Two East Tn First Responders Honored At Three Stars Ceremony

A Hamblen County paramedic and a Blount County Deputy who died while in the line of duty earlier this year were recognized during the 2024 “Three Stars of Tennessee Award” ceremony which was held in Nashville on Tuesday. Following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, State Senator Becky Massey spearheaded an effort to develop a special statewide recognition for public servants who, in the line of duty, were killed or suffered a career-ending injury. The “Three Stars of Tennessee Award” was finally created in 2014 by the Tennessee General Assembly.

During Tuesday’s ceremony, Governor Bill Lee, Senator Massey, Department of Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner Jeff Long and Deputy Commissioner of Homeland Security Greg Mays to honored and remembered eight first responders who died or suffered a career-ending injury in the line of duty. Those honored included Hamblen County paramedic Todd Giles. Back on April 5, Todd Giles was responding to a leg injury. While walking up a steep driveway, Giles experienced shortness of breath and collapsed. He died of cardiac arrest a short time later at the Morristown Hamblen hospital. Todd Giles had been with Morristown Hamblen EMS for 36 years.

Also honored was Blount County deputy Greg McCowan, who back in February was killed while assisting in a traffic stop on Highway 411 in the Wildwood area of Blount County. Deputy McCowan was shot by the driver of the vehicle that had been pulled over.

You can watch the entire ceremony on the Department of Safety and Homeland Security’s YouTube page, youtube.com/@Safety.