Spartan Motor Vice President Bill Foster has a long history with the Charlotte (Mich.) Fire Department, whether it's his community ties or just keeping the department's Spartan trucks up and running. But after Foster was instrumental in helping build a second fire station for the city, the department offered their thanks with a permanent tribute.

"We talked about different things we could do to honor Bill as a lasting tribute to what he and Spartan have done for us," says John Swanson, a volunteer firefighter with the Charlotte Fire Department and OEM account manager with Kochek Co.

What they decided on was a chrome fire hydrant on the property dedicated to Foster. Alongside the hydrant, a large stone unearthed during the property's excavation is engraved with the words, "Thank you Spartan Motors and Bill Foster."

Foster has helped the department expand it's fleet of trucks and participates in the department's annual Christmas toy drive, helping Charlotte firefighters deliver toys on Spartan apparatus on Christmas Eve.

"The Charlotte Fire Department has been very special to me," says Foster. "I've been a firefighter with the county for many years and a member of another fire department. I have worked with the Charlotte department every Christmas donating my time in a vehicle to delver presents to the needy. I see the department going out year after year after year donating to the kids and they get very little recognition."

Any time we have any issues or concerns with any of our trucks, Bill is always there to make sure our problems get handled," says Swanson. "He's supplied us with chassis that had been used as demo chassis for us to build new fire trucks on, and any time we needed something done that Spartan Motors had the ability to do, Spartan Motors was there to help us out."

Foster's most significant role in the department, however, came along recently, when he encouraged Spartan Motors to donate the land for a second Charlotte fire station.

Charlotte, Mich., is divided in half by railroad tracks running freight trains. If an emergency occurred on the West side of these tracks, a long train could prohibit firefighters from getting to the scene, or a train derailment could leave the West side completely cut off from the city's emergency response. So Charlotte started planning for a second fire station on the West side of the city.

Foster was instrumental in acquiring the land on which the station now rests. Foster was a member of the planning committee, along with members of the community, fire department and city council. "Spartan owned the property," he says, "which was kiddy corner from the schools so it had good access to road locations. It could serve a lot of the area with very few problems in getting through the maze of roads around the railroad tracks. We decided it would be a good place to donate to the city to help them out, so Spartan donated the land with the stipulation that it would be used for a fire station."

Once the station was completed, the department held a dedication ceremony in December 2008 for invited guests and past and present members of the department. The department kept the tribute to Foster a secret until the unveiling that evening, and even had Foster help remove the tarp from the rock.

"It was a big surprise and I was kind of overwhelmed by it," says Foster. "I never expected it. I was very pleased."

"Bill was a little choked up," Swanson recalls, "but his wife was even worse. It was a pretty special night, and something that everyone will remember."