F.F.A.M.

Meeting Minutes – March 2022

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, February 13, 2022, 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

*(V) denotes Virtual Attendance

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.

Directors

District 1, Terry Wynne, Galt FPD; District 2, Greg Wright, Shelbina FD; District 3, Larry Jones, Madison West Monroe FPD; District 4, Joe Vaughn (V), Pleasant Hill FPD; District 5, Terry Plumb, Southern Stone FPD; District 6, Gary Berendzen, Cole County FPD; District 7, RB Brown, Union FPD; District 9, Kurt Wilbanks (V), West Plains FD; District 10, Greg Brown, Eureka FPD; District 11, Billy Smith, North Central Carroll Co FPD; District 12, Rob Francis (V), Fruitland Area FPD; District 14, Rick Dozier, Southern FPD of Holt County.

Assistant Directors

District 1, Janet Cain, Shoal Creek FPD; District 3, Josh Loyd, Martinsburg Area FPD; District 3, Charlie Peel, Southeastern Randolph FPD; District 4, Jonathan Evans, Lincoln FD; District 6, Alan Braun, Cole County FPD; District 6, John Scheper, Gravois FPD; District 7, Andrew Caldwell, Boles FPD; District 10, Harriett Vaucher, Eureka FPD; District 11, Kris White, Mayview FPD; District 11, Josh Koepke (V), Kansas City FD; 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, Eric Hartman, Missouri Division of Fire Safety; Gail Hagans, David Hedrick (V), University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute; Larry Eggen, Ben Burd, Joe Jennings, Johnson County FPD; Keith Smith, Warrenton FPD; Chase Greeninges, Eureka FPD; Ed Daugherty, Chillicothe FD; Holden Peel, Northeast R-4 FPD; Brian Zinanni, Missouri Fire Service Funeral Assistance Team; Matt Frankenberg (V), Washington FD.

Agenda

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

Minutes

President Jennings asked for corrections to the December 5, 2021, meeting minutes. Rick Dozier moved to accept the minutes as presented. Billy Smith seconded the motion and all approved.

Financial Report

President Jennings asked for a review of the November – December 2021 financial report. RB Brown moved to accept the financial report presented. Gary Berendzen 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 Winter Fire School was held last weekend. Approximately 1,000 people attended. The expo had 87 vendors with 22 no-shows. There was good attendance at the expo as well. MU FRTI will be out of the office this week due to carpet installation.

State Fire Marshal Tim Bean with the Missouri Division of Fire Safety reported that the DFS is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. There will be a celebration on April 5, 2022, during Firefighters’ Day at the Capitol at 12:00 pm at the Missouri State Capitol. DFS will be moving to the MODOT building west of the Capitol in November. Their current location will be undergoing renovation for a couple of years.

There will be some upcoming personnel changes soon. Administrative Manager Sherry Hoelscher, HR Generalist Donna Moore and Deputy Chief Rebecca Trapani will all be retiring in March. Scott Stoneberger is the new Deputy Chief of Investigations. There are two investigator vacancies in Troop C and one in Troop I so response times may be a little longer. 

Eric Hartman reported that fire department registration began December 1, 2021. There are only six departments in the state that haven’t registered. He is still reaching out to volunteer fire departments and associations to apply for the $2k workers’ compensation grant funding. Participation has been low so far so all departments that qualify are encouraged to apply. Contact the Division for more information. Since October 1, approximately 20 applications have been approved.

Correspondence

Nothing reported.

Old Business

Charlie Peel reported that the 1929 engine is now being housed in the new enclosed trailer. 

He is working with Gail Hagans on a design for the trailer. There is some mechanical work to be done to the engine and he has lined up a new mechanic who is willing to help.

New Business

President Jennings advised that Larry Jones has resigned as the Chairman of the Convention Committee but would like to remain on the committee. He is recommending Josh Loyd be appointed to the committee as the new chairman. Rob Erdel moved to appoint Josh Loyd as Chairman of the Convention Committee. Greg Brown seconded the motion and all approved.

President Jennings advised he is recommending the appointment of RB Brown as Chairman of the State Fair Committee. Rick Dozier moved to appoint RB Brown as Chairman of the State Fair Committee. 

Terry Wynne seconded the motion and all approved. 

President Jennings advised that RB Brown will be removed as Chairman of the Prevention Committee. He is recommending Andrew Caldwell be appointed to the committee as the new chairman. 

Gary Berendzen moved to appoint Andrew Caldwell as Chairman of the Convention Committee. Terry Wynne seconded the motion and all approved.

President Jennings advised that a suggestion has been made to move the board meeting time to 10:00 am instead of 9:00 am to allow those who travel a long distance or those who are getting off shift ample time to get to the meeting. Discussion followed. Greg Wright moved that starting at the June 2022 meeting, the meeting time be moved to 10:00 am for the remainder of the meetings in 2022 with a review at the December meeting. Greg Brown seconded the motion and all approved. 

President Jennings opened discussion on the Association’s need for occasional legal counsel to consult with over various issues. He has reached out to an attorney that he has direct knowledge of, and that attorney has agreed to represent FFAM at an hourly rate and would not require a retainer. 

Suggestions were made on another attorney who has also expressed interest in representing FFAM. Greg Brown moved to authorize the Executive Committee to find, interview and enter into an agreement with an attorney to represent FFAM. Rick Dozier seconded the motion and all approved. 

Committee Reports

Awards Committee

Joe Jennings reported that the deadline for awards submissions is February 28. Three submissions have been received so far.

Budget Committee

Discussion was held on year-end unspent budgeted funds. Rick Dozier moved to transfer the year-end unspent budgeted funds into the reserve account and that a report be given every February by the Treasurer on the dollar amount to be transferred. Terry Plumb seconded the motion and all approved. 

