Summer Planning
Greetings all! Hopefully, your spring has gone well and you are ready for the busy summer ahead. Whether it be local, state or national events or maybe even a vacation I am sure most of our members will have multiple activities to accomplish in the months to come. Remember if you are traveling to do so carefully and return home safely.
I had the pleasure of attending the 50-year retirement in March of Chief Larry Jones of the Madison-West Monroe Fire Protection District who also has served for many years as the FFAM District 3 representative and has served regularly with the Missouri State Fair Volunteer Fire Department and the Funeral Assistance Team. Chief Jones leaves behind a progressive legacy and has left his agency in a position to continue to move forward. Job well done Chief Jones and thank you for all you have done for FFAM!
For those of you that were unable to take part in the Fire Fighters Day at the Capitol on April 12, you missed a great opportunity to visit with our state legislators about issues affecting our Missouri Fire Service. Following a legislative summary, the group moved to the Rotunda in the Capitol where we were addressed by Lieutenant Governor Kehoe and others. One of the highlights of the official ceremony was recognizing several students currently enrolled in various career centers across the state who are pursuing education in public safety. Many of these young people will become the Missouri fire service.
When you have the opportunity, reach out to the career center nearest you and find out if there are students you can engage and bring into your agency. Whether you were in attendance or not please remember to cultivate a relationship with your local legislators as these are the people making sometimes monumental decisions that can affect the entire fire service for the foreseeable future.
Hopefully, you have been able to submit your application to work at the Missouri State Fair Volunteer Fire Department (MSFVFD) this coming August. All personnel who can spend some of their time away from their other obligations in life to serve as a volunteer for this organization in any capacity are greatly appreciated and are the reason the organization is successful.
It is not an easy task to blend personnel with varying backgrounds and levels of training into the well-oiled machine the MSFVFD is known to be, but the command staff does an excellent job each year to accomplish this mission. Keep up the great work!
With the timing of the publication and distribution of our magazine, you may be reading this edition after the convention and annual business meeting in Springfield. If so, I hope our paths crossed while we attended the event and enjoyed the opportunity to share time with our friends and family. I am sure we will have more news to share in the next edition.
If you haven’t already made the notation in your calendar please remember the annual candlelight and memorial services at the Missouri Firefighters Memorial in Kingdom City will be held October 7 and 8 this year as the services have been moved to the fall going forward. I hope you can join us there as we honor those members of the fire service who are no longer with us.
Be safe in your travels and daily lives! If any of the board of directors can be of assistance to you or your agency, please reach out to us.
FFAM
