It’s with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our longtime public safety recruiter, Steve Parker. If you have been a candidate in one of our fire chief recruitments over the last 8 years, you undoubtedly had the good fortune of talking to or working with Steve. He was a dedicated professional who remained passionate about the fire service and recruiting quality leadership until the very end.
Chief Parker came up through the ranks of the Huntington Beach Fire Department. He served as Chief in Vernon before “retiring” in 2005. It wasn’t long before he was back in the Chief’s seat again taking on an Interim Fire Chief assignment in Costa Mesa. It was there that mutual friend/client Terri Cassidy introduced Steve to Teri Black and the rest is history. As soon as TBC recruited a new Chief for Costa Mesa, Teri B convinced Steve that he would be a great recruiter. “Steve wasn’t just a great recruiter, he was an awesome recruiter from day one. Even more impressive is that he was simply a phenomenal human being.”
During his time with TBC, Steve also served as Interim Fire Chief for the cities of Hermosa Beach and Newport Beach until we convinced him that he really loved recruiting more. Candidates loved working with Steve as they knew he had their best interests at heart. Over the last few years, he impacted hundreds of careers and played a key role in placing some of the most successful and progressive fire chiefs in California.
Steve lost his battle with a rare and aggressive form of multiple myeloma this past Sunday. Even though the loss is devastating, all of us at TBC will be forever grateful for his courageous spirit, relentless commitment to do great work, abundant love for his family, ridiculous sense of humor and contagious booming laugh! #curecancer
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