Victoria Town Manager Rodney Newton has spent his whole life in the Town of Victoria, with the exception of six months he spent in Virginia Beach when he was stationed there in the Federal Fire Service.

“It’s been home all my life,” Newton said of Victoria.

He said his favorite thing about Victoria is that it’s a small town.

Newton started in the Federal Fire Service in Jan. 1987 and retired in 2012.

“It’s a career fire department and I actually worked at several different bases, I was at Fort Story in Virginia Beach, Fort Lee in Petersburg, Fort Pickett and then my last 15 years were at Defense Logistics Agency Richmond Fire Emergency Services,” Newton said.

He noted that the only one he didn’t commute from Victoria was Virginia Beach.

He said after retiring and he was back in the area he decided to give the position of town manager a try.

“I worked construction for two years after I got out of school and then went into the Federal Fire Service,” Newton said. “I’ve been with the Victoria Volunteer Fire and Rescue since 1981.”

He graduated from Lunenburg Central High School. When asked of any favorite memories of school, he laughed and said, “That was so long ago I don’t really even remember.”

Newton lives in Victoria with his wife. Two of his children also live in town as well as his mother.

“I’ve been married now for 26 years,” Newton said. “My wife is a teacher at the school system here in the county, teaches fifth grade.”

He said they met through mutual friends at church in Victoria.

Currently, in addition to working as the town manager, Newton also serves as the Victoria Fire Chief.