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, December 7, 2025, at the Missouri State Fair Youth Building, Sedalia, MO.
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 FD; Secretary/Treasurer Jaime Miller, Johnson County FPD #2; Sergeant-at-Arms Jonathan Evans, Lincoln Comm FD.
Directors
District 1, Terry Wynne, Galt FPD (V); District 2, Vernon Cash, Shelbina FPD; District 3, Rob Erdel, Little Dixie FPD; District 4, Joe Vaughn, Central Cass FPD (V); District 8, Bob Floyd, El Dorado Springs FD; District 9, Mark Arnold, Thayer Rural FD; District 11, Billy Smith, North Central Carroll Co FPD; District 14, Rick Dozier, Southern FPD of Holt Co.
Assistant Directors
District 1, Janet Cain, Shoal Creek FPD; District 3, Dale Ransdell, Madison West Monroe FPD (V); District 3, Josh Loyd, Martinsburg Area FPD (V); District 6, Mike McNeill, Moreau FPD; District 7, Andrew Caldwell, Boles FPD; District 11, Kris White, Mayview FPD; District 11, Josh Koepke, Kansas City FD.
Guests
David Hedrick (V), Gail Hagans, University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute; Tim Bean, Missouri Division of Fire Safety; Keith Smith, Warrenton FPD; Larry Eggen, Johnson County FPD; Greg Wright, MO EMS Funeral Assistance Team.
*(V) denotes Virtual Attendance
Agenda
President Jennings asked for additions to the agenda. Rick Dozier moved to approve the agenda as presented. Andrew Caldwell seconded the motion and all approved.
Minutes
Present Jennings asked for a review of the October 12, 2025, meeting minutes. Rick Dozier moved to accept the minutes as presented. Billy Smith seconded the motion and all approved.
Financial Report
President Jennings asked for a review of the Sept-Oct 2025 financial report. A discussion was held, and the board was advised to file the report for the annual compilation.
Report of Officers and Special Guest(s)
Gail Hagans with the University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute reported that they just finished the Instructors Conference. They had 150 people in attendance.
They have recently released a new Lithium Ion Battery class. The Fire Officer 4 pilot program started last week and went very well.
MFA Grant reviews will be sent to all of the FFAM Directors for scoring and are due back by December 23. 78 applications were received.
Tim Bean with the Missouri Division of Fire Safety reported that 40+ applications were received for the $1.4 million volunteer fire service grant. This grant is available for volunteer membership-based departments and associations with less than $50k revenue. This is a matching funds grant for equipment and supplies.
Legislators are coming back in session on January 7. There are 500+ bills filed in the House and 500+ bills filed in the Senate. There is still work on a bill relating to personal property tax elimination. This bill will have a serious impact on taxing entities, so reach out to your legislators with your concerns.
Firefighter Day at the Capitol will be on April 1. More information to come.
The annual fire department registration is now open, so please get your registrations in.
District reports:
District 3
Josh Loyd reported that he spoke with two departments that recently merged.
District 4
Joe Vaughn reported that he met with Pettis Co. to discuss benefits and will be meeting with Rich Hill next week.
District 7
Andrew Caldwell reported that he attended the Potosi Fire open house and spoke with several departments there.
District 8
Bob Floyd reported that he has met with several new fire chiefs in his district.
District 11
Billy Smith reported that Malta Bend is now on board. Jason Deitch has been working with Shawn Ritchie, scheduling meetings with Aarow Rock and Black Water. Josh Koepke reported that he has been running into local issues and has also spoken with MCC Blue River and the Excelsior Springs Career Center.
District 12
President Jennings advised that Rob Francis has retired, and he is working on someone to replace him as district director.
District 14
Rick Dozier reported that he attended a wildland fire training in St. Joseph and visited with several departments.
Correspondence
None
Old Business
No old business.
New Business
Keith Smith presented information on behalf of the 10-33 Foundation, which focuses on mental health and catastrophic events. Their goal is to ensure every first responder has free access to mental health resources. There is a 3-day training course available for those interested in helping or responding.
Treasurer Miller presented the 2024 Accountants Compilation Report and Financial Statements from Gillum & Gillum, CPA. Discussion followed. Rick Dozier moved to accept the report as presented. Grant Oetting seconded the motion and all approved.
A discussion was held on the frequency of the 2026 meetings. President Jennings advised that quarterly meetings will be held in 2026 to help ease the strain on those who attend from very long distances, as well as other factors. The aim is for 100% Director and Assistant Director attendance. The meetings will be in February, April/May (convention), August and November. A discussion was held on hosting a meeting in Kingdom City. President Jennings tabled that discussion until a later meeting.
Vice President Peel presented the proposed 2026 budget. A discussion was held on the continued increase in expenses and our income, which cannot meet the continued rising costs. The proposed budget would eliminate two magazines for 2026 to save money. Andrew Caldwell moved to accept the 2026 budget as presented. Rick Dozier seconded the motion and all approved.
