FFAM Convention Meetings • Liberty, Missouri • Secretary/Treasurer Jaime Miller Draft • Approval at Next Convention
OPENING SESSION
President Larry Jennings opened the 69th Annual FFAM Convention by ringing the bell at 7:00 pm on Friday, April 24, 2026 at Heritage Hall, Liberty, MO. The colors were posted. Members gave the Pledge of Allegiance. Billy Smith gave the invocation. President Jennings recognized the FFAM Officers and Directors and the Liberty Fire Department. Final announcements were made.
President Jennings closed the opening session at 8:15 pm.
AWARDS BANQUET
President Larry Jennings welcomed everyone to the awards banquet on April 25, 2026, at Heritage Hall, Liberty, MO. Chaplain Billy Combs gave the invocation, followed by the meal.
Scholarship Committee
Chair Larry Eggen announced the scholarship winners and presented certificates to those in attendance. High School – Waylen Gillman, Isabella Helm and Mallory Paige McDonnell.
Fire Prevention Committee
Chair Andrew Caldwell announced the 2025 poster contest first place award winners.
Special Needs Division
1st Place, Blossom Martin, Little Dixie FPD.
1st and 2nd Grade Division
1st Place, Mila Mastroianni, Beaufort Leslie FD
3rd and 4th Grade Division
1st Place, Laura May, Galt FPD
5th and 6th Grade Division
1st Place, Harper Edwards, Washington FD
Contest Committee
Chair Rob Erdel announced the 2026 convention contest winners.
Firefighter Division Challenge
2 Person Hose Coupling
1st Little Dixie #2; 2nd Southern Stone #1; 3rd Little Dixie #1.
Replace a Section of Hose
1st Little Dixie #2; 2nd Southern Stone #1; 3rd Little Dixie #1.
Extending a Line
1st Southern Stone #1; 2nd Little Dixie #2; 3rd Little Dixie #1.
Water Barrel Fight
1st Little Dixie #2; 2nd Little Dixie #1; 3rd Liberty #1.
Bucket Brigade
1st Little Dixie #1; 2nd Little Dixie #2; 3rd Southern Stone #1.
Overall
Little Dixie #2.
Junior Division Challenge
2 Person Hose Coupling
1st Southern Stone #1; 2nd Southern Stone #2.
Extending a Line
1st Southern Stone #1; 2nd Southern Stone #2.
Water Barrel Fight
1st Southern Stone #2; 2nd Southern Stone #1.
The FFAM Auxiliary presented the 2026 Auxiliary of the Year award to the Johnson County Volunteer Fire Auxiliary. The Auxiliary announced Kelsey Pratt as recipient of the Get you Started scholarship.
Award Committee
Chairman Joe Vaughn announced the 2026 award winners:
Award of Valor
Greg Foote, Cape Girardeau Fire Department.
Chelsea McGraw with the Muscular Dystrophy Association presented information regarding the impact of the firefighter fill-the-boot campaign.
Keynote speaker Kansas City Fire Department Battalioin Chief Chad Daily presented a program.
President Jennings gave closing remarks. The banquet was followed by the dance.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
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, April 26, 2026 at Heritage Hall, Liberty, MO.
Roll Call of Board of Directors and other officials:
Officers
President Larry Jennings, Johnson County FPD; First Vice President Charlie Peel, Southeastern Randolph Co FPD; Second Vice President Grant Oetting, Higginsville FPD; Secretary Treasurer Jaime Miller, Johnson County FPD #2; Sergeant-at-Arms Jonathan Evans – Lincoln Community FD.
Directors
District 1 Terry Wynne, Galt FPD; District 2 Vernon Cash, Shelbina FD; District 3 Rob Erdel, Little Dixie FPD; District 4 Joe Vaughn, Central Cass Co FPD; District 6 Shawn Ritchie, Holts Summit FPD; District 8 Bob Floyd, El Dorado Springs FD; District 10 Romona Kaminski, Fenton FD (V); District 11 Billy Smith, North Central Carroll Co FPD; District 14 Rick Dozier, Southern FPD of Holt County.
Assistant Directors
District 1, Janet Cain, Shoal Creek FPD; District 3, Josh Loyd, Martinsburg Area FPD; District 5, Dylan Honea, Southern Stone FPD; District 6, Alan Braun, Cole County FPD; District 6, Mike McNeill, Moreau FPD; District 7, Andrew Caldwell, Boles FPD; District 11, Josh Koepke, Kansas City FD; District 11, Kris White, Mayview FPD; District 11, Jason Deitch, Brunswick FD; District 14, Kyler Oliver, Rosendale FPD.
