Joshua Berry has lived in many places across the Valley, but now calls Queen Creek home.

A firefighter with the city of Tempe for 15 years, Berry moved to Queen Creek two years ago because he and his wife wanted to find a “great” place to raise their daughters and the town fit the bill.

Berry grew up mostly in Maryvale where he worked at his family’s restaurant. Not surprisingly, Berry learned how to cook and prides himself on making the best food of any Tempe fire station.

Name: Joshua Berry

Town/Neighborhood: Queen Creek

When and why I moved here: I lived all over the Phoenix area for most of my life. My wife Kelsey and I decided to move to Queen Creek two years ago. We wanted to find a great city to raise our three daughters and chose Queen Creek because of their superior schools and great neighborhoods. We like the small town feel in a community that seems to be growing rapidly.

What I do: I have had the pleasure to serve the city of Tempe as a career firefighter for the last 15 years. I perform fire suppression, life safety, rescue and medical services to the citizens of Tempe. I love what I do. The ability to impact someone’s life on what could possibly be the worst day of their life is what I live for in my profession. I enjoy the family atmosphere of the fire department. The men and women I serve with are my brothers and sisters.

Personal Background highlights: Growing up, I have lived all over the Valley but most of my childhood was spent in Maryvale. I grew up with six brothers and one sister. I am the second oldest and love my siblings. Our Dad’s side of the family owns PoPo’s Fiesta del sol. We grew up in that restaurant and learned the value of hard work. I remember going into the restaurant with my dad early in the morning and him showing me how to create delicious Mexican food. This is where I learned my passion for cooking and have been an avid cook ever since. This has translated to the fire department because we cook meals every shift with each other and if you were to ask anyone in my department whose station to come have a great meal at, they would probably point you in the direction of my station.

What does being nominated for this category mean to you? It is great to be recognized for an award for doing something that I love to do. Helping people has always been a passion of mine. I am grateful for the nomination and have loved my time in the town of Queen Creek.

Interests and hobbies: I love being outdoors! Hiking, fishing and hunting are all passions of mine. I love to cook anything and everything. I hand-make my own pasta and basically make everything from scratch in my kitchen. My newest passion is playing golf. My wife and I frequently visit Las Colinas golf course for a round of golf.

The Queen Creek Independent is pleased to announce Joshua Berry as the February 2024 Hometown Hero bestowed in the category of Emergency Responder.  The Queen Creek Independent, along with East Valley Institute of Technology and Queen Creek Olive Mill salute Mr. Berry as this month’s Queen Creek Hometown Heroes Awards recipient.

We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Janet Perez can be reached at jperez@iniusa.org.