The word ‘can’t’ is not in her vocabulary
Truro firefighter Joy Galloway-jones earns special award for leading a charge
TRURO - Considering what Joy Galloway-jones has accomplished and stands for, it’s fitting she was recognized recently with an award that has ‘perseverance’ in the title. Galloway-jones, an instructor/manager at Dalhousie Agricultural Campus (DAL-AC), was presented with the Community Perseverance ACE Award by the Fundy Female Leadership Network. Truro Mayor Bill Mills and Coun. Cathy Hinton took part in the presentation late last month.
An accomplished cross-country running coach at DAL-AC, on-court basketball official, and Truro Fire Service’s first female officer on the ground, Galloway-jones said promoting females in traditionally male roles started for her as a young girl.
“When I was a child, I was in a place that was very gendered; girls did this and boys did that, and I never fit that,” she said. “It’s one of the reasons that when I turned 18, I got the hell out. Don’t tell me I can’t do something… particularly if that’s something I want to do.
“And, by all means, don’t tell me I can’t because I’m a girl. I don’t think there are barriers that can’t be overcome because of someone’s gender.”
FIREFIGHTING START
Don’t tell me I can’t do something… particularly if that’s something I want to do. Joy Galloway-jones Truro firefighter
With firefighting, Galloway-jones said it began when, as an American moving to Canada, she was going through the immigration process.
“I was trying to find a way to get involved in the community. I was looking at the newspaper and there was an ad for volunteer firefighters. Our youngest daughter, who was 16 at the time, happened to come by and said, ‘you’re going to be a firefighter, that is so cool.’ I was like, 'well, I have to do it now because I get cool points from a 16-year-old',” she said with a chuckle.
Galloway-jones explained the Truro department is a “composite,” meaning there is career staff along with volunteers. She said, as part of a one-time pursuit towards a career position, she did as much training as she possibly could, including earning level one and two board certifications, and instructor pro board certification.
“Ultimately, I did end up getting more training than my male counterparts,” she said. “In part, because I needed to prove to them I was going to stick around and this was important to me. I wanted to demonstrate I was willing to put in the work and it’s OK to let me be there. So that is what I did; I realized that I wanted to have my own ward.”
Galloway-jones has been a captain for three now and a lieutenant for three before that.
“My goal had always been to be a fire-ground officer because, prior to that, there had been no female fireground officers,” she said. “There had been females on the executive prior, but no one had ever become a lieutenant on the fire-ground in Truro.”
Truro Fire Chief Blois Currie said Galloway-jones is a great asset to the department.
“She just recently went through a process with us to renew her officer status and was successful with that,” he said. “She is committed to making sure that her crew, which she has been in charge with as an officer, is up-to-date on everything and informed.
Currie described Galloway-jones as an “open-minded” officer who is always prepared.
“She keeps in mind that our job is to, at the end of the day, help and protect the public; she has always maintained that focus,” he said. “She is doing a great job and, hopefully, she continues to stay with us and be part of the team.”
ROLE MODEL
Also part of the membership committee, Galloway-jones said she would like to see more diversification on the volunteer side in departments.
She talked about hoping to see more African-nova Scotian and Mi’kmaw folks become local firefighters, as well as more females. She recalled an incident where she may have inspired one young girl.
It started with her walking back to her car with her gear on. Once reaching the vehicle, she started removing the gear to put back in her car when a small girl noticed the person under the helmet was a woman.
“This little four-year-old girl ran up to me and said, ‘I didn’t know girls could be firemen?’ I bent down and said to her, ‘well, I’m a firefighter.’ I started talking to her, explaining that she too could be a firefighter and that would be OK. She ran back to her grandparents and said, ‘I’m going to be a fire girl when I grow up,’ and that is why I do it … that’s it.”
Inspiring females in athletics is another area Gallowayjones has done through her own involvement. Along with a former runner now joining her coaching cross-country running with the Truro Lions, she talked about a basketball athlete following her into officiating.
Galloway-jones said seeing more females get involved in officiating is needed because the sport loses too many to consistent abuse. More abuse and criticism than their male counterparts in many cases, she said.
“I can make a (close) call or a mistake, and I’ve had coaches come out of their skin,” she said. “Yet my male counterparts, who could make the same call or mistake, it doesn’t get the same (reaction).
“I’m 5’3” and they’ve never seen me play basketball, so I’m already at a disadvantage,” she said, adding those factors also play into the double-standard she sees too often.
But Galloway-jones preservers through all of it to help make it easier for the next generation of female firefighters, coaches, and officials.
“I have always been, very much, a proponent of people’s need to see themselves,” she said, a point she also made when talking about more African Nova Scotia and Fire Nation firefighters. “Children need to see themselves in these roles.”
“There are all sorts of things we still need to do to make sure people of all genders, diversities, can look up and go, ‘I can do that too.’”