F.F.A.M.

Meeting Minutes – January 2020

President Ken Hoover called the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Fire Fighters Association of Missouri to order at 9:00 a.m., Sunday, December 1, 2019 at the Missouri State Fair Fire Department in Sedalia, MO. The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Roll Call of Board of Directors and other officials

Officers
President Ken Hoover, Little Dixie FPD; First Vice President Larry Jennings, Johnson County FPD; Second Vice President Grant Oetting, Higginsville FPD; Secretary Treasurer Jaime Miller, Johnson County FPD #2.

Directors
District 1, Terry Wynne, Galt FPD; District 2, Greg Wright, Shelbina FD; District 4, Joe Vaughn, Pleasant Hill FPD; District 5, Terry Plumb, Southern Stone FPD; District 6, Gary Berendzen, Cole County FPD; District 7, RB Brown, Eureka FD; District 10, Greg Brown, Eureka FPD; District 11, Monty Thompson, Kearney FPD.

Assistant Directors
District 3, Rob Erdel, Little Dixie FPD; District 3, Charlie Peel, Southeastern Randolph FPD; District 4, Jonathan Evans, Lincoln FD; District 5, Shelby Honea, Southern Stone FPD; District 7, Andrew Caldwell, Boles FPD; District 10, Harriett Vaucher, Eureka FPD; District 14, Glen Dittmar, Dearborn Area FPD. 

Others
Past President Keith Smith, Warrenton Fire Protection District.

Guests
Tim Bean, Missouri Division of Fire Safety; Billy Smith, North Central Carroll FPD; Joe Jennings, Larry Eggen, Johnson County FPD.

Agenda
President Hoover asked for additions to the agenda. RB Brown moved to accept the agenda as presented. Terry Wynne seconded the motion and all approved.

Minutes
President Hoover asked for corrections to the October 6, 2019 meeting minutes. RB Brown moved to accept the minutes as presented. Gary Berendzen seconded the motion and all approved.

Financial Report
President Hoover asked for a review of the September-October 2019 financial report. Monty Thompson moved to accept the financial report presented. Glenn Dittmar seconded the motion and all approved. 

Report of Officers and Special Guest(s)
State Fire Marshal Tim Bean with Missouri Division of Fire Safety thanked FFAM for their support of the stair climb. $15k was raised and donated to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.

Eric Hartman has joined DFS in the training division. He will be taking John Loveless’ place as Loveless has moved to investigations.

The new process to request training through DFS has been going well. 80% of the funds have already been obligated.

Assistant State Fire Marshal Greg Carrell will be retiring in January. A reception will be held December 4, at 2:00 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend. 

Firefighter Day at the Capital will be March 18, 2020. The opening ceremony will be at 11:00 a.m.

Correspondence
Secretary Miller advised a “thank you” letter was received from the Division of Fire Safety for the stair climb donation.

Unfinished Business
None.

New Business
Charlie Neubert submitted a request for Honorary Membership status. Discussion followed. Monty Thompson moved to grant Charlie Neubert Honorary Membership with FFAM. Glenn Dittmar seconded the motion and all approved. The Membership Committee shall work on specific guidelines for Honorary Membership.

Committee Reports

Awards Committee
Joe Jennings reminded everyone that the awards deadline is February 28. The committee has requested additional funds for 2020 to increase the grant awards.

Budget Committee
Larry Jennings presented the proposed 2020 budget. Discussion followed. Monty Thompson moved to approve the 2020 budget as presented. Terry Plumb seconded the motion and all approved.

Bylaws Committee
No report was given.

Chaplain Committee
Jaime Miller presented the report on behalf of David Hedrick who couldn’t attend. MU FRTI Winter Fire School, February 7-9, 2020, will be hosting some classes of interest to Fire Chaplains. Check the WFS brochure or the MU FRTI website for more information on: Compassion Fatigue, Moral and Spiritual Injury in the Fire Service, and Challenges of the Firefighter Marriage.

Reminder the Annual Missouri Fire Fighters Memorial Services will be May 16-17, 2020 in Kingdom City, MO.

The next MFCC annual meeting and training session is scheduled for September 14-15, 2020 in Kansas City, MO. 

