Last member of SPFD’s first Explorer class graduates

By Brandi Makuski

Grant Hebblewhite was grinning from ear-to-ear on Dec. 18, the sheepish center of attention but simultaneously sad his time with his beloved Explorer post was ending.

Hebblewhite turned 21 in September, making him too old to participate in Stevens Point Fire Department Post 242 as a student.

The post existed about 20 years ago at SPFD but was resurrected in 2014 by Firefighter/Paramedic Shane Westphal, who is the lead advisor for Post 242. The program is an arm of the Boy Scouts of America, but welcomes boys and girls ages 15-21 equally, as evidenced by all the female cadets at Thursday’s meeting, outnumbering the young men.

Hebblewhite is the last member of the 2014 class to age out. The meeting was marked by an informal graduation ceremony with his fellow post cadets and several members of the SPFD present, including Joe Gemza, III. Gemza, who started with the Explorer Post 242 at the same time as Hebblewhite, aged out earlier and went on to intern for SPFD before being hired full-time this year. Gemza now serves as an advisor for the post.

“Grant’s been a big part of this post for a long time and we’ll miss him,” Westphal said. “But we’ll see him around, we’ll see him around the community, we’ll see him at fires. But he got his start here and that’s a pretty exciting thing.”

During his time at the post, Hebblewhite learned many of the skills used by firefighters and paramedics on the scene of an emergency, from the mundane—like washing a firetruck—to common tasks associated with fighting fires, to the less common—like low-angle ropes rescue, a skill he and others trained for on the ski hills at Iverson Park in the fall of 2016.

Hebblewhite also got his firefighter certification from Mid-State during his time at the post. He works as a volunteer firefighter in Park Ridge and is considering enlisting in the U.S. Army.

For his work in the post, Hebblewhite was awarded a Stevens Point Fire Department Challenge Coin.

“It’s been an adventure, and I’m really going to miss you guys,” he said.

The post has welcomed young men and women from several local high schools, as well as homeschooled students. The post meets for three hours one Wednesday night each month and is currently accepting applications for its 2020 class.

Applications can be picked up at the SPFD, 1701 Franklin St., and must be returned by 6 p.m. on Dec. 31.