Three Texas Fire Service Leaders Inducted into Hall of Honor
SAN MARCOS, TEXAS – On Sunday evening, January 11, three Texas city Fire Chiefs were inducted into the Texas Fire Service Hall of Honor as recipients of the Texas Fire Service Hall of Honor Lifetime Achievement Award. The award was established in 2023 and recognizes current or former firefighters or emergency service personnel for their outstanding contributions to the Texas Fire Service.
This year’s Hall of Honor Award recipients are San Marcos Fire Chief Les Stephens, Kaufman Fire Chief Rhea Cooper, and Irving Fire Chief Victor Conley. Each Chief’s involvement in strategic public and city planning, fire programs, recruitment, and operational command saves lives, and the Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes those dedications to community safety.
San Marcos Fire Chief Les Stephens
Chief Stephens, who has four decades of fire service experience, including 16 years as the Chief of San Marcos’s Fire Department, was recognized as the Texas Fire Chief of the Year in 2021. To Stephens, the award symbolizes the hard work those in the fire service provide to communities across the state.
“It’s an incredible honor, and I’m humbled to be recognized alongside so many leaders I admire,” said Stephens. “This award is really about the people who make up our fire service family, the firefighters, the chiefs, the mentors and the communities we serve together.”
Kaufman Fire Chief Rhea Cooper
Chief Cooper, who has more than three decades of fire service experience, joined Kaufman’s Fire Department in June 2025. After 31 years of a distinguished career at the Lubbock Fire Department, Cooper served as Interim Fire Chief for the cities of Brenham in 2021, Boerne in 2022, and Horseshoe Bay in 2023. Kaufman City Manager Mike Holder believes Cooper’s leadership qualities are essential for a city undergoing significant growth and changes.
“We are honored to welcome Chief Cooper to Kaufman,” said Holder. “His depth of experience and steady leadership will be a great asset to our fire department and our entire community during this transition.”
Irving Fire Chief Victor Conley
A career firefighter since 1986, Conley was named Chief of Irving’s Fire Department in 2012. A year after being named Chief, Conley was named Fire Chief of the Year by the Texas Fire Chiefs Association (TFCA) and later recognized for his infamous “blocker” program: an initiative that retrofits old firetrucks blocking traffic with safety equipment and accessories that prevent roadside collisions. “I figured we’re not getting anything for these…they’re already equipped with lights and graphics,” Conley noted. “So, why not repurpose them?”
Innovative projects like the blockers program aim to improve the community’s health and safety by pushing traffic safety standards into the 21st century. “We’ve been using that guideline for years, but this is something we can do to improve our safety,” said Conley. Conley’s creative leadership in instituting new firefighter roadside safety practices comes as welcome news to the 237,000 Irving citizens the program protects.
About the Award and the Leadership Development Symposium
Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) is the host agency for the Texas Fire Service Hall of Honor Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Hall of Honor display is located in the Les W. Bunte Jr. Administration and Classroom Complex at Brayton Fire Training Field in College Station, Texas. The award selection committee is comprised of representatives from several member organizations from the Texas Fire Consortium, including the Texas Fire Chiefs Association, Texas Fire Marshals Association, Texas State Association of Fire and Emergency Districts, State Firefighters’ and Fire Marshals’ Association, the Texas Commission on Fire Protection, the Texas A&M Forest Service and the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service.
TEEX Director David Coatney said, “TEEX is honored to be the home of the Hall of Honor Award, which recognizes those who have contributed to the Texas Fire Service, whether by developing programs to improve firefighter safety, caring for firefighters or their surviving family members, or advancing the fire service to better serve the citizens of Texas.”
The award dinner will kick off TEEX’s annual Leadership Development Symposium, which offers training at no cost for Texas first responders, enhancing the leadership skills of the emergency response community. Topics of discussion at the symposium include leadership in first and emergency responder industries, management strategies, explorations of safety through law and practice, budgeting, and more. This year’s Leadership Development Symposium is held at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Hotel and Conference Center in San Marcos, Texas.
Distributed by:
Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service
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