47 years of combination experience. Life member & President of the board with Mount Mourne Fire Department, President with North Carolina Society of Fire/Rescue Instructors & recently retired Chief Of Training with Mooresville Fire-Rescue. As a child growing up Ben stated he “Played with match box cars and fire trucks”. When he was old enough he started out as an explorer with Wooster Township Fire Department in Ohio and in 1983 became a certified volunteer firefighter. Even though North Carolina is now home Ben still has ties with the Wooster organization. Before starting his full-time career in the fire service Ben was able to live out one of his dreams as a part time driver for Nascar and ARCA series. Ben would do his best work in the then ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series and ARCA Bondo-MarHyde Series, recording four wins, 6 poles, and 29 top-tens in 64 races. In 1998 Ben was hired as a career Firefighter with Mooresville Fire. Everything Ben does he puts forth the effort to make sure he achieves his goal. But what I admire about Ben is the fact that he openly talks about achieving success but at the same time with doing so the strain it can cause on personal relationships and how we need to find that balance because it happens to the best of us who truly want to be good at the job. I truly hope the listeners can pickup on the many gems and nuggets Ben drops in the interview. I truly appreciate Ben for wanting to come on, share his story and experiences for others to learn from. At the end of the day we should strive for the next generation of Firefighters to be better than us. And the only way to do so is to make sure they have the guidance and tools necessary.