Outgoing Fire Chief Lance Taylor, right, hands over the reins to newly elected Fire Chief Philip Hackmann, left. (Photo Katrina McNiven)
Following a mass shakeup in the leadership at the Worden Fire Department in solidarity with a probationary EMS provider who was dismissed from the department in February, on Monday, April 5, 2021, new leadership was elected. Chief Lance Taylor, who has served as the Fire Chief in Worden for 13 years, had announced his retirement, but, he said, “I don’t plan on disappearing. We have grants and other things in the works. I’ll still be around a bit.”
Up for election were the positions of Fire Chief, Ambulance Director, Vice-President of the Board, Treasurer, two Board members, and three members of the Auditing Committee. Following a brief discussion regarding the optics and possible conflicts of interest of having multiple members of the same family on the board, the vote proceeded. The new Fire Chief is Philip Hackmann, with Stormey Tucker as Assistant Fire Chief. Jason Stanina was elected as Ambulance Director. For the Board, James Whitten was elected Vice-President, and Kevin Stanina, running unopposed, was appointed Treasurer. The new Board members are Spencer Blankenship and Allison Mattson, and the new members of the Auditing Committee include Sharon VanDyk, Ryan Miller, and Joy Eschelman.
Philip Hackmann is a native of northeast Montana who moved to the area in 2001. He has been a firefighter and a member of the Worden Fire Department since 2018. To the firefighters in the Department, Hackmann said, “I’m very honored to be elected as your Chief, and I shall do my absolute best to put each and every one of you in the best possible position for you and our department to advance and succeed.”
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