From Firefighter to Founder: How Jeremiah Parnell is Turning Charity Into a Movement with Fully Involved Events
Some people build businesses. Others build legacies.
Jeremiah “Jeremy” Parnell never set out to become a business owner. He was already serving—in the U.S. Army as a combat medic, then for two decades as a full-time firefighter. But in 2020, after organizing a local car show to raise money for a young family member battling cancer, something shifted. That event raised $2,700 in a single day—and lit a fire Jeremy never expected.
He didn’t plan on starting a company. He was just trying to help.
But when people kept showing up—offering support, showing interest, asking what was next—he knew this was bigger than one event. That single fundraiser has since evolved into Fully Involved Events, a growing brand built on the power of purpose, partnership, and giving back.
And Jeremy? He’s just getting started.
Where Service and Story Collide
Jeremy’s journey is marked by service—first to his country, then to his community. After five years as a medic in Iraq and over 20 in the fire service, he’s poured his energy into causes that matter: first responders, children with cancer, and veterans. These aren’t marketing categories—they’re personal.
In the years since that first car show, Fully Involved Events has raised nearly $62,000 for charity, with a goal to hit $75,000 by the end of this year.
They’ve hosted shows for club members’ loved ones, for fire department Explorer programs, for local veteran groups. Each event, each dollar, each vendor table is a continuation of Jeremy’s original mission: show up for people who need help.
And when his best friend—co-founder and fellow firefighter—passed away unexpectedly, Jeremy kept going. Kept building. Kept honoring the mission.
A Business Built on Heart—and Hustle
What started with car shows now includes wedding planning, officiant services, and DJ entertainment under a growing umbrella brand. Jeremy became a certified wedding planner, brought on his wife as his business partner, and created a secondary brand—Southern End Entertainment—to house their DJ services. More offerings, like photography and even bounce houses, are in the pipeline.
And yet, Jeremy hasn’t taken a single shortcut.
He scouts locations himself, negotiates with local businesses, and maintains partnerships with names like Harley-Davidson, Spare Time, and Mid City Shrine Club. Events like “Nightmare Rides, Creature Cars, and Candy” have become annual traditions in the Upstate.
Every opportunity has come from relationship-building and grit—word-of-mouth, phone calls, persistence. He doesn’t wait for doors to open. He knocks.
Carrying the Load—and the Vision
But the success comes with weight. Jeremy is still working full-time as a firefighter. He’s juggling school, set to graduate this August with a 4.0 GPA in Sports, Entertainment, and Event Management. He’s the marketer, the planner, the guy sending emails, answering DMs, and setting up tables at dawn.
And he’s doing all of it post-surgery—after surviving three heart attacks and a quadruple bypass in 2022.
That’s why the next chapter matters so much.
Jeremy’s dream? To open a large-scale, multi-purpose event venue—something like a repurposed grocery store or Kmart. A place that can host weddings, vendor events, and car shows under one roof. A place that lives on long after the booth banners come down.
He estimates the project could cost $25–$30 million, but he’s not intimidated. He’s seen harder days. He just needs the right systems, support, and community to get there.