President Larry Jennings called the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Fire Fighters Association of Missouri to order at 9:00 a.m. Sunday, August 8, 2021, at the Missouri State Fair Fire Department in Sedalia, Missouri. The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Roll Call of Board of Directors and other officials
Officers
President Larry Jennings, Johnson County FPD; First Vice President Rob Erdel, Little Dixie FPD; Second Vice President Grant Oetting, Higginsville FPD; Secretary-Treasurer Jaime Miller, Johnson County FPD #2; Sergeant-at-Arms Rex Reynolds, Southern FPD of Holt County.
Directors
District 1, Terry Wynne, Galt FPD; District 2, Greg Wright, Shelbina FD; District 3, Larry Jones, Madison West Monroe FPD; District 5, Terry Plumb, Southern Stone FPD; District 6, Gary Berendzen, Cole County FPD; District 9, Kurt Wilbanks, West Plains FD; District 10, Greg Brown, Eureka FPD; District 11, Monty Thompson, Kearney FPD; District 12, Rob Francis, Fruitland Area FPD; District 14, Rick Dozier, Southern FPD of Holt County.
Assistant Directors
District 1, Janet Cain, Shoal Creek FPD; District 3, Charlie Peel, Southeastern Randolph FPD; District 4, Jonathan Evans, Lincoln FD; District 7, Andrew Caldwell, Boles FPD; District 10, Harriett Vaucher, Eureka FPD; District 11, Josh Koepke, Kansas City FD; District 11, Billy Smith, North Central Carroll County FPD; District 14, Glen Dittmar, Dearborn Area FPD.
Others
Past President Ken Hoover, Little Dixie FPD.
Guests
Tim Bean, Missouri Division of Fire Safety; Gail Hagans, David Hedrick, University of Missouri Extension Fire Rescue Training Institute; Rebecca Stumpf, Katelyn Hoffman, California Casualty; Larry Eggen, Johnson County FPD; Evan Clark, St. Joseph FD; Colton Smiley, Brian Smiley, Galt FPD; Chris Thompson, Holts Summit FPD. Matt Frankenberg, Washington FD.
Agenda
President Jennings asked for additions to the agenda. Gary Berendzen moved to accept the agenda as presented. Rick Dozier seconded the motion and all approved.
Minutes
President Jennings asked for corrections to the June 6, 2021, meeting minutes. Rick Dozier moved to accept the minutes as presented. Terry Plumb seconded the motion and all approved.
Financial Report
President Jennings asked for a review of the May – June 2021 financial report. Andrew Caldwell moved to accept the financial report presented. Monty Thompson seconded the motion and all approved.
Report of Officers and Special Guest(s)
Gail Hagans with the University of Missouri Extension Fire and Rescue Training Institute reported they have completed the move to the new building but are waiting on additional securities for their area. They have ended their fiscal year with almost 1,000 classes. They already have 150 classes scheduled for next year. Starting July 1, the Certified Fire and Ambulance District Board Training class will be one rate of $150. There will no longer be member and non-member pricing. Charlie Peel is shadowing Monte Olsen so there will be an additional instructor for the training. Information will be out soon on the Missouri Emergency Services Instructor Conference which will be held November 5-7 at Camden on the Lake Resort in Lake Ozark.
State Fire Marshal Tim Bean with the Missouri Division of Fire Safety reported that they closed out their financial year. A special thanks was given to MU FRTI for their help with classes. The $575k for a worker’s compensation grant was approved for volunteer departments. Eric Hartman will be overseeing the program and eligible departments should be receiving an email from him. Departments will have to request the funding and it is not available for tax-based departments. Online access is now available for people to create their accounts through DFS to access training records. Registration is open online for the 9/11 memorial stair climb which will be held in Jefferson City. Money raised will go to Supporting Heroes.
Old Business
A discussion was held on the purchase of an enclosed trailer for the 1929 engine. Charlie Peel advised that the manufacturer of the trailer will now not build it per the specifications as it will need bigger axels due to the weight. Bigger axels will be an additional $975 bringing the trailer total to $12,725. Greg Brown moved to authorize up to an additional $2,000 to upgrade the trailer to 6,000 lb. axels. Terry Wynne seconded the motion and all approved.
Charlie Peel reported that the BBQ competition on July 31 in Columbia was very successful. They won the People’s Choice Award and they raised 15% more than last year.
A discussion was held regarding the projected crowd numbers for the Patriot Day events in Jefferson City on September 11. After several discussions with different people, Charlie Peel advised the team was told to expect anywhere from 500 – 5,000 people. The team is planning on enough food to serve 1,500 people and is requesting to borrow an additional $1,000 to cover expenses. Andrew Caldwell moved to loan the BBQ team an additional $1,000. Rick Dozier seconded the motion and all approved.
