Harry Traskos ~ Class of 1971
Brad is a lifelong resident of Belleville. He grew up on Sumpter Road in Van Buren Township. As a boy he joined the Boy Scout Troop 231 in Belleville. After graduating from Belleville High School in 1971 he joined the Van Buren Township Fire Department. He became a firefighter and worked his way up to Fire Chief. He was the First Chief over Stations 1 and 2. He served in his position for 14 years. When Brad was Fire Chief, he asked voters to pass a 1-mill tax for one year to buy three fire trucks. At that time, he spoke before voters who filled the Belleville High School Auditorium and answered all of their questions. The millage passed and he got the three trucks to protect the community.
During this time, he got married and moved to a home in Sumpter Township on Willis Rd. Shortly thereafter he became a father of triplets (2 girls and a boy). Then, he decided that with his growing family it was time to retire from the Chief position. During this time, he was also employed by General Motors at the Milford Proving Grounds, working in the Safety Crash Lab. While he was at GM, he continued fire fighting for GM at their facility.
After retiring from General Motors, Brad was asked to serve on the Van Buren Public Schools Education Foundation. Brad often said he was very proud to be a board member of the foundation because it gave so much back to Van Buren Public Schools.