Meet Cathrine Richards, fire fighter volunteer and probationary rescue volunteer

Cat’s mom, whom she loves dearly, has been remarried for nine years and is the administration and operations manager for a local company.

While she admits that the moving around was not easy, it taught her to be open and to be confident in her self-identity. She became adept at meeting new people. It is one of the characteristics she has today in that she has a remarkable ease about her during conversations, which can go in many directions.

Cat started riding horses at age four. She was introduced to horseback riding by her grandmother, who would take her to lessons and wait with her. With all of the school transitioning, her horseback riding became a common thread among the friends she made in all the different schools.

Cat began to ride competitively in the Hunt Seat and Hunter/Jumper category at age 10. She competed in local and regional events in Massachusetts and New York. Her horse, a Morgan, a breed she is very fond of for its strength and versatility, was named Kona. He was bred at the University of Massachusetts. She loved taking him on trail rides up to Silver Lake above Lake Dunmore. At 17, when she began to hold down jobs she stepped away from competitive riding.

She credits her grandmother for her love of reading. She reads a great deal and her list of books is diverse. Most recently she read Detroit: An American Autopsy, by Charlie LeDuff. She also reads political biographies and poetry. She most enjoyed her advanced English class in high school.

Cat started running and working out in high school for the way it made her feel, not to compete. After high school, wanting to be independent, Cat was holding down several jobs, and so got her own apartment and her first car at age 18! She is averse to student loans but does see herself back in school. She currently is the administrative manager at a manufacturing firm and also bartends 15-20 hours per week.

Cat got started with CVFRS in 2014. She wanted to do something different and more technical in her volunteering.  She made the full commitment taking both Fire 1 and Fire 2 training programs, approximately 220 hours of overall training, followed by written and practical testing. In addition, this past summer she was one of nine CVFRS volunteers going through the weekend EMT training in Charlotte for a total of more than 200 hours of classroom time. She sits for her EMT national exam in February. Cat brings great enthusiasm to her training sessions on Wednesday nights and has an excellent turnout record for calls over the years.

Favorite meal: venison chili
Favorite musician: Chris Stapleton
Favorite spot: Charlotte Beach at 6:00 a.m. in the summer
Favorite season: Summer so she can do things outside after work
If she won the lottery: Buy back her mom’s original Brandon house for the family (it has burned twice)
Favorite movie: The Big Short
Favorite author: Poet Michael Faudet