LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Fire Engineering`s Lifetime Achievement Award was given posthumously to William (Bill) E. Clark “for his superior contributions to fire service training, education, and technology; for his unerring leadership; and for his 60 years of unparalleled achievement.” John Clark, Bill`s son and a member of the Madison (WI) Fire Department, accepted the award from Fire Engineering Editor Bill Manning on behalf of the Clark family.
In acknowledging Bill Clark`s many attributes and contributions to the fire service, Manning related the following: “… He believed in you. You were in effect his life`s work. In that sense, Bill Clark was a true fire patriot . …He exuded grace in what he said and how he carried himself. He was a true gentleman. He was brilliant. He was tenacious in his pursuit of fire service knowledge. He established himself as a shining light not only for his contemporaries but also for those generations of firefighters who follow him. Among Bill Clark`s many contributions to the fire service, his greatest work was the scientific observation of hundreds and hundreds of controlled fires to increase our understanding of fire behavior.” Bill Clark also co-founded the International Fire Service Instructors, “an organization that, with the help of truth-seeking contemporaries, he brought to the cusp fire service innovation and progressiveness,” and served as the director of fire protection for the newly regionalized Prince George`s County (MD) Fire Department (1968) and as the superintendent of the Florida State Fire College (for eight years), where he spearheaded the WINGSPREAD conference.
In his acceptance remarks, John Clark stated: “… We`re very proud of my dad and the many accomplishments he achieved in his lifetime…. The fire service lost a good man. We also lost a great dad…. It`s a comfort to our family to be here today and to realize how well respected he was and that he will be missed by so many people.”
