April Shipley shattered a glass ceiling, and she did so while always striving to better serve her neighbors. This spring, the local chapter of the American Red Cross of Virginia honored Marion’s first paid female firefighter as community hero.
Last week, the Marion Town Council also recognized Shipley’s service.
The longtime firefighter and EMT received the award during the Mountain Empire Chapter’s Celebration of Heroes.
Bill Grennell, the chapter’s executive director, explained that the annual celebration helps “recognize people from all walks of life for doing great things to help make our communities a little bit nicer, a little safer and in general a better place for all of us to live -- whether it’s saving a life, providing comfort to those less fortunate, helping our children have a better education or just making our work a little bit lighter and brighter. There are many everyday heroes among us… This is just an opportunity to shed some light on them and help inspire others to do better in their own lives.”
Shipley fits that description well.