Tyler

By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer

For the past 23 years he has gone to work as a firefighter. The past five years he has served as fire chief for Tyler. Now Neal Franklin is headed to Brook Hill Academy, where he will serve as the school’s assistant basketball coach and in a “position of leadership and training.”

Franklin told the Tyler Paper today he decided to resign from his position as Tyler’s fire chief and take the position at the school. His resignation will go into effect Aug. 8.

“I really planned on being here a long time, but this position came up and after praying about it and talking it over with my wife, I took the position at the school,” he said.

Franklin said his wife works at the school, one son graduated and two other children are enrolled in the school.

The fire chief, who has worked for the Tyler Fire Department for 21 years, said he is sad to leave his “department family” but was excited about the new direction in which he was heading.

“I’ve been doing this same job a long time and I have loved it. When I became chief I had all the support from the city that anyone could ask for,” he said. “I always thought when I retired I would go into teaching since that is what my degree is in, but this came up and God opened the doors that needed to be opened,” he said.

TylerPaper.com will continue to follow this story.

Neal Franklin
(File photo)