On January 18th - Luling VFD held its annual Installation of Officers and Awards Program at Legacy Venue.

This year the department honored Chief Barry Minnich for 50 years of service to the Fire Service and the Community of St. Charles Parish Fire District No. 2.

Chief Minnich has been married to Ann Ford Minnich for over 48 year and they are the parents of four daughters and four son in laws : Tara Fuselier (Jarrett) ; April Haydel (Mike); Blaire Dunn (Jesse); and Annie Kulbeth (Keith). They are also the proud grandparents of 7 grandchildren plus 1 on the way: Anna, Evan, Amelie, Abrahm, Canaan, Jesse, Rhyan, and a Grandson on the way. Who were in attendance along with his sister Sue and her husband Black. Other special guest who were able to attend were Reggie Gaubert and wife Jamie, and Connie Danford and son Josh.

Chief Minnich worked for 35 years at Union Carbide / Dow where he began his career as an Operations Tech and ended his career as the Health and Safety Site Supervisor and was a member of the Emergency Response Team for all 35 of those years. In addition, Minnich was an Adjunct Instructor at Texas A&M fire college for several years.

As an active member of Luling VFD for 50 years, Minnich began in January of 1975 as a firefighter and has held a number of various positions throughout those years including President and Fire Chief. The position of Luling VFD Fire Chief Minnich continues to hold today, along with his current position of President of The St. Charles Fireman’s Association. Among Minnich’s other accomplishments is his role as Chief Investigator for St. Charles Parish Coroner’s Office.

Minnich was presented with a plaque and special shadow box of memorabilia attendees were invited to share stories and memories of Minnich's past 50 years.

Luling VFD would like to thanks Minnich for the past 50 years of service and for his continued service going forward.