We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kenny Mitchell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kenny below.
Kenny, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
April of 2020 I met my one of my best friends and firefighter Tom Showalter for lunch off of interstate 95. Due to Covid 19, we had to either cancel the lunch due to not being able to eat inside anywhere, or we could just go to a outdoor rest stop. We decided to meet at the rest stop. Tom and I had met in 2012 during which he was a recruit in 6-month recruit school where I was the lead instructor for with Chesterfield Fire & EMS. After graduation Tom went on to start his career as a paid professional firefighter up north. We stayed in touch weekly. Vacationed today. Met in Topsail NC to surf and just watch the world go by wave after crashing wave. In 2013 my daughters mother was just 34 years old and suffered and unexpected medical emergency and myself and a police officer were the first to her side. I performed CPR etc. My daughter was only 7 years old at the time. I tell people now, that was the start to a mental health decline in my life that I hid from the world. I even hid my pain from Tom and my family. I was a 1o year firefighter at the time of her death and the job just kept throwing blows. During our lunch I wanted so bad to tell him how I was feeling. Several times I started the conversation but quickly let the stigma turn the conversation the other way. Needless to say, after four hours we stood, bro hugged and he went north and I went south. I remember driving off looking at him thinking, “Damnit, I just wish I could talk to someone. Maybe next time.” A few text, voicemails and missed phone calls later, on the 17th day I received a phone call at the fire station that Tom had taken his life. Just 17 days after meeting me for lunch, he was gone. I instantly hit my knees behind the fire house and yelled into my hands, “Why the fuck didn’t you talk to him. Maybe be would have talked to you.” During one of his memorial services people were walking around saying how there was no one to talk to and this is why this keeps happening. I was sitting with a napkin and a pen and I wrote down, “There are too many of us to ever feel alone, so why do we feel this way.” I remember telling someone who sat beside me, “No, you are wrong, look around, this place is full of first responders and people who understand us. But, I wasn’t talking either. I decided enough was enough and Operation Yellow Tape was born right there on a tear stained napkin. I knew that life inside the yellow tape was tough but life outside the yellow tape can be even harder. I struggled in silence from 2013 until Tom took his life in 2020. Now I know he was struggling to. My mission, purpose and movement with OYT is to make it very clear that it is healthy to talk and open up. It must become a nonnegotiable with yourself because you will be the very first to recognize those first mental health declining signs.
Kenny, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I was working as a graphic designer in Norfolk Virginia at The Virginian-Pilot newspaper in 2001. I was 6 1l2 years into that career when on a beautiful September day, over 3,000 people were killed in the September 11 attacks. That day like with many others, I knew there was more for me and a life of protecting and service starting calling louder and louder. By October 2002 I was working as a firefighter with The Virginia Beach Fire Department, in 2007 I relocated to Chesterfield Fire & EMS, where on April 1, 2024, I wrapped up a 21 year and 8 month career and retired as a Lieutenant. I worked in two departments during my nearly 22 years. Both pushed 50,000 responses a year with over 550 uniformed firefighters. I served my entire career at some of the busiest assignments both organizations could offer and responded to thousands of emergencies over a career.
Losing brothers and sisters in the line of duty, to cancer, off duty accidents and other gone way too young ways was also a part of my career. However, it was the ones that completed suicide that hit me the hardest.
The Operation Yellow Tape brand and mission is to bring awareness to all those working inside the yellow tape and help them as they step outside the yellow tape to live a mental and emotional healthy life during and post their emergency services career.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
You have got to be willing to step up and ask for help when you find yourself slipping into a mental health decline. You have got to understand that really bad things happen to good people and you have done your best to help them. You must know that asking for help is not a weakness and it must be a nonnegotiable during your entire career. Bad things are going to happen inside and outside the yellow tape of life and you have to love yourself enough to keep going. So, asking for help, reaching out and owning your pain is a must.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
The fact that my OYT H.E.L.P. acronym that stands for health, educate launch and people is a guide to helping you navigate a difficult career like this one. No matter where you are in your career, you can start to inject these principles and you will see physical, mental and emotional benefits.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://KennyMitchellJr.com
- Instagram: @KennyMitchellFire
- Facebook: Kenny Mitchell
- Linkedin: Kenny Mitchell Jr
