President Larry Jennings called the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Fire Fighters Association of Missouri to order at 10:00 a.m., Sunday, October 9, 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
Officers
President Larry Jennings, Johnson County FPD; First Vice President Charlie Peel, Southeastern Randolph FPD; Second Vice Present Grant Oetting, Higginsville FPD; Secretary-Treasurer Jaime Miller, Johnson County FPD #2.
Directors
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 7 RB Brown, Union FPD; District 11 Billy Smith, North Central Carroll Co FPD; District 12 Rob Francis (V), Fruitland Area FPD.
Assistant Directors
District 3 Josh Loyd, Martinsburg Area FPD; District 3 Rob Erdel (V), Little Dixie FPD; District 4 Jonathan Evans, Lincoln FD; District 6 Alan Braun (V), Cole County FPD; District 10 Harriett Vaucher (V), Eureka FPD.
Others
Past President Ken Hoover, Little Dixie Fire Protection District.
Guests
Gail Hagans, David Hedrick, University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute (MU FRTI); Larry Eggen, Johnson County FPD; Ed Daugherty, Chillicothe FD; Holden Peel, Northeast R-4 FPD; Roy Pennington, Chris Bogguss, Pettis Co. Ambulance; Roger Meyers, Concordia FPD; Brandon Cole, Calhoun Fire Assoc; Chris Thompson, Holts Summit FPD.
*(V) denotes Virtual Attendance
Agenda
President Jennings asked for additions to the agenda. Billy Smith moved to accept the agenda as presented. Gary Berendzen seconded the motion and all approved.
Minutes
President Jennings asked for approval of the August 7, 2022, meeting minutes. RB moved to accept the August 7, 2022, minutes as presented. Terry Plum seconded the motion and all approved.
Financial Report
President Jennings asked for a review of the July-August 2022 financial report. Gary Berendzen moved to accept the financial report presented. Grant Oetting seconded the motion and all approved.
Report of Officers and Special Guest(s)
Gail Hagans with the University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute reported that new director Harry Ward will start November 1. The Missouri Emergency Services Instructor Conference will be begin November 3. The annual report has been completed and will be out soon. Winter Fire School in Columbia will be held February 3-5, 2023.
Larry Jennings reported on behalf of State Fire Marshal Tim Bean that their office is gearing up for a full session of legislators, but everything is status quo for now.
Correspondence
Nothing to report.
Old Business
No old business was presented.
New Business
President Jennings opened discussion regarding the annual luncheon held after the December meeting. Alternate options were discussed due to the recent closure of the Sedalia Golden Corral.
The board directed President Jennings to get prices and options and to proceed as necessary with a new venue and/or caterer.
President Jennings advised that 2nd Vice President Grant Oetting would be giving a brief training discussion after the luncheon to the Board of Directors on the FFAM benefits and recruiting methods.
President Jennings opened discussion regarding the February meeting as it conflicts with the MU FRTI’s Winter Fire School. Charlie Peel moved to move the February meeting to February 12. RB Brown seconded the motion and all approved.
1st Vice President Charlie Peel presented the preliminary 2023 budget. Discussion followed. Anyone with questions was advised to contact the Budget Committee. The budget will be presented for approval in December.
Committee Reports
Awards Committee
No report was given.
Budget Committee
No report was given.
Bylaws Committee
No report given.
Chaplain Committee
David Hedrick reported that the Missouri Fire Chaplains Corp held their Annual Conference and Training September 12-13, 2022. Rock Community FPD in Arnold, MO, hosted the conference. Training included Engaging Culturally Diverse Communities, Mindful Decompression, and Chaplain Triage.
A winter training session will be conducted before MU FRTI’s Winter Fire School on February 1-2, 2023 at Campus Lutheran Church in Columbia. Training sessions will be Essentials of Fire Chaplaincy, and Pastoral Crisis Intervention. At Winter Fire School there will be two 4-hour sessions on Saturday, February 4, Beginning and Sustaining a Fire Chaplaincy, and Mindful Decompression, open to all firefighters and fire officers.
Next year’s annual conference and meeting will be in Springfield on September 11-12, 2023.