The Federation of Fire Chaplains 2020 annual national conference has been set for October 25-29, 2020, in Atlanta, GA. More information on the conference will be available on the FFC website in the near future (ffc.wildapricot.org/).

Contest Committee
Gary Berendzen advised they would be buying new hose prior to the 2020 contest.

Convention Committee
Monty Thompson advised that the Kearney convention committee is meeting tomorrow. All preparations are going well.

Education Committee
No report was given.

Fire Prevention Committee
RB Brown challenged all departments to sponsor a poster contest in their communities and to get those posters entered in the FFAM poster contest. The submission deadline is the Friday of convention. 

Legislative Committee
Greg Brown reported that the legislative session starts January 8. The Fire Service Alliance will be meeting December 19. Issues include cancer, critical illness and workers compensation. 

The fire service needs to educate and develop a new culture when it comes to exposure to contaminants in gear and clothing. Some practices are no longer acceptable, wearing dirty gear, etc. This will be a difficult process in the legislation. Prevention screenings are very important and departments need to push their personnel to get regular screenings to help control the situation of exposures. There are resources available to departments to help.

March 18, 2020, is Firefighter Day at the Capital. Get to know your legislators and everyone is encouraged to attend.

Fire department workers compensation grant funding approved by the legislation was allocated through the Missouri Department of Conservation instead of the Division of Fire Safety. MDC has no authority to administer the grant, so they are working with DFS to develop guidelines for the process. $250k was allocated. Language will be sent out December 1, to departments around the state on how to apply for the grant, up to $2,000 per department. Tax based entities are not eligible to apply.

Membership Committee
Grant Oetting reported the following membership counts: 493 Directors/Councilman; 313 Retired; 23 Associate; 11 Sustaining; 21 Corporate, 350 Fire Departments; 6444 Active; 20 Educational; 95 Juniors; 3 EMS Department, 80 EMS individuals. 

He also reported that FFAM may have a booth at the next Missouri APCO and MONENA conferences for 9-1-1 entities. 

Nomination Committee
Keith Smith advised that Director positions up for election in 2020 will be Districts 1, 3, 7, 11 and 14. 

NVFC Committee
Rob Erdel attended the NVFC fall meeting in Georgia. There is a new National Firefighter Registry aimed at tracking firefighter cancer. The process takes 15-20 minutes. Medical resources are available, and this registry will be a way to track cancer in the firefighter profession. You need to tell your physician if you are a firefighter so they can do necessary screenings as firefighters are at a higher risk due to exposures. Mass decontamination, two sets of bunker gear and two Nomax hoods are all suggestions on ways to prevent exposures.

There will be a standards committee to review changes for NFPA regulations.

NVFC does have available health and safety classes online and they will also send an instructor to your department. Look on the NVFC website for more information.

Scholarship Committee
Larry Eggen reported that the scholarship submission deadline is February 28.

State Fair Committee
Monty Thompson reported they are looking into purchasing a trailer for the 1929 engine.

Website Committee
No report was given.

Newsletter
The deadline for the next newsletter will be January 1.

Historian report
No report was given.

Fire Funeral Team report
Harriett Vaucher reported the team has two new trailers. One will be in Kansas City and one will be in St. Louis.

EMS Funeral Team report
Ken Hoover advised he attended the recent EMS conference and accepted an award on behalf of FFAM as recognition for the organization’s assistance to the EMS Funeral Team. 

Greg Wright reported that the trailer donated to the team is done. They are responding to Harrisonville today to assist with services for a firefighter paramedic. They had a great turnout at the EMS conference. Honor guard training will be in October in Osage Beach. More information will be sent when available.

Foundation report
Keith Smith reported that the brick is on the front of the building and the windows and doors are in. Phase 1 is almost complete and fund-raising efforts continue for Phase 2.

2019 Memorial Service DVD’s are available for $10. Contact Keith if you would like one.

RB Brown moved to adjourn the meeting. Glenn Dittmar seconded the motion and all approved. 

President Hoover adjourned the meeting at 11:00 a.m.

Jaime Miller 
Secretary
Fire Fighters Association of Missouri