Bylaws Committee

No report given.

Chaplain Committee

David Hedrick reported that due to weather conditions the MFCC winter training event scheduled for February 2-3, 2022 was postponed and will be rescheduled for some time in the spring.

The Missouri Fire Chaplains Corps has set the dates for their fall training meeting and training session. The fall training will be conducted September 12-13, 2022, in Arnold, MO. Additional Information is available by contacting MFCC Secretary/Treasurer Ed Hatcher at edhat@earthlink.net. 

The Federation of Fire Chaplains national conference is scheduled for Oct. 15-20, 2022, in Atlanta, GA. More information is available at: ffc.wildapricot.org. 

Contest Committee

Gary Berendzen reported that he is asking for the Directors and Assistant Directors help with the contest on Saturday and set-up on Friday. If you would like to help, let him know. Any contest teams that register before April 1 will receive a free t-shirt from Washington FD.

Convention Committee

Matt Frankenberg reported that registration is open. There are several training opportunities on Friday. The vendor expo will begin Friday at 5:00 p.m. There will be a mixer with snacks Friday night. Saturday will include the contest, vendor expo, parade, ladies event and banquet. 

Larry Jones reported that there is still no host department for 2023 so if any department has an interest, please let the committee know.

Education Committee

Gail Hagans reported that none of the five departments that were awarded the Winter Fire School Scholarship opted to accept. The committee made the decision to offer a Summer Fire School Scholarship. Any individual interested in that scholarship must apply. 

Fire Prevention Committee

RB Brown reported that the posters are due on Friday, before the start of the convention and can be turned in to the Auxiliary. The theme is Learn the Sounds of Fire Safety. The rules can be found on the FFAM website.

Legislative Committee

Greg Brown reported that April 5, 2022, is Firefighters’ Day at the Capitol. Please make plans to attend.

A department must be registered with the state to apply for grants. 

Eligible departments are encouraged to apply for the worker’s compensation grant so the funding will remain in place. 

The Senate is still working on redistricting so they are optimistic that the budget will get done. The House has passed some bills cleaning up EMS language and financial auditing. A personal property tax removal has been proposed.

The Public Safety Committee passed a bill eliminating firefighter residency requirements in the state. 

HB 2381 establishes telecommunicators as first responders are moving forward. 

Membership Committee

Grant Oetting reported the following membership counts: 418 Directors/Councilman; 315 Retired; 9 Associate; 8 Sustaining; 17 Corporate, 292 Fire Departments; 4919 Active; 1 Educational Entity; 4 Educational Active; 102 Juniors; 7 EMS Department, 99 EMS individuals; 0 911 Entity; 0 911 individuals. 

There are also several conferences in 2022 that FFAM plans to attend.

Tim Bean reported that the Division of Fire Safety will be providing lunch for the firefighters that attend Firefighters’ Day at the Capitol. Funding for this is done through sponsorships. He asked if FFAM would sponsor the lunch along with MO Chiefs and the Fire Marshals Association. Discussion followed. Terry Wynne moved to provide a $1,000 sponsorship to the Division of Fire Safety for lunch for Firefighters’ Day at the Capitol. Greg Brown seconded the motion and all approved. 

Nomination Committee

Ken Hoover reported the following positions are up for election at the 2022 annual meeting and the individuals who have filed for the positions.

1st Vice Present (remainder of the unexpired term to 2023): Rob Erdel and Charlie Peel

District 2 Director: Greg Wright

District 6 Director: Gary Berendzen

District 8 Director: Open

District 12 Director: Rob Francis

NVFC Committee

Keith Smith reported that the NVFC spring meeting is April 7-8.

The NVFC advocacy has been involved the last two weeks with a complaint in Missouri involving bullying. This matter is still ongoing.

NVFC is still actively looking for sponsorships and grants and has recently received more than $50k in grants.

Scholarship Committee

Larry Eggen reported the deadline to apply for scholarships is February 28. Only one scholarship application has been received.

State Fair Committee

RB Brown reported that the fair will be August 11 – 22. Applications are online and are due by June 1. They are addressing the female bathroom issue.

This will be the 60th anniversary of the Missouri State Fair Volunteer Fire Department. Larry Eggen reported on a 60 for $60 fundraiser sponsored by the MSFVFD. They are asking current and former state fair fire members to donate $60. Funds will be donated to the museum. 

Charlie Peel advised that the State Fair BBQ team has been approached about cooking during the memorial and the 2023 Revolutionary Fire Tactics at the Lake. More information to follow.

Website Committee

Jaime Miller reported that the new website is up. If you see any issues or updates that need to be made, let her know.

Magazine

Jaime Miller reported that the next magazine deadline will be February 25. 

Historian Report

No report was given.

Fire Funeral Team report

Brian Zinanni reported that in 2021, the team assisted with 10 LODD in Missouri, 8 LODD in other states/disciplines and 36 non-LODD. So far in 202, the team has assisted with 5 LODD and 3 non-LODD. If you aren’t sure about LODD covid related deaths, reach out to him.

EMS Funeral Team report

Greg Wright reported they have had one call out since the last meeting.  The annual conference is scheduled for October 14-16, 2022, at the lake and they will also be having a national honor guard academy. 

Foundation report

Keith Smith reported that they will have a foundation meeting today. The 2022 memorial service will be from May 14-15. They are looking for volunteers to help with various aspects of the service so if you are available, let him know. WSKF Architects had passed a memorandum of understanding, so they are moving forward. The Foundation is holding a beef raffle fundraiser. Contact a Foundation board member if you wish to buy a ticket.

President Jennings adjourned the meeting at 11:20 a.m.