The National Fallen Fire Fighters Foundation is conducting the National Fallen Fire Fighters Ceremony this morning in Emmitsburg, Maryland. There are 148 Firefighters being honored today who died in the line of duty in 2021, including 5 firefighters from Missouri. A moment of silence was held for those fallen firefighters followed by a prayer.
Contest Committee
No report was given.
Convention Committee
Charlie Peel reported that the 2023 convention, Bringing the Family Together, will be held June 2-4 in Springfield. The registration and hotel links will be sent out in the near future.
The host hotel is the Oasis Hotel and Convention Center. 100 rooms have been blocked at $104 per night and the block room rate will also be available 3 days prior to the convention and 3 days after. The contest will be held at the Crossroads Baptist Church parking lot near the hotel. Sponsorship packages will be available, and each director is challenged to bring in at least two sponsorships from their local area.
Education Committee
Gail Hagans reported that four Winter Fire School scholarships for 2023 were awarded to personnel who attended the state fair.
Fire Prevention Committee
Larry Eggen reported that several poster contest winners attended the fair, toured the station and received their carnival wristbands.
Legislative Committee
Larry Jennings advised to contact Greg Brown if you have questions or concerns.
Membership Committee
Grant Oetting reported the following membership counts: 521 Directors/Councilman; 433 Retired; 15 Associate; 14 Sustaining; 32 Corporate, 347 Fire Departments; 6372 Active; 1 Educational Entity; 4 Educational Active; 123 Juniors; 8 EMS Department, 156 EMS individuals; 0 911 Entity; 0 911 individuals.
Jaime Miller reported that after proceeding with the online membership platform Growth Zone, they were unable to meet our needs on how to process membership. She will be researching more online platforms to find a more suitable solution.
Jaime Miller also reported that if any director/assistant director has a department that have contacted them and would like to be included in the No Cost Membership Program, please let her know within the next week.
Nomination Committee
Ken Hoover reported that District 7 Director RB Brown and District 11 Director Billy Smith will be seeking reelection in 2023.
NVFC Committee
Jaime Miller reported on behalf of Keith Smith that NVFC is holding their fall meeting in Wilmington, NC, on October 26-28. Keith Smith and Rob Erdel will be attending. Formal report for the December meeting.
On September 29th, NVFC received notice they were awarded a 2-year Public Safety Sector Grant for $827,000 to provide “hands-on” hazmat training across the country to volunteer fire departments. More to come regarding the application process for this training.
In September, NVFC received notice from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on a grant for $100,000 to develop a recruitment and retention guide for EMS. NVFC hopes to work collaborative with NHTSA on additional projects in the future.
NVFC was awarded a FY21 Fire Prevention ans Safety Grant for $500,000 which will allow NVFC to continue their Behavioral Health project. This 2-year grant will build on the Psychologically Healthy Fire Department program which extends from the fire station to home.
Scholarship Committee
Larry Eggen reported that the deadline for scholarships is February 28, 2023.
State Fair Committee
RB Brown reported that they had a very busy first week of the fair. The department ran 167 total calls for the year. The 2023 Missouri State Fair will be August 10-20.
RB Brown has been appointed as the fire chief for 2023 and Kegan Wilson has been appointed Assistant Fire Chief for 2023.
The 1929 engine was driven in the the Jeff Co Engine Rally parade in September and won the Heritage Award.
Website Committee
No report was given.
Magazine
Jaime Miller reported that the next magazine deadline will be October 28.
Historian report
No report was given.
Fire Funeral Team report
No report was given.
EMS Funeral Team report
Greg Wright reported the team has had one non-LODD call out in Illinois since the last meeting.
The annual conference scheduled for October 14-16, 2022, at the lake, is the largest attendance they have ever had. The 2023 conference will be October 13-15. The raffle winner will be drawn at the conference.
The team took delivery of a new trailer this weekend.
There will be a Loosing One of Our Own training class in Grundy County, MO as well as Indiana and Oklahoma coming up soon.
Foundation report
No report was given.
President Jennings adjourned the meeting at 11:40 a.m.
FFAM
