West Columbia Fire Chief Marquis Solomon is the recipient of the Lexington County NAACP Leadership and Service Award.

“I’m beyond grateful to be recognized with the Lexington County NAACP Leadership and Service Award,” Solomon said. “but this doesn’t happen without the people around me. To the firefighters of West Columbia Fire Department, thank you for showing up every day and answering the call. To (West Columbia) City Council and our administration, thank you for your support. To my West Columbia co-workers and to the citizens of West Columbia, the best citizens anywhere, thank you for trusting us to serve you.”

Solomon is pictured with members of the West Columbia City Council: David Moye, Joseph Dickey, Mayor Tem Miles, Cookie Holmes, Mike Green.

The Lexington NAACP Branch’s Freedom Fund Awards Gala was held on Friday Aug. 7, at Brookland Banquet and Conference Center in West Columbia.

Solomon was selected as the West Columbia Fire Chief in December of 2022. He is a 27-year fire service veteran. Solomon held the position of Deputy Fire Chief and Public Information Officer and was the second in command of the West Columbia Fire Department for eight years before becoming chief.

Chief Solomon’s passion for developing leaders and creating meaningful organizational change led him to him obtain a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and a Master of Arts in Management and Leadership from Liberty University.