Vice Present Peel presented several options for a proposed dues increase beginning in 2027. The last dues increase was in 2018. Discussion followed. Mark Arnold moved for a dues increase of the following beginning in 2027: Fire Department only dues $300; Fire Department dues when including individual members $100; Fire Active Member dues $20; Junior Firefighter dues $20; Retired Member dues $0; Directors/Council dues $0; Associate Member dues $25; Sustaining Member dues $25; EMS Department only dues $300; EMS Department dues when including individual members $100; EMS Active Member dues $20; 911 Department only dues $300; 911 Department dues when including individual members $100; 911 Active Member dues $20; Educational Institution $100; Educational Members $20; Corporate Members $50. Rick Dozier seconded the motion and all approved.
Committee Reports
Awards Committee
Joe Vaughn advised that the nomination deadline is February 28.
Budget Committee
No report was given.
Bylaws Committee
Jonathan Evans reported that they are discussing and reviewing some proposals.
Chaplain Committee
Dave Hedrick reported that MFCC Dues for 2026 are due. Also, a reminder of the Winter Training session in Columbia before MU FRTI Winter Fire School and the class at WFS “Grief Following Trauma” as training options. For more information, contact Chaplain Ed Hatcher at edhat@earthlink.net.
Contest Committee
No report was given.
Convention Committee
Josh Loyd reported that planning is going well. They are finalizing some details and will get information out soon.
Education Committee
No report was given.
Fire Prevention Committee
Andrew Caldwell reported that posters are due April 24 and the theme is “Charge into Fire Safety: Lithium-Ion Batteries in Your Home”.
Legislative Committee
Charlie Peel reported that there will be an FSA meeting on January 16 in Jefferson City. If you have questions for the Alliance, please contact him or Tim Frankenberg. For those elected to an EMS board, the Certified Fire and Ambulance Board Training is now required.
The legislative session starts January 7. The property tax bill could have a serious financial impact on fire departments that receive tax funds.
Membership Committee
Grant Oetting reported the following membership counts: 482 Directors/Councilmen; 442 Retired; 26 Associate; 26 Sustaining; 14 Corporate, 347 Fire Departments; 6812 Active; 2 Educational Entity; 16 Educational Active; 151 Juniors; 4 EMS Department, 78 EMS individuals; 0 911 Entity; 0 911 individuals.
NVFC Committee
Keith Smith reported that Rob Erdel reported his portion regarding the 2025 Fall Meeting summary in the last FFAM magazine, and he will defer largely to the next magazine with his report. There are a couple of points for now:
OSHA – the IAFF is strongly in favor of the proposed Emergency Response Standard, but has worked with NVFC regarding some refinements. A joint letter regarding these points has been submitted to the Secretary of Labor.
NVFC Membership has grown 60% in the past 5-years and they are hiring more staff to adequately serve this growth.
Nomination Committee
Secretary Miller reported that District Directors 1, 3, 7, 11 and 14 will be up for election in 2026. Interested people need to contact Ken Hoover by March 1.
Public Relations Committee
Secretary Miller reported that the next magazine submission deadline is December 23.
Scholarship Committee
Larry Eggen reported that scholarship applications are due February 28.
State Fair Committee
Rick Dozier reported that the old fire station has been demolished with the new building construction beginning soon. They are also applying for a grant for 4 AED’s.
Historian’s report
No report was given.
Fire Funeral Team report
Keith Smith reported that in 2025, the team responded to 13 LODD and 32 non-LODD.
EMS Funeral Team report
Greg Wright reported that since the last meeting, they have had no call-outs but will be assisting with a non-LODD this week. They have partnered with Lutheran Church Comfort Dogs and 10-33 Foundation and the team is also now responding to 911 dispatcher services.
David Hoover is the new president. They had a great 2025 conference. The 2026 conference will be Oct. 16-18 at Camden on the Lake with 8 classes and CEUs offered.
Foundation report
Larry Eggen presented Keith Smith with a donation of $500 for the Museum Project from a fundraiser held in October at the Johnson County Fire Protection District. Larry Eggen also advised that he is still selling raffle tickets for the siren lamp that was donated.
Report from Keith Smith as follows:
We are currently at 82 “Service Recognition Names for 2026”. We are trying to move away from using “Non-Line of Duty” as we attempt to improve a better understanding of the levels of service and honors that go into service. We have had some increasing confusion in this area, especially with Survivor Families that are still awaiting administrative determinations.
We have some pending names for administrative determination in acceptance for line of duty honors. The planned Foundation meeting for today, following lunch, had to be cancelled, so we will get into that at the next meeting via zoom call later this month.
On November 27th, Tracy Gray and his crew came to Sedalia and removed several dozen sheets of exterior metal from the fire station with permission. They are going to be used with our continued construction inside of the museum and will serve two purposes. The material will be used in floor plan scheduled walls, plus have illuminated fake windows built into the walls with pictures of the old fire station and some history. This is our first fixed purpose display and assures some key history with the State Fair operations is preserved. Note, this is just the beginning of state fair history preservation, not the conclusion.
We are working through the next step of phased construction with the museum. This involves more walls, electrical and very preliminary work on HVAC.
The 2nd printing of 70 – 2025 Memorial Shirts have arrived and were distributed.
2026 service planning is already underway with noted improvements planned.
Email blast coming to known service recognition families in February.
Working through some issues with Go-Daddy on how engraving information is presented back to us and shown to the purchaser upon completing the sale. We have had some recent issues that required extra steps not encountered before.
We got our 990’s submitted to stay legal as a non-profit foundation in 2026.
President Jennings adjourned the meeting at 11:35 am.
FFAM
