Congratulations to the department’s two newest Driver Engineers, Matt Helms and Andy Vinzant. Matt and Andy are two of the five new Driver Engineers promoted at the department. To celebrate this event, the pair were promoted in a ceremony held April 1, 2021, at Fire Station 1, in the company of family, friends, and colleagues. The ceremony marks an important step in their careers.
Their biographies from the event’s program shares more:
Matthew Helms joined the Lakeland Fire Department (LFD) in May 2013 as a Firefighter / EMT. Matthew was born and raised in neighboring Winter Haven and still calls the city home. He is a blue devil, having graduated from Winter Haven High School before attending Polk State College and the University of Florida. Matthew holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering. Matt shares that he has enjoyed his career at the Lakeland Fire Department and is ready to enjoy a long and rewarding career at the department. He also adds in reference to his promotion today “I would like to thank Kevin Lefkowitz, Danny Ivancevich, Lance Taylor, and Derek McBrayer for taking their own time to help everyone prepare for the drivers’ test. I would also like to thank my crew at Station 4 for making the past three or so years truly enjoyable. I have had a great time at Station 4 and I will miss being there!”. Matt is joined today by his mother, Bonnie, wife, Melinda, and their beautiful children. Matt keeps busy with his work and enjoying time with his family but does enjoy fishing and golfing when he can.
Andy Vinzant joined the Lakeland Fire Department (LFD) in May of 2013, as a Firefighter / Paramedic and has served in that role until his promotion to Driver Engineer today. Andy is a Lakeland native, having grown up in the same city (Staton 2’s area to be exact) he would later come to serve as a first responder. Andy is a graduate of Lakeland High School. Andy attended Polk State College for his EMT and Paramedic certification and went on to receive an associate’s degree from the college. He later attended fire standards at Hillsborough Community. Education is obviously important to Andy and he volunteers his time every year to assist with Polk County Schools’ Great American Teach-In, by teaching children about fire safety and the fire service. Andy joined LFD with the express goal of someday becoming a Driver Engineer at the department, which makes the realization of that today even more special. Andy shares “I have been looking forward to the day that I promote to Driver Engineer. This has been my primary career goal since I started at LFD. I am excited to become proficient and excel in this position. My next goal is to drive a “Big Truck,” and I may consider a supervisory position in the future.”. Andy is joined today by his wife Kristen, and daughters Olivia and Elizabeth. He is a family man through and through who enjoys spending time with his family and unwinding with some off-road jeeping, camping, hunting, fishing, and woodworking, which he’s built a reputation for at the department.
Regarding his promotion today, Andy shares “I would like to thank my past crews for helping me to succeed in my career. A very special thanks to Lieutenant DeLegge and Lieutenant Gilman for their excellent leadership and willingness to go above and beyond what is required of them for the betterment of their crews.”.
Congratulations to them both on their promotion to Driver Engineer. The role of Driver Engineer comes with immense responsibility and the Lakeland Fire Department is confident that they will all excel in this new role!