Firehouse Magazine has selected Danbury Fire Chief Richard Thode as the grand prize winner of the Michael O. McNamee Award of Valor. The award reflects what it means to be brave in the face of danger. Because of Chief Thode’s courage and bravery, a man was rescued from a trench collapse that happened in Bethel back in May 2022, and made a full recovery. Mayor Dean Esposito said the Chief’s heroic efforts during the trench rescue saved a life and demonstrated how he goes above and beyond the call of duty every day to serve not only the residents of Danbury, but also others living in surrounding communities.
Ed Histed
Ed launched his radio career in 1975 and has spent more than five decades in the broadcasting industry. During that time, he has served in a wide range of roles including Air Personality, News Director, Sales Manager, Operations Manager, and General Manager at numerous radio stations in various markets across the country. Beyond on-air and management responsibilities, Ed has also worked extensively on the technical side of broadcasting. His background includes RF engineering and information technology, with particular experience configuring digital automation systems and remote voice-tracking platforms used by stations across the country. Ed was also among a select group of industry professionals invited by Google to its California headquarters following the company’s acquisition of Scott Studios. He was one of just 12 broadcasters nationwide chosen to participate in discussions and provide input during the design and rollout of Google’s digital broadcast automation platform. Although the majority of Ed’s career—spanning roughly four decades—was rooted in music radio, he transitioned into news and information programming in 2012. He says the move into spoken-word broadcasting was a natural evolution after decades of experience in multiple areas of the industry.