WILTON — Wilton Fire and Rescue’s color guard is headed for Fenway Park.
The guard will present the colors prior to the Boston Red Sox game against the Tampa Bay Rays at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24, Kyle Ellis, guard member, said.
The guard will go on the field for the national anthem. The group also was invited to watch the game, he said.
The color guard, led by Randy Barker, recently became state champions for the eighth consecutive year. They competed against other fire departments at the recent Maine State Federation of Firefighters held this month in Farmington.
The title brings a trophy and recognition among their peers from the other fire departments, he said.
There are not many fire department honor guards in Franklin County, Thom Walker said.
“We are it for up north,” Walker said.
Last fall, Kyle’s father, Mike Ellis, sent word to the Red Sox to let them know how well the guard was doing, Ellis said. Within the past few days, the guard received an invitation to appear in the pregame show.
The invitation came on short notice. The four members, Thom Walker, Randy Barker, Ryan Macomber and Kyle Ellis, are preparing for the trip to Boston.
“We’re scrambling to get time off from work,” he said. But it is a good scramble and an honor.
The four will probably try to fit in a couple practice sessions before next week. They are pretty much ready after practicing and participating in the competition and parade during the convention a couple weeks ago, Ellis said.
Practices involve marching and other drills. They also ensure their uniforms are ready, he said.
The color guard started years ago, Walker said.
“I think if I look back, every one of us were at one fire convention and said we should try this and … so it began,” Walker said.
He also acknowledged the efforts of late Deputy Chief Kendall Burdin, “who kinda pushed us into this and then it just kept going.
“After winning a couple times in a row, we couldn’t stop,” Walker said. “People look forward to seeing us at events.”
abryant@sunjournal.com
-
- The Wilton Fire and Rescue color guard lead Wilton’s Memorial Day parade this past May. Marching, from left, are Thom Walker, Randy Barker, Ryan Macomber and Kyle Ellis.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.