*(V) denotes Virtual Attendance
Guests
Tim Bean, Missouri Division of Fire Safety; Gail Hagans, Harry Ward, Tracy Gray, David Hedrick (V), University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute; James Jones, Calhoun FD; Gary Berendzen, Cole County FPD; Keith Smith, Warrenton FPD; Ryan Kirchhoff, Josiah Federwitz, Concordia FPD; Jeri Ann Arnold, Lawson FPD; Kyle Arnold, David Pratt, Kearney FR; Roy Pennington, Pettis Co FPD; Larry Eggen, Cameron Lauber, Johnson Co FPD; Victoria Horn, Beaufort Leslie FD; Samuel Smith, Tanner Baldwin, Liberty FD; Hunter Hanes, Brian Smiley, Galt FD; James Peffermann, Boles FPD; Kaitlyn Peffermann, Owensville FPD; Christina Loyd, Martinsburg FPD; Steve Borts, Jamestown Rural FPD; Rob Scharage, Jefferson R7 FPD; David Miller, Johnson Co FPD #2.
Agenda
President Jennings asked for additions to the agenda. Joe Vaughn moved to accept the agenda as presented. Billy Smith seconded the motion and all approved.
Minutes
President Jennings asked for corrections or additions to the February 1, 2026, board meeting minutes. Andrew Caldwell moved to accept the minutes as presented. Grant Oetting seconded the motion and all approved. President Jennings asked for corrections or additions to the 2025 convention meeting minutes. Rick Dozier moved to accept the minutes as presented. Terry Wynne seconded the motion and all approved.
Financial Report
President Jennings asked for a review of the January – March 2026 financial report. Discussion was held and the board advised to file the report for the annual compilation.
Report of Officers and Special Guest(s)
Harry Ward with the University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute reported that lots of classes are being held all over the state.
A one time $300k allocation was made from the University of Missouri Extension which will be used to purchase another car prop and trailer and a pump operations simulator.
They recently had the largest class ever of the Fire Service Leadership Enhancement Program. He encourages anyone to attend.
Summer Fire School will be held during the month of May, and they are still accepting registrations.
He advised MU FRTI would be sending out a survey in the near future to help guide them on what programs to do for the future.
Tim Bean with the Missouri Division of Fire Safety thanked everyone who attended Firefighter Day at the Capitol. Instructors and training partners were the featured guests.
He advised that millions are being cut out of the budget but so far, $1.2 million is still allocated for firefighter training. This week the House and Senate are finalizing the budget. He encouraged everyone to continue to talk to legislators, so they know topics impacting the fire service.
The National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Foundation Light the Night program will be April 26 – May 3. Light your porch red in support of fallen firefighters. Ten Missouri families will be recognized at the memorial this year.
Regarding fire mutual aid, call the DFS if you have questions or don’t know where to start. It is very important that departments have registered and know about mutual aid.
If you have a firefighter retire or pass away, go to the website and choose firefighter recognition. Fill out the form and he will do a recognition certificate.
District reports
District 1
Terry Wynne reported that they met with 5-6 departments and are working with them on mutual aid.
District 2
Vernon Cash reported that he has talked with several departments.
District 4
Joe Vaughn reported he recently met with Adrian FD.
District 5
Dylan Honea reported that he submitted several contact forms.
District 6
Shawn Ritchie reported that membership with Mid-MO Ambulance District is in the works.
District 8
Bob Floyd reported that he met with Shell City and Bolivar added all of their members.
District 10
Romona Kaminski reported that she is meeting with the Greater St Louis Firefighters Assoc. in May then will meet with departments individually.
District 11
Josh Koepke reported that he met with West Platte and Maple Wood education center. There are only 16 departments remaining in District 11 that aren’t members.
District 14
Rick Dozier reported that Holt FPD has a new fire chief and he met with them.
Sergeant-at-Arms Jonathan Evans conducted a delegate roll call. There are 44 delegates present.
New Business
Election
Keith Smith advised that the following positions were slated for election with no opponents challenging.
District 1 – Terry Wynne
District 3 – Josh Loyd
District 7 – RB Brown
District 11 – Billy Smith
District 14 – Rick Dozier
Joe Vaughn moved to approve all by acclimation. Andrew Caldwell seconded the motion and all approved.
