10/11/2021
On Tuesday, October 5th, 2021, Navarro County took a tragic hit to its infrastructure. The footprints of Chief Paul Henley are everywhere in this county. The City of Corsicana hired him to be the Fire Chief for Corsicana but as we have all witnessed, he didn’t stop there. He embraced this community and committed his entire being to be a part of this entire city, community, and county. His first year of service here was spent away from his wife and son. He put this community on a pedestal and devoted every bit of his attention and energy towards Corsicana Fire. He bridged the gap between volunteer departments and City fire. He took on everything asked of him plus more. He devoted time and energy to help assist Eric Myers on the emergency management side. He stepped in and devoted time to the United Way, Boys & Girls Club, along with numerous other things.
He has done all these things with a smile on his face an electric personality that you almost questioned if it was real. That is till you get to know him then you understand it is a 100 percent him. The energy Chief Henley brings with him is contagious. His knowledge is staggering, to say the least. The leadership skills he possesses are truly astonishing. He has made us better by seeing, listening, and learning from him. Chief has had a huge impact on our personal lives including giving expecting families a personalized infant rocking chair to sending birthday cards to our children on their special day. He knows everyone’s name along with their spouse and children. To some, this might not mean much but to us, this meant everything.
As we watch Chief Henley start packing his office it has saddened many. It has made some question whether they want to continue to be here. It’s leaving a lot of uncertainty. We wonder if all the constant roadblocks he’s endured will only be increased and multiply. It’s no secret Chief Henley is choosing to leave because he feels he has done as much as he can and with all the constraints, he has now become ineffective. The day he walked in the door he said, “guys I’m here to stay as long as I can make a difference, the day I feel I cannot do that will be the day I need to leave and move on.” It has never been about the money as we know. He took a large pay cut from his previous job to come here.
Recently, he and his wife built a beautiful home in Navarro County. Is that something you do if you plan on leaving because this is just a steppingstone to a bigger dept? Over the last two years, we have watched SAFER grants fall to the wayside by micromanaged antics to disqualify candidates. We have consistently produced data with numbers to show the City Manager and council why it is important to staff 3 personnel per Engine. Chief Henley spent a lot of time gathering info and showing exactly why safety was important and what number of personal he would need to accomplish what it took to serve this community for it all to be thrown by the wayside to settle on a number the council and city manager thought was efficient enough. To discount the chief’s opinions and concerns and just go with what they thought was good is not safe nor smart in our opinion. Chief never expected to get everything he asked for. He did however believe by producing data and showing the how’s, why’s, what’s, when’s, and where's that he was telling the whole story and it was a no brainer that any city leadership would want to protect their citizens from the best of their abilities not to mention the firemen protecting the citizens.
As we continue to reflect on all the great experiences, we’ve had with Chief Henley we can’t help to wonder why an amazing leader like Chief Henley will have to go elsewhere to feel like he can make a difference again. It’s time for change citizens of Corsicana and Navarro County. It’s time some leaders step down. The odds of getting anyone close to the magnitude of our current chief is questionable but we can only hope and pray we can find someone close. When that time comes do, we want to end up with the same results?
"We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them."
Albert Einstein
We all love you Chief and hope the best for you and your family along with your new brothers and sisters that we know you will make a difference for!
Sincerely,
Corsicana local 1550
Justin Underwood 903-641-9125
