Hearing Bethany (N.C.) Fire Chief Mike Lee's quiet, relaxed voice, it's hard to picture him shouting orders and commanding his cadre of volunteer firefighters on the fireground — at first. But get him talking about his job, his volunteers and his department, and you will start to get a clear picture of the dedication and determination that earned him the title of 2008 Volunteer Chief of the Year.

“Mike is not a very loud, boastful type of person,” says friend and colleague Robert D. Cardwell. Cardwell has known Lee for 18 years and currently serves as Rockingham County (N.C.) fire marshal. “Mike is quiet in nature, but when he wants something, you know it through his determination and the way he talks to people. His determination is very visible in his attitude. He's able to get people motivated, but he doesn't shout orders. He's not a coach-type person, yelling at individuals to get them motivated. He's soft-spoken, but motivates people to get the job done just by his nature.”

And motivating Bethany volunteers is a top priority for Lee. “I've told my officers that our people are our number-one asset and we need to treat them as such,” Lee says. “Without the people, we wouldn't have a department like we have.”

That department has increased membership over the last five years from 30 to 52. Lee credits this increase with the respect and priority he gives to his volunteers. Treating them well, he says, is key to recruiting volunteers and keeping them coming back year after year.

“He believes in the power, uniqueness and importance of each member,” says Bethany's Deputy Chief Chris Wilson.

Cardwell echoes Wilson's admiration, saying, “I was asked to write a recommendation by [Lee's] officers, the people who serve under him — individuals who have followed under his leadership for years. Those individuals serving under him say he deserves the award, and they are true judges.”

Bethany Fire Department covers a largely agricultural area of 44 square miles and 3,595 residents. The department is nearly 25 years old, and Lee has been a part of it almost from the beginning.

Lee completed his service with the U.S. Army as a military policeman in 1983 and joined the ranks of Bethany volunteers in 1985. During this time, he also served as a state trooper for the North Carolina Highway Patrol. “I've always felt the desire to join the emergency service,” Lee says. “The law enforcement side just didn't fulfill me as much as the fire service side did as far as helping people. I was in law enforcement for 14 years and a volunteer firefighter for most of that time, but I felt I could do more for people as a firefighter.”

Lee's past has proved to be an incredible asset. “He's a trooper at heart,” says Cardwell. “He still has trooper blood in him.”

Lee agrees and belives that his experiences in law enforcement make it easier to interact with officers onscene and work more smoothly together. “I have a history with law enforcement; I understand law enforcement,” he says. “I know what they are trying to accomplish on the scene of an accident. It's a mutual respect.”

Cardwell believes that Lee's ability to interact with colleagues both inside and outside the fire industry is part of his strength as a leader. “You know where you stand with Mike,” says Cardwell. “He is an individual who you know right up front how he's going to be on scene, just by his nature and attitude towards other people. He's a very well-respected individual.”

Over the years, Lee has risen through the ranks to assistant chief, a member of the board of directors and finally, in 2005, chief.

In addition to his duties as chief, he also serves on the Rockingham County Fire Chiefs' Council, the North Carolina Fireman's Association, the North Carolina International Association of Fire Chiefs and the IAFC Volunteers and Combination Officers Section, where he serves on the executive board.

“Mike's greatest strength as a leader is his ability to listen,” says Cardwell. “Sometimes leaders have a tendency to not hear anything. Mike has a tendency to listen to his people, to those under him. I know Mike both personally and professionally, and he always will take other people's ideas into consideration. It isn't always about Mike; he's there for what is best for his department. He'll be the first to tell you if his idea wasn't a good one and if he should have listened to someone else.”

Most of Lee's ideas, however, are good ones. Lee brought in supplemental life insurance policies and supplemental injury and health insurance. Thanks to the extra coverage, if volunteers are hurt while serving as firefighters, the policy would cover the money they would lose at their full-time jobs. Lee says this is part of giving back to those who give to their community and protecting the protectors. “Not all departments can afford it,” he says. “It certainly made a difference for us financially, but we feel our biggest asset is our volunteers. As long as we can keep the fire trucks running and good equipment on the volunteers, we're good. You can't use one without the other.”

