By Matt de Simone
Botetourt County’s departments consist of hardworking, driven, and accomplished employees who continue to make Botetourt a wonderful place to live.
Last spring, the Botetourt County Department of Fire & EMS hired its first full-time Recruitment & Retention Specialist. The department hired Taylor Lunsford, a Botetourt native, to lead the Fire & EMS’s recruitment and retention efforts.
Lunsford is a Blue Ridge native and graduate of Lord Botetourt High School’s Class of 2014. She attended Virginia Western Community College’s Communications Design program following high school and spent the next five years as a graphic designer for Fincastle Baptist Church.
She also worked as a volunteer with the Fincastle Volunteer Fire Department. During that time, she met her husband, Ryan, at the end of 2014, who is now a career rescue worker in Roanoke City. The couple got married in 2016.
Lunsford grew passionate about working in Fire & EMS’s administrative department and thought she could generate a career. Last spring, Lunsford landed the job as Botetourt County Fire & EMS Retention Specialist, responsible for developing and revising plans for firefighter recruitment, retention, and related work. Retention specialists also analyze programs and projects to determine the level of success in recruiting and retaining firefighters, offering input for revising the applicable plans and guidance to achieve program/project goals.
Lunsford is proud of her department’s efforts now in her second year as a Retention Specialist. She credits her time working with volunteers at Fincastle Baptist and the fire department for helping her ease into her new position with Botetourt Fire & EMS.
“During my first month, I started doing some analysis about the application process,” Lunsford explained. “We were only getting about 50-60 applicants a year. Last year, during the end of the pandemic, we ended up with 115 applicants. I was really excited about that.”
Aside from recruiting and onboarding volunteers, Lunsford produces graphic design work for recruitment and runs the social media presence for Botetourt County Fire & EMS.
Lunsford enjoys the time she spends with new recruits.
“We’re like family,” Lunsford said. “The new people are so energetic. I try to do my best getting surveys out frequently to get a better idea of what people are thinking or feeling and how I can work to improve some of those things—try to give them a space where their opinion really matters and counts.”
Ultimately, Lunsford loves working in the area where she grew up.
“I love it,” Lunsford stated. “I love being able to help the people that are my neighbors. It’s so much more impactful and so much easier to be passionate about something that you know your next door neighbor is going to benefit from because you’re doing a good job. It’s very motivating to see all the transition and the growth within the community. I love (the county’s upper management). They’re great and so down-to-earth, kind, and helpful. They’re willing to work and help people out.”
For more information on Botetourt County Fire & EMS and how to volunteer, visit https://www.botetourtva.gov/160/Fire-EMS.