President Jennings reported that Executive Board approved a floor sponsorship for $250 for the 9/11 Fire Marshal’s Memorial Stair Climb. The Board approved the sponsorship due to marketing deadlines required prior to this meeting. Rick Dozier made a motion to approve the floor sponsorship for the 9/11 Fire Marshal’s Memorial Stair Climb. Monty Thompson seconded the motion and all approved.
New Business
Rebecca Stumpf and Katelyn Hoffman from California Casualty gave an update on the partnership with FFAM and California Casualty which celebrated its 25th year in 2020. They thanked the board for their endorsement. California Casualty purchased an end cap on a wall at the Memorial in Kingdom City as their appreciation. They gave information on policies offered that are exclusive to FFAM members. They now have a new software program which has streamlined their process and they now offer new discounts. They would like to visit member departments in the state to provide a brief overview of their program for individual members. An email will be sent to member departments this month with information on how to sign up.
A discussion was held regarding the Association’s possible eligibility in the Missouri State Surplus Property Program. Items purchased through state surplus would need to be used by FFAM or the State Fair Fire Department. Monty Thompson moved to apply for the program. Larry Jones seconded the motion and all approved.
Committee Reports
Awards Committee
No report given.
Budget Committee
President Jennings advised that committee itemized budget requests are due by the October meeting.
Bylaws Committee
No report given.
Chaplain Committee
David Hedrick reported that the Missouri Fire Chaplains Corps annual meeting and training conference is scheduled for September 13-14. The program will be conducted at Southview Christian Church in Grandview. Three classes will be offered: Assisting Individuals in Crisis, Essentials of Fire Chaplaincy, and Chaplains Tool Kit. For more information email MFCC Secretary Ed Hatcher at edhat@earthlink.net.
Contest Committee
No report was given.
Convention Committee
Matt Frankenberg reported they will be getting registration online soon. They will post all information on their website. Best Western and Super 8 do have blocked rooms.
Education Committee
Gail Hagans reported they have had two requests from the State Fair Fire Department to help with funding a couple of training items. The committee approved the requests.
Fire Prevention Committee
Andrew Caldwell reported the new theme has been announced. Jaime Miller reported that four of the poster winners will be attending the fair this year.
Legislative Committee
Greg Brown reported that they are still working on the critical illness pool. The goal is to be running by January 1. If you have anything you would like on the legislative agenda, let him know ASAP.
The governor has requested 30 EMS units from outside of the state to assist with COVID. They are staged throughout the state to help with hospital overflow. There will be an EMS survey going out to all EMS agencies. This is collecting data on COVID response as legislation that is COVID line-of-duty is set to expire July 31 so everyone is asked to please respond to the survey.
Membership Committee
Grant Oetting reported the following membership counts: 516 Directors/Councilman; 368 Retired; 20 Associate; 11 Sustaining; 24 Corporate, 369 Fire Departments; 6537 Active; 1 Educational Entity; 6 Educational Active; 121 Juniors; 7 EMS Department, 99 EMS individuals; 1 911 Entity; 10 911 individuals. He recently attended Revolutionary Fire Tactics at the Lake in July. The EMS conference was canceled and JeffCo Engine Rally will be in September.
Nomination Committee
No report was given.
NVFC Committee
Keith Smith reported that he and Rob Erdel will be attending the fall meeting in Jackson, Wyoming. There will be a survey from NVFC coming out for any department to take. This survey is to help show NVFC that people are still interested in what they are doing so please take the time to fill it out.
Scholarship Committee
No report was given.
State Fair Committee
Monty Thompson reported they are ready to go. If you want to come visit, let him know.
Website Committee
Jaime Miller reported that hackers have been posting thousands of posts on the classifieds section of the website. Extra security measures have been taken to hopefully control the problem.
Magazine
Jaime Miller reported that the next magazine deadline will be August 26. A discussion was held on the delay in receiving the magazine since changing to the new publisher in January. Miller advised she would check to see if the publication timing could be moved up.
Historian Report
No report was given.
Fire Funeral Team report
Harriett Vaucher reported that they have assisted with 1 LODD in St. Louis, 1 in Illinois, and 1 for a homeland security agent. There have been 23 LODD in 2021. They are waiting on the LODD trailer to arrive.
EMS Funeral Team report
Greg Wright reported they have assisted with 1 LODD in Lebanon. The annual conference scheduled for October 22-23 is still a go. Contact him if you want to go. The raffle drawing has been postponed until October 23. They were honored to participate in the National EMS Memorial in Arlington.
Foundation report
Keith Smith thanked those who continue to help raise money for the museum. Discussions are being held regarding the inside design concept. The shelter house donated by Ken Hoover is done.
They are still preparing for in-person services on October 9 – 10.
President Jennings adjourned the meeting at 11:00 a.m.
FFAM
