armed with my volunteer fire experience and my firefighter certifications, we drafted my first ever resume. Using a road atlas, we then asked ourselves where in the country would we enjoy living. When we finished, we had a list of over fifty towns and cities across the country. We sent the newly crafted resume and a letter to the Fire Chiefs in each of these cities expressing an interest in a job on their fire department. To make a long story short, I was contacted by City Hall and at the age of 34 I began a new career as a firefighter for Savannah Georgia in the spring of 1983.
We stayed in Savannah until April of 1986. While in Savannah we proved those doctors wrong who said years earlier that we would never have children when we had our second son (Garrett Cody Lane). Garrett is now 20 years old. In early 1986 I learned from my former Henderson County Fire Chief of a new fire department that was being formed in Brentwood Tennessee. I checked the local papers and found that they were advertising for 5 Fire Captains to begin setting up their new fire department. Marilyn and I were eager to get back closer to home so we dusted off that resume and updated it. I applied for the job and in late March I was offered one of those 5 Captain positions. We began packing our bags to come home to Tennessee. On the weekend of April 26 we drove to Nashville and April 28, 1986 was my first day with the Brentwood Fire Dept. I celebrated my 20th anniversary with the City in April. In 1991 I was promoted to the Fire Marshal. Then in 1993 I was promoted to the Fire Chief where I am today.
