Christmas Greetings from the 13th Floor and Happy New Year
JOY TO THE WORLD
Verse 1: Joy to the World the Lord is come, let earth receive her king, Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and heaven and nature sing,
Verse2: Joy to the world the savior reigns, let men their songs employ, while fields and rocks hills and plains, Repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy, repeat, repeat the sounding joy,
Verse 3: He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove, the glories of his righteousness, and wonders of his love, and wonders of his love, and wonders, and wonders of his love,
Joy to the world, we will sing, sing, sing,
Joyful, joyful we adore thee God of glory, Lord of love and hearts unfold like flowers before thee opening to the sun above,
Joyful, joyful we adore thee Lord of glory, Lord of love and hearts unfold like flowers before thee opening to the sun above.
I could not think of a better way to start the last news article of the year. I hope the words of this Christmas hymn resonated with you as it did me. I do not want to not remember the reason for this season, “Jesus’ Birth”.
I would like to take the time and sincerely express my heartfelt appreciation to the 22,000 firefighters who serve and protect our great State of Missouri throughout 2024. You have trained, and responded in the rain, snow, heat, and sunshine, being the best boots on the ground and leaving thousands of issues better than you find them! “Thank you”, it is an honor to be part of the Missouri Fire Service. May God continue to bless and keep you!
Fire Department registration for 2025 is open for business. Over 339 of you have already summited, wow what a start! You should have received a web link directly to your department. By clicking the link it will open the survey to register your department. If you have issues, contact Joshua.Couture@dfs.dps.mo.gov or 573-751-1601 for assistance. Thanks for registering it is very important when we need to get mutual aid help or contact our Missouri Fire Service.
On January 13th Governor Elect Mike Kehoe will be sworn in as the 58th Governor of Missouri. I congratulate Governor-Elect Kehoe and look forward to serving with him. He is committed to public safety and to the first responders who serve our state.
We say farewell to Governor Mike Parson. I have enjoyed serving for Governor Parson the past six years. He left things better than he found them in the state government and for the state employees. He was really impressed with his leadership on how he managed the COVID outbreak, we all are better from his leadership from that event. I wish him many more happy and healthy years! God Bless You, sir!
The 2025 Legislative Session will begin January 8th. There will be several new legislators coming to Jefferson City to begin their political careers. In the Missouri House of Representatives, there will be 54 new freshmen and 10 new Senators (some of those have served in the house). I challenge you to take time to introduce yourself to your new legislator. They will be making decisions that will affect you. They want to know your needs as a firefighter and first responder. These relationships matter! I have included a snapshot of legislative information for you. It is in the magazine (2025 Legislative Snapshot).
We have scheduled Firefighter’s Day at the Capitol for 2025, Tuesday, March 25th mark it on your calendar! Our theme this year for firefighters’ day is “First Responder Spouses and 9-1-1 Telecommunicator Operators”. Things will start on the 13th floor with the legislative update. Time to be determined.
In closing, I have so many things to be thankful for. The year 2024 has brought us all good and bad times, but by God’s grace and mercy, we have survived to face another year. It is an honor and privilege to serve with our Missouri Fire Service. May God continue to Bless you and keep you. If there is anything I could be of assistance to you, please contact me at tim.bean@dfs.dps.mo.gov or 573-751-1742 work or 573-645-2069 cell number. See you in 2025!
FFAM
