Rick Spence is a 5th generation Floridan and a 3rd generation Firefighter. He attended Valencia Community College where he earned his EMT Certification, an Associate’s Degree in Fire Science, multiple certifications including Fire Officer I and II, Fire Safety Inspector and then his Paramedic Certification.
During his tenure at Reedy Creek Fire Services, where he worked for 30 years until his recent retirement, his eyes were opened to a great need among Firefighters. He made a conscious decision to bring these issues to light and to do whatever he could to make fire and emergency medicine careers better. Rick’s life verse is Micah 6:8, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God.” Knowing that building relationships and truly getting to know people is a big part of this verse, it was a natural next step for him to create a Peer Support Team at his home Fire Department. This has led Rick to assist other departments with creating similar support teams.
His ministry has expanded in a natural way and at present he provides Chaplain services for several organizations including, Reedy Creek Fire Services, Florida Professional Firefighters, Central Florida Fire Chief’s Association, and Florida Fire Chief’s Association.
He has been married to Alecia, a CPA and Florida native, for 33 years. He is also very proud of his twins. Caleb is in the US Navy and Cassandra is a Paramedic for Lake County EMS. Rick and Alecia have been active members of the First Baptist Church of Orlando since 1989.