HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Meet Jason Fox. He's a senior trooper with ALEA, but he's got a lot of experience in the world of first response - and he's not the first person in the family to join the force.
"My father's a retired state trooper, and when I got out of high school I got into the EMS field, going through EMT and such, and in 1997 I went to work for Madison Police Department. I worked for Madison Police Department for nine years. Then I came to the troopers, and have enjoyed every day ever since."
He's had a steady job for the past 13 years, but one thing that always changes is the scenery - and he loves it.
"I like the flexibility, the open range, being able to go different places," he admits. "Today, I'm in Montgomery, but I also work out of Huntsville, I'll be in Scottsboro tomorrow, and I go to Guntersville. I Just like being able to go out and see different parts of the state."
Even though he's serving the State of Alabama, he's also helped out far away...in New York City on 9/11. Fox was at Ground Zero.
"They sent a group of us up there, to New York City, to assist in any way we could," recalls Fox. "We worked down at Ground Zero, and we worked different parts of the city to allow some of the New York officers some time off that they hadn't been able to get in the hours after the crash."
At a time like this, with all the uncertainty that looms ahead, Fox wants to make sure people know who the true heroes are.
"I appreciate the nomination, and I'm going to come out here and work hard for the public, but right now we need our EMTs, paramedics, firefighters, doctors, nurses and even the housekeeping people at the hospital -- they're our heroes right now."
If you know someone who should be the next Valley's First Responder, you can nominate them here.