Glen Ellyn swears in new fire chief

GLEN ELLYN – Chris Clark is the new chief of the Glen Ellyn Volunteer Fire Company.

Clark was sworn in as fire chief at the Glen Ellyn Village Board meeting April 25. Clark, who was first elected chief by his peers before being sworn in, is taking the reins from Jim Bodony, who had served as chief for the past three years.

"I thank you for your confidence and support," Clark said, in addressing village officials. "But this day is not really about me. This day is about the volunteers... These are absolutely wonderful, dedicated people that want nothing more than to help their neighbors on their neighbors' worst day."

Clark will serve for a period of three years. Along with the election of Clark, the Fire Company also elected Scott Parrish to serve as deputy chief for a period of three years.
Clark has volunteered with the Fire Company for 21 years and is a career firefighter. Parrish recently retired from a career in the HVAC industry and has been a volunteer member of the Fire Company for 30 years.

During the meeting, Bodony also was honored for his three years of service as fire chief. He first joined the company in 1972.

"Jim has been a great leader and has become a friend, and we've accomplished a lot of things over the last several years together," Village President Alex Demos said. "It is with a bit of sadness, but also happiness – knowing that you get a bit of your time back, but you are going to stay on and continue to be a member of the volunteer department. I look forward to the continued relationship, and I wanted to express my personal gratitude and also the gratitude of this board for your service to the community."

Bodony in turn thanked Demos and the trustees for their support.

"The past village boards have been great in supporting the fire company and supporting our initiatives, and I think in the past three years we've made some great progress that benefits all of Glen Ellyn in the way that we've maintained the fire company and created a model so it can continue," Bodony said.

He also thanked the fellow members of the fire company for their support.