Chaplaincy Roundtable

Rickie Jenkins

Rickie Jenkins started his career in the fire service in 1987 as a Volunteer with St. George Fire Department and later becoming a career firefighter with that department. In 2013 when Dorchester County merged all the volunteer departments to become Dorchester County Fire Rescue, I was given the task of creating the Fire Marshal Division. Chaplain Jenkins is an active member of both the South Carolina State Firefighters’ Association and South Carolina Chapter of International Association of Arson Investigators.

Dr. Gary Rogers

Dr. Gary Rogers has been a Pastor for 40 years and currently serves as Senior pastor at Campobello First Baptist Church.  Dr. Rogers has served as a Public Safety Chaplain for 25 years in both the fire service and law enforcement.  Gary served as the Chaplain for the South Carolina Firefighters Associations for 13 years and was inducted into the SC Firefighters Hall of Fame in 2023.  He is a Certified Instructor for the Federation of Fire Chaplains and is endorsed as a Fire Chaplain by the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Gary has previously served as a full-time Chaplain for the Boiling Springs Fire District and continues to serve as a volunteer Chaplain for the department.

Dennis Ray

Chief Dennis Ray is currently employed full-time with Mobile Communications America as an Account Executive in South Carolina. Chief Ray retired December of

2022 as the Assistant Chief of South Carolina State Fire and served as Superintendent of the South Carolina Fire Academy for over five (5) years. Prior to being named as the Superintendent of the South Carolina Fire Academy, Chief Ray served as the career Fire Chief of the Lugoff Fire Department located in the Midlands of South Carolina leading both paid and volunteer members. Chief Ray currently serves as a volunteer firefighter in his thirty-second (34th) year, has experience in both state and local law enforcement, 911 Telecommunications, and FEMA Grant writing and panel reviews. Chief Ray has served in many associations and on many committees to include the Executive Committee of the South Carolina Firefighter’s Association, as a Board member of the SC Association of Special Purpose Districts, as Secretary of the North American Fire Training Director’s Association, and as a Past President of the Kershaw County Chamber of Commerce. Chief Ray has provided expert and command-level advice on these and other committees, associations, and statute/standard development groups. Chief Ray also currently serves as Chaplain for the SC State Association of Fire Chiefs.

Chief Ray lives in Lugoff, SC with his wife Amber and daughter Ansley. Chief Ray is a Christian who loves the Lord serving as a Deacon, teacher, and singer at Pine Grove Baptist Church in Lugoff as well as a Gideon Church Speaker. His core values are Faith, Family, Fire, and Flip-Flops