President Larry Jennings called the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Fire Fighters Association of Missouri to order at 9:00 am, Sunday, October 1, 2023, 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 President Grant Oetting, Higginsville FPD; Secretary-Treasurer Jaime Miller, Johnson County FPD #2; Sergeant-at-Arms Rex Reynolds (V), Southern FPD of Holt County.
Directors
District 2, Vernon Cash (V), Shelbina FPD; District 3, Rob Erdel, Little Dixie FPD; District 6, Gary Berendzen, Cole County FPD; District 9, Kurt Wilbanks (V), West Plains FD; District 10, Greg Brown (V), Eureka FPD; District 11, Billy Smith, North Central Carroll Co FPD; District 12, Rob Francis (V), Fruitland FPD.
Assistant Directors
District 1, Janet Cain, Shoal Creek FPD; District 3, Josh Loyd, Martinsburg Area FPD; District 3, Dale Ransdell, Madison West Monroe FPD; District 4, Jonathan Evans (V), Lincoln FD; District 7, Andrew Caldwell (V), Boles FPD; District 10, Harriett Vaucher (V), Eureka FPD; District 11, Kris White, Mayview FPD.
Guests
Gail Hagans, Harry Ward, David Hedrick (V), University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute (MU FRTI); Ed Daugherty, Chillicothe FD; Roger Meyers, Concordia FPD; Larry Jones, Madison West Monroe FPD; James Jones, Calhoun Vol FD; Kevin Oliver, Civil Air Patrol.
*(V) denotes Virtual Attendance
Agenda
President Jennings asked for additions to the agenda. Gary Berendzen moved to accept the agenda as presented. Billy Smith seconded the motion and all approved.
Minutes
President Jennings asked for additions or corrections to the August 6, 2023, meeting minutes. Billy Smith moved to accept the minutes as presented. Gary Berendzen seconded the motion and all approved.
Financial Report
President Jennings asked for a review of the July-August 2023 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)
Harry Ward with the University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute reported that they were awarded the contract through the Division of Fire Safety for continuing education classes. The Missouri Emergency Services Instructor Conference is November 3-5. There is a new class on lithium batteries. Dr. Dennis O’Neal will be there for a presentation.
They are working on the next cycle through the legislation for a funding source with the goal of hiring more employees.
The United Arab Emirates has reached out to request assistance with training. They are working with them on the process.
The $50k MFA grant application period begins October 1. Applications are being accepted through October.
Larry Jennings reported on behalf of the Division of Fire Safety that the Women in the Fire Service annual symposium will be held on October 26 in Jefferson City.
He also reported that Eric Hartman has left the Mutual Aid Coordinator position with DFS to return to the private sector.
Correspondence
None.
Old Business
No old business was presented.
New Business
President Jennings reported that Emily Sweet has resigned as the District 14 Assistant Director.
Rick Dozier is recommending that Kyler Oliver be appointed to fill the open position. Billy Smith moved to appoint Kyler Oliver to District 14 Assistant Director. Charlie Peel seconded the motion and all approved.
President Jennings reported on the MACAP arson reward fund. From January 2006 through August 2023 funding has come from PFFIA, Fairplain Insurance Group, International Association of Arson Investigators, FFAM, and the KC Arson Task Force. The fund is now getting low, and they are requesting funding again from FFAM. Discussion followed. Jaime Miller moved to donate $500 to the MACAP arson reward fund. Kurt Wilbanks seconded the motion and all approved.
Lieutenant Kevin Oliver with the Civil Air Patrol advised that they used the Missouri State Fair Fire Department for a training exercise September 8-10. He presented the FFAM with a certificate of appreciation for the use of our facility. He then provided a brief history of the Civil Air Patrol, US Air Force Auxiliary. They provide inland search and rescue assistance.
During the training weekend in September, they did air and ground training, a missing person search, and bridge inspection training. They have 1,000 members statewide in 24 squadrons. If interested, more information can be found at cap.gov.
Discussion was held on the February meeting as it conflicts with MU FRTI’s Winter Fire School.
Charlie Peel moved to move the meeting to February 11. Gary Berendzen seconded the motion and all approved.
Discussion was held on what 2024 meeting will be held in Kingdom City. The discussion was tabled until the December meeting.
