On August 1st, retired Monroe County educator and Culloden City Councilwoman Dr. Margie Bryant will celebrate 50 years as a volunteer firefighter for Culloden. Affectionately known around the community as Dr. Margie, she is one of the longest continually serving fire professionals in the county.
The Culloden Volunteer Fire Department was the first formalized fire department (a member of the Georgia State Fireman’s Association, Inc.) in Monroe County, outside of the City of Forsyth. It was co-founded in 1973 by then-Mayor Edd Norris, Samuel Bennett, and Reuben Jordan, who was appointed as the first fire chief by Mayor Norris. Edd Norris’ son Bennett joined just a year later, and still serves to this day as Culloden’s station captain. Samuel Bennett also served for over 50 years. Since his recent retirement, he has appointed himself a bit of a “Neighborhood Watchman” and canvases the town every day, twice a day. The county department wasn’t established until 1975, and while Culloden eventually merged with the county, it remained an autonomously functioning fire department for many years.
Dr. Margie joined the CVFD in 1976. She was the first African American female—the first female period—to volunteer as a firefighter, and remains the only female firefighter at the Culloden station, though a few other women have served there over the years for brief periods of time. She was 22 years old with a one-year-old daughter, and was already serving on Culloden’s city council. To the outside eye, you would objectively describe her as tenacious, courageous, and inspirational.
But if you ask Dr. Margie herself, she feels quite differently about her origin story! “I was a tiny thing back then, maybe not even 100 lbs! I wanted my daughter to grow up and see me as strong, and when Chief Jordan came to a council meeting asking for our help recruiting volunteers, I thought maybe being a firefighter could help make me strong. Plus, how could I ask others to do something I wasn’t willing to do myself?”
“My mom always wanted me to go help others when calls came in. She taught me to live a purpose driven life, helping others regardless of race. That and always doing my very best was the most important thing to her. She is the one who motivated me to complete all my classes, to finish training, and stay certified. When I was going to college at night, trying to better myself, she kept me motivated to stay with it and finish my degrees.”
So what was firefighting like, then vs. now? Surprisingly, having gear is one of the biggest differences! “When I first started, we didn’t have turn out gear. When I got a call, I showed up in whatever I was wearing at the time, and went into fires like that! A dress and tennis shoes, no mask…” Of course, the team wears full protective gear now, following the Monroe County Emergency Services standards!
Training has also gotten better. The county offered its first formal training course in 1975, and by the late 1970s Forsyth had been chosen as the location for the Georgia Public Safety Training Center, which made a true difference in the access to quality training for Culloden volunteers. In 1987, it became mandatory for all of Monroe County’s firefighters (career and volunteer firefighters) to complete the basic training and become certified through the Georgia Fire Academy (held at GPSTC). Now, thanks to COVID’s impact on virtual learning, access to training is made easier online. A volunteer must complete 24 hours of training and go out on so many calls every year to remain certified.
Dr. Margie is glad that there aren’t many fires in Culloden, most calls are wrecks or medical, or even weather-related involving the moving of trees to help keep roads clear. One thing that hasn’t changed in all 50 years of her time on the force, though, is how every time a call goes out, she gets nervous.
“It’s dangerous! You never know what you’re going to find when you go into a situation, what to expect. I’m nervous every time. And especially during COVID, that was very scary. One of our firefighters, Harold Boone, caught COVID on the job and died from complications. We do a 5K race in his honor now. But you have to put that goodwill out there that God will keep you safe, and guide you.”
The things Dr. Margie has learned over all these years, both on the job and off, have made a big difference—in her life, and her community she hopes. She knows it made a difference for her mom: in 2021, she had the opportunity to put her training to use when her mom was showing signs of a stroke. If she hadn’t reacted so quickly, and hadn’t had the training to know what to do, her mom would have had that stroke, but instead she lived three more years before passing away at the age of 95 in 2024. “Mom didn’t know it back then, when she was pushing me to complete all my training, that that training would one day save her life!”
Being a volunteer has brought many things to her life. For example, Dr. Margie retired in 2011 from 32+ years in education, a career she would not have discovered if not for being involved with the fire department. Her mentor, Chief Jordan, helped her to get a job at Hubbard Elementary School as a substitute custodian (he was working there at the time). Though that didn’t last very long, it got her foot in the door, and a short while later Dr. Brunson, the then Assistant Principal of Hubbard Elementary School, called her to offer a job as a paraprofessional. There Dr. Margie found her passion in teaching, and enrolled in college to earn a degree in education to become a certified teacher. She was recommended for a secretary position at Mary Persons High School while she was finishing her degree, and upon graduation was offered a job in special education there. She continued her path in learning and eventually earned her Doctorate in Education in 2008. Step by step, she made her way to bring her dreams to life.
“It’s okay to start at the bottom, just be consistent and keep at it. Follow your passions. Struggles do come with it, and it can be hard…It was very hard, it was a lot of work doing night classes, raising a daughter, volunteering as a firefighter, serving many years as a council member, and being active in my church. But I survived! It didn’t break me, and you can do it, too. Be consistent in whatever you do, and hang in there!”
Dr. Margie hopes she is an inspiration for other young black girls, or anyone, to volunteer, to do what they can for their community. While Culloden could always use more volunteer firefighters (they’re actively looking for the next generation to take the helm), there are so many ways you can give back to your community. As Dr. Margie’s mom would say, “Do it for the people. Treat others how you’d like to be treated. Have a helping hand.”