Jonathan Evans presented the proposed bylaw changes. Discussion followed. Charlie Peel moved to accept the changes as presented. Bob Floyd seconded the motion, and a closed ballot was held. The 2/3 majority was not met, and the proposed bylaw change failed.
Discussion was held on a benefits proposal from AMBA. Charlie Peel moved to join AMBA with several benefit programs to offer to FFAM members. Andrew Caldwell seconded the motion and all approved.
Discussion was held regarding the 2027 convention. Josh Loyd advised that the Convention Committee recommends that the 2027 convention be hosted by the Tri Lakes Chiefs Association and held at the Branson Convention Center April 30 – May 2, 2027. Bob Floyd moved that the 2027 convention be hosted by the Tri Lakes Chiefs Association and held in Branson, MO. Cameron Lauber seconded the motion and all approved.
Discussion was held regarding the 2028 convention. Rick Dozier advised that several departments in District 14 would like to host. Dylan Honea moved that the 2028 convention be held in St. Joseph with more information to follow. Kyler Oliver seconded the motion and all approved.
President Jennings advised that Janet Cain has resigned as District 1 Assistant Director.
President Jennings advised that he has received a request to appoint James Jones as District 4 Assistant Director. Rick Dozier moved to appoint James Jones as District 4 Assistant Director. Joe Vaughn seconded the motion and all approved.
President Jennings advised that he has received a request to appoint Steven Borts as District 6 Assistant Director. Kyler Oliver moved to appoint Steve Borts as District 6 Assistant Director. Joe Vaughn seconded the motion and all approved.
President Jennings advised that he is recommending the appointment of Ben Whited as District 12 Director. Rick Dozier moved to appoint Ben Whited as District 12 Director. Cameron Lauber seconded the motion and all approved.
Committee Reports
Awards Committee
Joe Vaughn advised that the department grant application deadline is July 1.
Budget Committee
No report was given.
Bylaws Committee
No report was given.
Chaplain Committee
David Hedrick reported that The Missouri Fire Chaplains Corp (MFCC) will conduct its annual Conference and Training session September 14 – 15, 2026, in Sedalia, MO. Class information will be posted in June. Scholarships will be available to support the cost of training for those in need. For more information contact Chaplain Ed Hatcher at edhat@earthlink.net.
The Federation of Fire Chaplains Annual Conference is October 25-29, 2026, in Franklin, TN. In addition, a Pre-Conference Training will be offered Oct. 23 – 25. More information and registration are available on the FFC website at: https://ffc.wildapricot.org/.
The National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend will take place May 2-3, 2026, in Emmitsburg, MD. Despite the federal government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will reopen the National Fire Academy site for the annual memorial service. This year the National Fallen Fire Fighters Foundation will honor 204 firefighters from across the nation who died in the line of duty.
Monday, May 4, 2026, is International Fire Fighters Day (IFFD). The day is set aside to honor the bravery, dedication, and sacrifices of firefighters worldwide, while remembering those lost in the line of duty. This is also the feast day of St. Florian, the patron saint of Fire Fighters.
Contest Committee
Rob Erdel thanked those who helped get the contest set up and everything went well.
Convention Committee
No report was given.
Education Committee
Josh Koepke reported that 13 people attended the Certified Fire and Ambulance Board class on Friday.
Fire Prevention Committee
Andrew Caldwell thanked those departments that submitted posters and the Auxiliary for judging.
Legislative Committee
Charlie Peel reported that property tax issues are still ongoing so pay attention to what is happening. They are in the final three weeks of legislation. SB 3 still has a major lawsuit pending. SB 173/174 joint resolution will go on the November ballot that involves sales tax and income tax but the language is still unclear.
Membership Committee
Grant Oetting reported the following membership numbers: 321 departments; 6706 active; 14 associate; 16 sustaining; 519 retired; 124 juniors; 480 directors; 4 EMS department; 65 EMS individual; 2 educational institution; 14 educational individual, 12 corporate.
Oetting reported he and Dylan Honea attended the MO Chiefs conference in February. He will be attending the Missouri Association of Fire Districts conference in June.
Nomination Committee
Keith Smith reported that 1st VP, Secretary/Treasurer, Sergeant-at-Arms and Districts 4, 5, 9 and 10 will be up for election in 2027.
Public Relations Committee
Jaime Miller advised that the next magazine deadline is July 24.
NVFC Committee
Keith Smith reported that the current budget battle with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has resulted in issues within FEMA regarding scheduled grant payments for numerous programs, particularly departments awaiting payments for SAFER Grants and other obligations. Call for action alerts to Senators and Representatives have gone out.