President Jennings advised that beginning in February 2024, a report will be given either by the Director or Assistant Director from each district. The priority is membership, but we would like to hear updates on contacts made and events in each district.
Committee Reports
Awards Committee
No report was given.
Budget Committee
Charlie Peel advised several committees did not get their 2024 budget requests in by September 5. Final requests will be accepted no later than October 6.
Bylaws Committee
No report was given.
Chaplain Committee
David Hedrick reported that the MFCC held its annual meeting and training session in September in Springfield. Six new Chaplains completed the basic Chaplains program. Officers that were re-elected were: Vice-President Farrel, Southwest Rep. Anderson, and North Rep. Fairlie. The MFCC will be conducting a Winter Training Session on Theodicy and Trauma, January 31 – February 1, 2024, at Campus Lutheran Church in Columbia, MO. Annual dues will be payable by the end of the year. The next Chaplains’ newsletter should be out shortly.
Contest Committee
No report was given.
Convention Committee
Josh Loyd reported that Lake Ozark FPD is working with Camden on the Lake with a possible date in May. He has received a verbal commitment from the Southern Stone Chiefs Association for 2025.
Education Committee
Gail Hagans reported that the LP conference was pushed back to March or April 2024. More information will be out soon. MOPERC is funding the training.
Fire Prevention Committee
Andrew Caldwell reported that Fire Prevention Week is October 8-14. The theme is Cooking Safety Starts with You. Pay attention to fire prevention. This will also be the theme for the poster contest.
Legislative Committee
Greg Brown reported that the new legislative session will begin in January. The Missouri Fire Service Alliance has an October 30 deadline for their agenda of things they are working on for the next session.
Some issues include the personal property tax and senior citizen property tax freeze. He encouraged everyone to get to know their local legislators.
He reminded departments to request training so the money allocated for the fire service training is used and will continue to be allocated each year.
The Firefighter Critical Illness Pool just held their first meeting. There are 83 agencies in the pool and 2,000+ firefighters covered. 15 claims have already been submitted.
Membership Committee
Grant Oetting reported the following membership counts: 500 Directors/Councilman; 437 Retired; 22 Associate; 12 Sustaining; 22 Corporate, 352 Fire Departments; 6601 Active; 1 Educational Entity; 5 Educational Active; 129 Juniors; 4 EMS Department, 160 EMS individuals; 0 911 Entity; 0 911 individuals.
Oetting also reported he will be attending the MO Chiefs Conference in Branson,MO, in February. If anyone has a conference they would like FFAM to attend, contact him.
Nomination Committee
Ken Hoover reported that Director positions up for election in 2024 will be in Districts 4, 5, 9, and 10. If you are interested in running for a position, contact him.
NVFC Committee
Rob Erdel reported that he and Keith Smith attended the fall meeting in New York. NVFC has met its milestone of 30k members. They are also looking for success stories for anyone who received a SAFER or AFG grant so they can continue to make the push for the need for this grant funding. A full report will be in the next magazine.
Scholarship Committee
Ed Daugherty reported that the scholarship deadline is February 28. Please follow the directions and include required paperwork.
State Fair Committee
Larry Jennings reported on behalf of the State Fair Committee. The fair went well. There were two insurance claims filed for damaged equipment. 60 departments were represented, and 44 new members attended.
The building project is waiting on coordination with the Department of Agriculture and state funds. If you have ideas or suggestions, talk to RB Brown.
Kegan Wilson has been appointed as the Fire Chief for 2024.
Website Committee
No report was given.
Magazine
Jaime Miller reported that the next magazine deadline will be October 23. For those submitting pictures, please try to use only vertical shots with higher-resolution photos. There is a setting on most cell phones to allow for high resolution.
Historian report
No report was given.
Fire Funeral Team report
No report was given.
EMS Funeral Team report
No report was given.
Foundation report
Ken Hoover reported that the memorial services will be on October 7 at 7:00 p.m. and October 8 at 10:30 a.m. Beginning in 2024, the services will be held the first weekend of October each year. They have 300 RSVPs so far this year from families and are expecting a large crowd.
There is an IAP project that has been in the works for several years. A group is shadowing the services this year so the services can continue each year.
The utilities and restrooms inside the museum are completed for use during the services.
President Jennings adjourned the meeting at 11:15 a.m.
FFAM
