F.F.A.M.

Meeting Minutes – November 2021

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, October 3, 2021, at the Missouri State Fair Fire Department in Sedalia, Missouri. The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance. 

A moment of silence was held to recognize the events occurring at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial on this day. 

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 Fire Protection District #2.

Directors

District 1 Terry Wynne, Galt FPD; District 2 Greg Wright, Shelbina FD; District 3 Larry Jones, Madison West Monroe FPD; District 6 Gary Berendzen, Cole County FPD; District 7 RB Brown, Union FPD; District 9 Kurt Wilbanks, West Plains FD; District 10 Greg Brown, Eureka 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 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. District 14 Emily Sweet, Gower FPD.

Others

Past President Ken Hoover, Little Dixie Fire Protection District.

Guests

Tim Bean, Missouri Division of Fire Safety; Gail Hagans, David Hedrick, University of Missouri Extension Fire and Rescue Training Institute; Larry Eggen, Joe Jennings, Kegan Wilson, Johnson County FPD; Chris Thompson, Holts Summit FPD; Matt Frankenberg, Washington FD; Holden Peel, Southeastern Randolph FPD; Josh Loyd, Little Dixie FPD; Cy Fields, Paris Rural FPD; Keith Smith, Warrenton FPD. 

Agenda

President Jennings asked for additions to the agenda. Gary Berendzen moved to accept the agenda as presented. Rob Erdel seconded the motion and all approved.

Minutes

President Jennings asked for corrections to the August 8, 2021, meeting minutes. Larry Jones moved to accept the minutes as presented. Greg Wright seconded the motion and all approved. 

Financial Report

President Jennings asked for a review of the July-August 2021 financial report. Greg Brown moved to accept the financial report presented. Billy Smith 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 there are over 100 signed up for the Instructors Conference November 5-7. Winter Fire School (WFS) course information should be out by Thanksgiving. WFS will be held February 4-6, 2022. MFA Grants opened October 1 and will be due by November 30. The FFAM Directors will once again be asked to help score. 

State Fire Marshal Tim Bean with the Missouri Division of Fire Safety thanked the FFAM team that cooked for Patriots Day and the floor sponsorship for the memorial stair climb. $28,000 was raised for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Workers’ compensation grants are available for volunteer fire departments that are not tax-supported. Contact the Division for more information. There have been several resignations in the fire investigations division so responses might be delayed until those positions are filled. 

Old Business

Charlie Peel reported that the enclosed trailer for the 1929 engine should be ready in two weeks. He will need to purchase a hitch but doesn’t have pricing yet.

Charlie Peel reported that the State Fair BBQ team did cook during the September 11 Patriots Day event in Jefferson City. The venue they were placed in was very nice however, they weren’t in the best location, so sales weren’t as they had hoped. After expenses, the profit was $2,182. A donor did pay for all first responder meals. After final totals, a donation of $2,147.57 will be made to the museum project. 

New Business

President Jennings advised that Gail Hagans is unable to chair the Education Committee since she is an Educational Member which can serve on a committee but not a chair. President Jennings has recommended that Kurt Wilbanks serve as the chair and Gail Hagans remain a member of the committee. Gary Berendzen made the motion to approve Kurt Wilbanks as the chair of the Education Committee. Larry Jones seconded the motion and all approved.

President Jennings advised that due to the current state of the State Fair Fire Department building including numerous issues he has formed a steering committee to start addressing the needs and design of a new State Fair Fire Department building. Topics in the review include space allocation and staffing requirements for housing. 

President Jennings advised that District 11 Director Monty Thompson has resigned. He recommends Assistant District 11 Director Billy Smith to fill the remainder of the term. Larry Jones moved to appoint Billy Smith to District 11 Director. Greg Wright seconded the motion and all approved.

President Jennings advised that when Rob Erdel was appointed as the 1st Vice President, his District 3 Assistant Director position was vacated. Larry Jones has recommended Josh Loyd with Little Dixie FPD be appointed as the new District 3 Assistant Director. Rob Francis moved to appoint Josh Loyd as the District 3 Assistant Director. Rob Erdel seconded the motion and all approved. 

President Jennings advised that FFAM will have a representation on the Missouri Firefighter Critical Illness Trust Steering Committee. He recommends appointing Greg Brown to serve as the FFAM’s representative. Greg Wright moved to appoint Greg Brown as the FFAM’s representative on the Missouri Firefighter Critical Illness Trust Steering Committee. Gary Berendzen seconded the motion and all approved. 

Larry Eggen reported that he has been contacted by a representative from DMAT. They are looking for storage of a truck, trailer, and generator trailer and have requested to store the equipment in the State Fair Fire Department. Discussion followed. The topic was tabled so a DMAT representative could be present at the December meeting to discuss further. 

Committee Reports

Awards Committee

Joe Jennings reported that the deadline for awards submissions is February 28 but encouraged everyone to start submitting now.

After approval of the 2022 budget, the committee would like to publish the number of department grants available and the amounts of each grant. This will hopefully streamline the application process. 

Budget Committee

Rob Erdel reported that the committee will begin working on the budget and submit it at the December meeting. Committee budget requests are due today.

