Board of Directors

Vickie Pritchett became involved in the fire service in 1997. Vickie served on the Board of Directors for the Pleasant View Volunteer Fire Department from 1998-2013, and was awarded lifetime membership into PVVFD in December of 2013. Vickie served as the Community Development Liaison for the Town of Pleasant View and Executive Director of the Joint Economic & Community Development Board of Cheatham County at the time she began her service to the local volunteer fire department. During this time she was instrumental in bringing fire service officials, builders and developers, and elected officials together. This coordination resulted in a zero square foot fire sprinkler ordinance for the town in 2001, and county-wide in 2006. Vickie’s dedication to the improvement of quality of life, passion for the community, and her ability to bring people together makes her the “spark plug” and advocate of fire sprinkler requirements at the local, state, and federal level. She has presented across the state of Tennessee and the nation. She has worked in Washington D.C. to promote fire protection issues and to highlight the differences that can be made by fire sprinklers and the legislation that requires them. Vickie is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and received her MBA from Vanderbilt’s Owen School of Management. She is a VCOS Symposium committee member, Board Member of the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition, Board member of the IAFC Fire & Life Safety Section, Board Member of Common Voices, and is a member of both NFPA and ICC. Vickie currently serves as Vice President of Advocacy & Outreach of the National Fire Sprinkler Association.

Shane Ray currently serves as President of the National Fire Sprinkler Association, an association established in 1905 to be the voice of the fire sprinkler industry. Shane is committed to promoting the mission of protecting lives and property through the widespread acceptance of the fire sprinkler concept. Shane has been in this role for 6 years but has served NFSA for over 10 years. Shane has been blessed to serve over 25 years in the fire service, working his way through the ranks of career and volunteer organizations serving from firefighter to chief. He served 13 years as Fire Chief and he served six years as the mayor in his hometown of Pleasant View, Tennessee. He also held the position of Superintendent of the South Carolina Fire Academy and as South Carolina State Fire Marshal. Shane Ray is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University, Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, the University of Maryland’s Leadership Development Program, and the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program. President Ray has been directly involved in Association for over 30 years from a volunteer board member and staff member, to professional staff at various levels from entry to President/CEO. President Ray currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Congressional Fire Services Institute and remains very active at the local, state, and federal levels involving legislative and regulatory issues impacting the fire service and fire protection.