Interview by Abernathy Cochran intern and Gainesville High School senior Marie Matthews

Meet Chief Brandon Ellis! Chief Ellis officially began his position as the Gainesville Fire Chief on Jan.1, 2022. He has been with the department for nearly 18 years.
“I’m married, my wife’s name is Dana, and she’s a nurse for the hospital here,” he said. “We’ve got two daughters, Caroline and Charlotte, ages 10 and 7. We live in Clermont right now. I grew up in Hall County. My dad was originally from Dallas, Ga., but he moved here when I six or seven; and then my mom’s lived here her whole life.”
We want t0 thank Chief Ellis for telling us more about his life and love of Hall County. 

Q: Please tell us about your current career. What do you love most about what you do?

A: “As the chief, I handle more of the administrative data to date for the fire department, from budgeting, personnel, to staffing growth. I have to make sure that we stay within budget standards, but we get the equipment, and we hire personnel if we need them. “

Q: What are a couple of your favorite restaurants in our community?

A: “I absolutely love Chili’s, Texas Roadhouse, Culver’s and Inn-Between. When I was a teenager, we used to go to Inn-Between all the time, I still go there and just get a sandwich.”

Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in our community?

A: “As far as meeting somebody and getting to know them that I’d never met until this position is probably the City Manager, Bryan Lackey. I’m now getting to actually work with him and talk with him on a personal level, he’s pretty interesting because he’s very personable and easy to make a connection with.”

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?

A: “I’ve always wanted to go to Alaska though just to see the mountain ranges and the wildlife. I like cold weather, I love snow. I’ve been to the Caribbean, the Bahamas…they’re beautiful! And if I had to go to the ocean anywhere, it’d be the Cayman Islands because I’ve been there and it is absolutely gorgeous.”

Q: What is one of your favorite movies? TV shows?

A: “I absolutely love any of the Marvel movies. Probably the one that I’ve watched over and over is ‘Thor: Ragnarok.’”

Q: What advice would you give to people?

A: “Be honest and be real, there’s no point in being fake. If you’re fake, you’re not going pass on anything but if you’re real and genuine, you can encourage somebody to be better.”

Q: What current or former local business makes you the most nostalgic about our community?

A: “We used to spend a lot of our time in Brazier Dairy Queen and Inn-Between.”

Q: If you could choose anyone that is alive today and not a relative; with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? And where locally would y’all meet for this lunch?

A: “I’m not a big political person, but I do follow Dr. Ben Carson. I’ve read a few of his books and he seems like he’s a pretty interesting guy because he’s extremely intelligent.”

Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?

A: “It doesn’t matter how big it’s gotten, you’ll meet somebody that probably knows somebody you grew up with and you still got that close community feel to it.”

Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?

A: “Hopefully still here at the fire department. Before I’m ready to retire, I would love to be able to see the department get to the point to where we’re considered the best in the state.”

Q: What would you rate a 10 out of 10?

A: “I like any kind of fall activites, Halloween festivals, Thanksgiving time, but Christmas time is my absolute favorite. If I could have a perfect day, it would be all the family together at a cabin somewhere and it’s snowing outside and it;s Christmas morning having a breakfast and opening presents.”

Q: What is something on your bucket list?

A: “My wife and I want to just travel and see every national park in the US. Of course I want to go see Alaska. Also, I’d love to be able to take my whole family somewhere like the Montana and rent a big cabin and have everybody out there for a whole week and do Christmas there.