This month’s Protect and Serve segment highlights Lieutenant Craig Stivender of the Walterboro Fire Department.
Stivender is a native of Colleton County specifically of Cottageville. He is a product of the Colleton County School District as well. Craig is a Walterboro High School Bulldog and played sports while he attended. He played soccer as a wing or forward while soccer was not the popular sport it is today, and on the diamond, he played second base.
Mr. Stivender’s career has mostly revolved around law enforcement and public service. He spend the first half of his career in law enforcement starting at the Cottageville Police Department. Stivender has also worked with the Walterboro Police Department and the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office before ultimately find his place at the Walterboro Fire Department. Having worked at the WFD for three, almost four years he has achieved the rank of Lieutenant. He enjoys the close knit feeling in the department crediting the smaller size in helping to foster the close relationships. Only slightly older than the other firemen, he feels like their dad sometimes and watches over them to help them with the job and bring them along in their careers. A self-admitted adrenaline seeker, that quality makes Stivender very well suited for his job as well as his years of experience in high stress fields. When it’s time to go to a call he is all business absorbing the challenging situations and working toward the best possible outcome.
Stivender also enjoys the flexibility in his schedule allowing him to work another job that is close to his heart; caring for a local plantation in a wildlife management aspect. An avid hunter, Stivender has been out in the woods with a gun or bow since he was a kid. He has hunted all over the lower half of the United States and east coast and has even been overseas to Africa. Stivender is planning to work his way out to the Midwest in 2024 for elk. He also hopes to make it Alaska one day. If he wasn’t in the firefighting field, wildlife management work is what he would be doing. He enjoys the work and is passionate about it.
On a more personal note, Stivender is active in Cottageville Baptist Church where he teaches Sunday school and as aforementioned he is an enthusiastic outdoorsman. He is also a family man. Stivender celebrated 10 years of marriage with his wife Rebecca this year, and they have three children Addie, Willis, and Braylon.
Thank you, Lieutenant Craig Stivender, for your service to our community!