Bylaws Committee

No report was given.

Chaplain Committee

David Hedrick reported that the National Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial Service takes place this morning at 10:00 a.m. ET at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, MD. They will honor 215 Fire Fighters for their sacrifice at this year’s memorial.

The Missouri Fire Chaplains Corps held its Annual Meeting and Training Conference September 13–14, 2021, at the Southview Christian Church in Grandview, Missouri. Three classes were offered, Assisting Individuals in Crisis, Essentials of Fire Chaplaincy, and Chaplains Tool Kit. There were 18 in attendance. MFCC President Charles Schultz conducted the business meeting of the organization and elections held for positions that were up. Elected were Vice President Nick Farrell, Southwest Region Representative Todd Anderson, and North Region Representative Jeff Fairlie. For more information on the MFCC email Secretary Ed Hatcher at edhat@earthlink.net. 

We look forward to being with the Missouri Fire Service Families next weekend at the Missouri Fire Fighter Memorial Services, and the opportunity to honor ten firefighters who died in the line-of-duty of which five are from 2020, and 64 other firefighters who passed after dedicated years of service.

Contest Committee

No report was given.

Convention Committee

Matt Frankenberg reported that convention registration will open soon. They are waiting on the training class’s finalization. Registrations will be done through Event Bright. They plan to have additional games outside, a lady’s program, and a parade. More information to follow.

Education Committee

Gail Hagans reported they have met. Their budget request has been submitted and they have been discussing external training. 

Fire Prevention Committee

RB Brown requested that those submitting posters for the contest, please review the rules. Patches and Pumper are needing repairs which will be reflected in their budget request.

Legislative Committee

Greg Brown reported that the Missouri Fire Service Alliance is putting its agenda together for the upcoming legislative year. If you have any requests, please contact him ASAP. They will be looking at firefighter training funds, homegrown marijuana, and fire department responses, and the lack of legislation for reporting to fire departments.

He advised that the Missouri Firefighter Critical Illness Trust Steering Committee has hired Carl Scarborough as their attorney for the trust. The committee will have three at-large members and several set positions from different organizations. They want to be running by January 1 for agencies to join. They are still working on the premiums matrix on types of cancer versus payouts.

Membership Committee

Grant Oetting reported the following membership counts: 518 Directors/Councilman; 369 Retired; 20 Associate; 11 Sustaining; 24 Corporate, 369 Fire Departments; 6556 Active; 1 Educational Entity; 6 Educational Active; 124 Juniors; 7 EMS Department, 99 EMS individuals; 1 911 Entity; 10 911 individuals. RB Brown and Andrew Caldwell attended the Jeffco Engine Rally. FFAM received the heritage apparatus award.

He thanked Fire Marshal Bean for helping get FFAM into the Regional Chiefs Meetings throughout the state. Oetting advised he is always open to ideas for the Directors on how to promote membership.

President Jennings advised that the no-cost membership department submissions are due to Secretary Miller today.

Nomination Committee

Ken Hoover reported that the District Director positions up for election in 2022 will be 2, 6, 8, and 12.

NVFC Committee

Keith Smith reported that NVFC has received additional grants including a grant from GM for electrical vehicle safety. The second edition of the Lavender Report will be coming out soon. He and Rob Erdel will be attending the fall meeting on October 13-15 in Wyoming. The 2022 fall meeting will be in North Carolina.

Scholarship Committee

Larry Eggen reported that their budget request has been submitted. They only had six applications in 2021 so he encouraged everyone eligible to apply for the scholarships. The deadline is February 28.

State Fair Committee

RB Brown reported that they ran 212 calls during the 2021 fair which include 16,416 man-hours. The 1929 engine was recently driven in the Jeffco Engine Rally, Governor’s Bicentennial parade, and Patriots Day. It does need brakes. Charlie Peel is working on getting estimates.

Website Committee

No report was given.

Magazine

Jaime Miller reported that the next magazine deadline will be November 1. 

Historian Report

No report was given.

Fire Funeral Team Report

Harriett Vaucher reported that the new trailer has arrived and is being stored in Kingdom City. They have assisted in two LODD in the last two months.

EMS Funeral Team Report

Greg Wright reported they have had four call-outs since the last meeting for a total of twelve in 2021. The annual conference scheduled for October 22-23 is still a go. Registrations are due today. The raffle drawing is postponed until October 23.

Foundation Report

Keith Smith reported that the annual memorial services will be on October 9 and 10. They will be recognizing 10 LODD and 64 other names. The keynote speaker will be Dwayne Murphy. The Auxvasse Elementary School will be the backup location should the weather be an issue. The museum will be open for viewing. Masks will be required.

Smith presented a work product of an inside museum design. An architect is providing their services for free and is currently working on a prospectus to send to donors. 

Jonathan Evans presented Keith Smith with a donation for the museum project on behalf of the State Fair Fire Department. Janet Cain presented Keith Smith with a donation for the museum project on behalf of herself.

President Jennings adjourned the meeting at 11:15 a.m.

 

The Fire Fighters Museum Project received two donations on October 3, during the FFAM business meeting.