Kennewick fire chief honored with MLK Spirit Award

Vincent Beasley was delivering mail to a Hanford area fire station when a chance conversation changed the course of his life.

The assistant Hanford fire chief at the time asked if Beasley had thought about becoming a firefighter.

It wasn’t long before Beasley did just that.

He started as a firefighter at Hanford in 1980, and two years later he joined the Kennewick Fire Department.

Through the years, he rose in rank from lieutenant to captain to battalion chief and, finally, fire chief.

“I believe you can achieve your dream if you continue to pursue it,” said Beasley, the only black firefighter in Kennewick’s more than 100-year history.

The chief’s commitment to pursuing his dream is one reason that he was chosen as the 2017 winner of Columbia Basin College’s Martin Luther King Jr. Spirit Award.

He receives the award Monday during the 26th annual Martin Luther King bell-ringing ceremony at noon, beginning at the King statue on the CBC campus in Pasco.

The annual award goes to a Tri-Citian who has created a positive social change.

Leonor de Maldonado, head of the community college’s Diversity and Cultural Awareness Committee, said the award is aimed at promoting the civil rights leader’s focus on education and social justice.

Jesus Mota, director of CBC’s academic success center, helped nominate Beasley.

He was inspired by Beasley’s motto at the end of his emails: “Do the right thing, for the right reasons, regardless of the consequences.”

Beasley said it’s important to remember that, if you don’t let your decisions be influenced by social pressures and behave in a moral way, people can’t question your character.

“You will never have to worry about your character being challenged because you have done the right thing and there are no hidden skeletons,” he said.

Beasley, one of 11 children, graduated from Pasco High School.

He continued to pursue leadership positions in the fire department as a way to challenge himself. He credits his success in his profession to his faith.

And being a leader allows him to shape a direction for the entire department.

“You’re still trying to move an organization into excellence,” he said. “We owe it to our community to be the best we can be. The only way to not have a bad day is to be prepared and to move with excellence.”

Being the only African American in a department can be culturally lonely at times, but the chief said his agency is full of great people.

“I believe in inclusiveness. Regardless of whether they look like me, everyone has value,” he said. “Do not ever use the tint of your skin as a barrier to reaching your destiny.”

Receiving the award is an honor for the chief, who said King is a personal hero.

“He always preached peace, change and love. I’m very humbled that my name came up in the conversation,” he said. “There are so many that have gone before me. ... I’m honored by that. I will represent that to the best of my ability.”

This story was originally published January 16, 2017 at 7:03 AM with the headline "Kennewick fire chief honored with MLK Spirit Award."