National Volunteer Fire Council
Welcome to the National Volunteer Fire Council report. As the saying goes, time flies when you’re having fun. With that thought in mind, I received my 15-year pin with NVFC during our Spring meeting in Arlington, VA. It was a quick start serving 1-year as the assistant director before taking over with the passing of Jim Coleberd. It remains my privilege to serve on the NVFC Board on behalf of FFAM.
One year from now, September 18-20, NVFC will be hosting their Fall Meeting in Kansas City, Missouri, and waiting for final details on how FFAM might be able to assist. To be clear, NVFC is hosting this meeting by their selection but when having fire service visitors, one does want to provide some hospitality within reason. The NVFC Conference Committee will finalize plans and details during the upcoming Fall Meeting.
Having individual NVFC membership provides numerous online free training options and other supporting resources. Just go to NVFC.org and click on “Join The NVFC”. A list of the many member benefits is detailed on that link.
Important and informational items in brief
National Firefighter Registry (NFR) is located at cdc.gov/NFR. Also, the new Missouri Firefighters Critical Illness Pool is also VERY Important so please pay attention to that information as well. Thank you, Chief Brown and many others, for all the work on that program.
New Commitment Initiative
NVFC just launched a Psychologically Healthy Fire Department commitment page on their website featuring departments that have committed to providing a psychologically healthy culture. This site also provides several informative and supportive tools.
Webinars
New online training page for upcoming webinars: nvfc.org/online-trainings.
Odd Hours, No Pay, Cool Hat
If you’ve been watching the NVFC social media, you know Odd Hours, No Pay, Cool Hat is now available for rent or purchase on Apple, Google Play, and Amazon. 50% of the proceeds from the sale of the film support the NVFC.
Anheuser Busch Drinking Water
This is their 6th year partnering with NVFC on free drinking water. This initial 1st round in 2023 involved 2.5 million cans and was awarded to 680 departments with Missouri scoring 29 winners. Two pallets of canned drinking water were delivered to these departments. AB has decided to add another 1 million cans. Not sure if the timing this article will reach the reader in time but here is the link: nvfc.wufoo.com/forms/2023-water-for-wildfires-rapid-response-request.
Awards
NVFC has recently received three awards. First, the Platinum Seal of Transparency on Guidestar, which provides valuable information about nonprofit entities so donors, sponsors, and others can make educated decisions about where their dollars go. Second, the American Society of Association Executives Power of Associations Award for the Psychologically Healthy Fire Department Program. This accomplishment validates their work by association peers and showcases what NVFC does to advance the volunteer fire service. Third, IAFC’s Presidents Award in recognizing NVFC’s commitment to the “One Voice initiative” of US Fire Administrator, Dr. Lori Moore-Merrill.
Mike Rowe
The NVFC corporate partner, Buxus, has ties with Mike Rowe and has connected with NVFC to help highlight the need for volunteers. More to follow in future articles.
NVFC Training Summit in Oklahoma City
This three-day event was put on by the NVFC Health, Safety & Training Committee, and the Health & Safety Work Group and is open to all NVFC members. It was by every indication a tremendous success, all seats sold out in advance and the reviews were nearly perfect. Hopefully back again in 2024.
Thank you for your time and allowing Rob and me to serve on your behalf with NVFC.
FFAM