Update from Ryan Woodward, NVFC Chief of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs as of four days ago – I will read this word for word.
“As you may have seen the Administration agreed to pay DHS employees despite the ongoing DHS shutdown. Two weeks ago, and last week thousands of furloughed DHS employees were ordered back to work. Questions as to what that exactly means since the DHS shutdown has been in effect since February 14 are still ongoing. I have heard from FEMA that employees who have returned to work are permitted to work on projects where there is existing funding and wrap up loose ends, but they cannot initiate new projects or anything that would require additional funding.” So, some additional information – massive backlog of work pending. It will take time.
Also, ten days ago Emmittsburg was closed for all things and NFFF was looking at an alternative site for 123 families that were scheduled to receive honors. Ten of those families are from Missouri. While Emmittsburg and programs remain closed, on Tuesday of this week, DHS reached out to NFFF confirming that despite the ongoing DHS shutdown the National Fire
Academy campus will be available for the upcoming National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend the first weekend in May. That had to be the result of the call for action alerts sent to Senators and Representatives on this subject. The nice thing about those alerts is the unified message that goes to our regulators and there is a drop-down box that you can add an additional message and even vent if inclined to do so.
Scholarship Committee
No report was given.
State Fair Committee
Rick Dozier reported that they will move into the new building on the July 1 work weekend and every weekend in July. Donated funds have been used to purchase most everything that they need.
All directors are invited to a 65th anniversary celebration dinner on August 15 at 5:00 pm at the new station.
Applications are due May 31 and Operation BBQ Relief will be providing a meal on the 1st Friday of the fair.
Larry Eggen presented Keith Smith with a $500 check for the museum project from the 911 commander light fundraiser.
Historian report
No report was given.
Fire Funeral Team report
No report was given.
EMS Funeral Team report
Jaime Miller reported on behalf of Greg Wright:
Since December 1, 2025, we have had 1 LODD and 9 Non-LODD callouts.
Our conference is set for October 16-18, 2026, at Camden on the Lake. We have 7 classes with 8 instructors scheduled. Registration will be on our website next month.
Our state fundraiser is going on now. $2900 in prizes, only 1500 tickets will be sold. See a team member if interested in tickets.
We have added 9 new members and have held 5 trainings around the state in 2026. 1 more in Popular bluff May 22.
We have had 4 members go through the GRIN 3-day peer support training. There is another one on August in Springfield. If interested go to warrior’s rest foundation web site. The classes are free.
Foundation report
Report on behalf of Keith Smith:
Thank you for the continued support of your Foundation which comprises the memorial, future museum and the funeral response teams. If you had the chance to attend the EXPO on Friday and Saturday, the Foundation table had a wooden stool that visually symbolizes the structure of the Foundation that you support.
A summary of key Foundation work during 2025 was outlined in the 1st quarter 2026 FFAM Magazine. There will be some important updates coming up in the 2nd quarter magazine.
In looking ahead at 2026, our April 11th Foundation meeting launched the start of October 3rd and 4th services preparation. The Sunday service will be live streamed again this year. Keynote speaker on Sunday is the Chief from FDNY. The 25th anniversary of 9-11 and having our first kneeling firefighter statue made that happen.
Reminder that we have revised how we describe the two levels of service for our fallen going forward. Service “HONORS” are those given to firefighters passing in the line of duty. Service “RECOGNITION” is given to those who have served and passed for other reasons or awaiting an “ADMINISTRATIVE DETERMINATION” pending their possible line of duty. Two buzz words from now until forever. Currently several names are waiting determination either by State Workers Comp or the DOJ.
In continuing to add more elements in for both services, we need a lot of support from you in this room and others. If you were able to assist last year, please do so again. If you thought about it last year but were unable, please reconsider for 2026. Each service requires 30 plus people to get everything done well. The 15 Foundation members fall well short of that number.
For those needing engraving this year and going forward, we apologize for the sticker shock. Last year 2025, was the same price charged in late 2000 when engraving was first offered. We held the line for 25 years; it had to change.
We currently have 3 line of duty names confirmed, several awaiting administrative determination for honors and nearly 100 service recognition names for the October services. While service recognition names are accepted by calendar year, a line of duty determination can be accepted until June 30th .
President Jennings advised that $1,169 was raised for MDA during the pass-the-boot at the banquet.
1st Vice President Charlie Peel presented a resolution to Liberty Fire Department thanking them for hosting the convention.
The colors were retired. President Jennings adjourned the meeting at 11:15 am.
FFAM