Another of his good ideas was to have the department pay for any additional training its members wish to receive. This area, in particular, is where Lee leads by example. He was the first member of the department to receive a management degree from John Wesley College in High Point, N.C., inspiring four other members of the department to follow him and graduate with the same degree. He also earned his Chief Fire Officer Designation from the Center on Public Safety Excellence and currently he is in his fourth year of the Executive Fire Officer Program with the National Fire Academy.

When he took over as chief, Lee created a full-time safety officer position. “Safety is probably the biggest thing for the department,” Lee says. “If we're taking care of our volunteers, what better way than to have someone watching over them on scene?”

In keeping with safety, Lee has made it his mission to keep his department up to date with National Fire Protection Association standards. “A lot of them take money, and if we were not able to fulfill them, it was due to [lack of] money,” he says. Ten of the volunteers serving Bethany are career firefighters or EMS workers who are employed full-time with other departments. “This means they receive very good training,” says Lee. Of those 10, eight came from Bethany's junior firefighter program, working with the department from the time they were 16. “I feel like we've nurtured them,” Lee says. “We're very fortunate to have the membership base that we do.”

There are two specific accomplishments, however, that Lee is most proud of. The first is a substation that opened its doors in May 2007. That station actually began as Lee's school project 11 years earlier. As part of a graduation requirement for his bachelor's degree in management, Lee produced a research project that predicted the residential growth of the area would eventually lead to the need for a second fire station. It took 11 years, but the growth Lee predicted finally came and response time increased two to three minutes. “It was a no-brainer,” Lee says. “Everything [I wrote] in the report came true.”

Building the substation meant a big financial hit for the volunteer department, but Lee was determined to give equal protection to all parts of Bethany. “We opted to build the second station knowing that it was going to affect our operating budget that would be put toward newer equipment,” he says, “but we really felt the residents in that area deserved the same service as the ones in the area near the old station. It was worth spending the money to improve response time.”

“[Lee] has sought to ensure the citizens are our main focus,” says Wilson.

To Lee, though, his greatest accomplish was lowering Bethany's ISO rating by two points to a seven during his tenure as chief.

Lowering the ISO rating was a tremendous undertaking for the department, one that Lee is quick to admit took the cooperation and dedication of every single member. Bethany had to make sure the records were up to date and the hydrants and water points were tested and serviced biannually. “Volunteer firefighters are not known for their paperwork because we don't have the time and a lot of them don't have the interest,” he says. “They're here to fight fires and save lives. This was something that wasn't enjoyable so it was a big task. But they all came together and got the job done. I definitely couldn't have done it by myself.”

According to Wilson, that's very indicative of Lee's character. “Chief Lee never takes credit for his accomplishments and always provides the accolades to his staff and the department,” he says.

Even with his heavy schedule, numerous responsibilities and myriad of accomplishment, Lee still makes it a point to make it home by 3:30 p.m. when his wife, a teacher, and youngest son get home from school.

There are a number of new challenges for Lee on the horizon. On Sept. 16, he assumed the chief's position for the Lincoln (N.C.) Fire Department. Lincoln is a career department for a town of 10,000 residents. “It bothers me a little that I was named volunteer chief of the year and now I'm going to be a career chief,” Lee admits. “I feel like I'm jumping ship. But I guess my goal in life was to be a career fire chief, and this is one goal that I'm meeting.”

Lee will still be able to take his experience with a volunteer department with him, however. In addition to 22 career firefighters, Lincoln has 14 volunteers. “That was one of things that drew me,” Lee says. “I hope I can grow the volunteer side of [the department].”

Still, Lee has left his mark on the Bethany Fire Department. Both the new chief and deputy chief who have taken the reins are graduates of the management program Lee completed. Wilson calls Lee “a true asset.”

However he might feel about switching from the volunteer to the career track, Lee feels confident and comfortable leaving Bethany in very capable hands. True to Wilson's assessment of his former boss, Lee is quick to give his successors credit. “I really feel things are in order,” he says. “I feel the people have grown to be able to take it over and everything is in line for them to do so. I've realized I've done all I can do here.”