Congratulating Fire Chief Gina Sweat on Her Retirement

Floor Speech

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Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the outstanding public service performed by Memphis' first female Fire Chief, Gina Sweat, who retired last month after more than 33 years with the department. Ms. Sweat joined the Memphis Fire Department in May of 1992, one of two women in her recruiting class of 84, after receiving a bachelor of business administration in 1988 from Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tennessee, where she played collegiate basketball. After joining the department, she continued her education by receiving a bachelor's of professional studies in fire administration in 2000 and a master's of professional studies in strategic leadership in 2013 from the University of Memphis. She rose through the ranks as a driver, lieutenant, battalion chief and division chief, deputy chief of logistics and deputy director until she was appointed Fire Chief by former Mayor Jim Strickland on January 1, 2016. In interviews through the years Chief Sweat said she learned to ``over- prepare'' for each new assignment. As chief, she undertook initiatives to improve the Insurance Services Office, made multi-million dollar renovations of the 911 Communications Center, the Office of Emergency Management building and built three new state-of-the-art fire stations and a new fire administration building. Chief Sweat's tenure also saw the department expand into responding to medical emergencies. It also included the Covid epidemic period when the fire department was the lead local agency conducting vaccinations. In my contacts with Chief Sweat, she was always pleasant. She was easy to communicate with and she certainly had a professional demeanor, which inspired my belief that the Fire Department was in good hands. Sweat had ``the most appropriate name for the job'' joked a local columnist, and her tenure as chief led to significant advances. I wish her well in retirement.

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