Excerpts from there DailyHerald.com:

Wauconda Fire District Chief Mike Wahl is retiring after nearly 34 years with the department. He is stepping down effective Jan. 1, though a traditional walkout ceremony is planned for Dec. 15, his last day on the job.

He joined the department as a firefighter-paramedic in May 1984 and rose through the ranks. He’s been fire chief since 2015. Wahl also has served as Wauconda’s emergency management agency director, and he’s served on Illinois’ emergency services management and incident management teams, among other responsibilities.

The fire district board has selected David Geary, the agency’s business manager, to succeed Wahl. He joined the district in 1978 as a firefighter-paramedic and stayed on staff until 1990. He returned to the district in 2012 as business manager, a post with financial and administrative duties. Geary will be sworn in as the new chief Dec. 21.