When many who knew James Gray for a long time found out he was named the first public safety chaplain for McCormick County, they laughed.
“I was a hell-raiser,” Gray said of his life before a decade ago. “I used to have my own cell at the jail. I’ve been arrested several times in McCormick County. I thought Friday nights were for fighting.”
That all changed when he woke up in the hospital on May 15, 2012 after suffering a heat stroke and alcohol-related problems.
Gray said he didn’t have the support he needed before then to get clean. That’s why he hopes to be a support person for those in the county who need his chaplaincy services. Gray became a firefighter just eight years ago after working for a concrete company. He’s now the fire chief at Plum Branch Fire Department, a member of Station 30 and county firefighter and an EMT. He’s lived in McCormick County for 33 years.