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, February 2, 2025, at the Missouri State Fair Fire Department, 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; Second Vice President Grant Oetting, Higginsville FD; Secretary Treasurer Jaime Miller, Johnson County FPD #2; Sergeant-at-Arms Jonathan Evans, Lincoln Comm FD (V).
Directors
District 1, Terry Wynne, Galt FPD; District 3, Rob Erdel, Little Dixie FPD; District 4, Joe Vaughn (V); District 7, RB Brown, Union FD; District 8, Bob Floyd, El Dorado Springs FD; District 12, Rob Francis (V); District 14, Rick Dozier, Southern FPD of Holt County.
Assistant Directors
District 1, Janet Cain, Shoal Creek FPD; District 3, Dale Ransdell, Madison West Monroe FPD; District 3, Josh Loyd, Martinsburg Area FPD; District 5, Dylan Honea, Southern Stone FPD; District 6, Mike McNeill, Moreau FPD; District 6, Alan Braun, Cole County FPD (V); District 7, Andrew Caldwell, Boles FPD (V); District 11, Josh Koepke, Kansas City FD (V); District 11, Kris White, Mayview FPD; District 11, Jason Deitch, Brunswick FD (V); District 14, Kyler Oliver, Rosendale FPD.
Guests
Dave 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, Cameron Lauber, Johnson County FPD; Gary Berendzen, Cole County FPD; Kyle Arnold, Kearney FPD; Stephen McLane, Memorial Foundation; Brian Zinanni, Funeral Team; Stefanie Shell, Fair Grove FPD; Chad Shell, Ebenezer FPD.
*(V) denotes Virtual Attendance
Agenda
President Jennings asked for additions to the agenda. No additions were made.
Minutes
Present Jennings asked for a review of December 1, 2024, meeting minutes. Rick Dozier moved to accept the minutes as presented. Dylan Honea seconded the motion and all approved.
Financial Report
President Jennings asked for a review of the November/December 2024 financial report. Discussion was held and the board 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 there are 800 registered for Winter Fire School the following weekend. There are changes coming to Summer Fire School which will now take place May through early June. More information will be out soon. There are three new part-time employees in the office to assist. The Division of Fire Safety has funded several of the classes for SFS and some will be fee based.
The MFA grants have been awarded. 28 departments received a total of $50k. 129 departments applied for the grant.
Tim Bean with the Missouri Division of Fire Safety reported that there are lots of new legislators so get to know your local representatives.
With the new change in government, the federal fire grants, AFG and SAFER, are okay right now and doesn’t appear they will be cut.
Bean advised he recently traveled to Emmitsburg to the National Fire Administration to receive training on the new national reporting system NERIS. NFIRS will be going away the 4th quarter of 2025. DFS will help to education everyone so watch for upcoming training announcements.
Over $2 million was requested for training this year. Keep requesting funding to continue to show the need for these funds in the annual budget.
Last year there were 109 fire fatalities in Missouri which is an increase from previous years. DFS wants to know why there has been an increase. They will be attending a community risk reduction conference later this month to get ideas on what can be done. Please contact DFS if you have a fire fatality in your area.
Firefighter Day at the Capital will be March 27. This year’s focus is on spouses and telecommunicators and will begin at 9:30 am.
District reports:
District 3
Rob Erdel attended the Paris FD banquet. Dale Ransdell is working with Howard Co and Randolph Co. fire chiefs. Salisbury FD has also invited him to attend a meeting.
District 4
Joe Vaughn advised Kylie and Brandon attended events in Johnson County and Cole Camp.
District 5
Dylan has left information with several departments.
District 6
Mike McNeill advised Moreau will be renewing. Alan Braun advised he is meeting with Boonville this week.
District 7
RB attended the Gerald Rosebud banquet. Andrew Caldwell will be attending a 50th anniversary celebration later this month.
District 8
Bob Floyd sent an email to all departments in district 8 and will be attending a chiefs meeting next week.
District 11
Kris White met with Lafayette County chiefs last week. They also had a LODD in the district this week. Billy Smith will be meeting with the Chariton County fire chiefs.
District 12
Rob Francis attended the North Cape County Firefighters Association last week and met with the new president.
District 14
Rick Dozier attended the Andrew County rural pancake fundraiser and will be meeting with several fire chiefs this month.
Correspondence
None
Old Business
None
New Business
President Jennings advised the Firefighter Critical Illness Pool open enrollment closed December 31. There are 15 new members through the partnership with FFAM.
The Memorial Foundation has requested assistance from the directors and assistant directors with the annual memorial services Oct. 4-5. Please reach out to the Foundation if you are able to help.
President Jennings advised he received a recommendation to appoint Stefanie Shell with Fair Grove FPD and Rusty Darnell with Strafford FPD as District 8 Assistant Directors. Jonathan Evans moved to appoint Stefanie Shell and Rusty Darnell as District 8 Assistant Directors. Grant Oetting seconded the motion and all approved.
President Jennings advised that he would like to appoint Tim Frankenberg with Washington FD as the Legislative Committee Chairman since Greg Brown has retired. Dylan Honea moved to appoint Tim Frankenberg as Chairman of the Legislative Committee. RB Brown seconded the motion and all approved.
President Jennings advised he is still seeking a person to fill the District 10 Director position since Greg Brown’s retirement.
Discussion was held on upcoming meetings. Terry Wynne moved that we will not hold a June meeting due to convention in May. Rick Dozier seconded the motion and all approved. The October meeting conflicts with the memorial services. Dylan Honea moved that all future October business meetings will be held the second Sunday of October. RB Brown seconded the motion and all approved.
Committee Reports
Awards Committee
Joe Vaughn reported that award nominations are due February 28. The Phil Sayer plaque award is almost complete.
Budget Committee
No report was given.
Bylaws Committee
No report was given.
Chaplain Committee
Dave Hedrick reported that the Missouri Fire Chaplains Corp will conduct a winter training session Feb, 5-6, 2025 at the Campus Lutheran Church in Columbia. MO. The pre-conference class will be Managing School Crises: From Theory to Application. For more information contact MFCC Secretary Ed Hatcher at edhat@earthlink.net.
The MFCC will also be participating in MU FRTI’s Winter Fire School Exposition, and teaching the class, Stress Management for the Trauma Service Provider.
Membership dues for the MFCC for 2025 are due.
Contest Committee
Rob Erdel reported that participation in the contest is low. If departments aren’t sure how to get started, reach out to him.
Convention Committee
Dylan Honea reported that the registration and banquet tickets are available online through the FFAM website. Attendees still need to register even though registration is at no cost. Contact him for vendor information.
Education Committee
Josh Koepke reported there will be a certified board class at convention.
Fire Prevention Committee
Andrew Caldwell advised that posters are due May 2 at 7:00 pm. The theme is Smoke Alarms – make them work for you.
Legislative Committee
Brian Zinanni reported that the LODD benefits will sunset June 19. There is legislation in the works to reallocate that money.
There are several house bills that are being watched including HB 1105 which sets restrictions on fire district property taxes. HB 155 firefighter bill of rights act and HB 365 LODD benefit.
Membership Committee
Grant Oetting reported the following membership counts: 389 Directors/Councilman; 389 Retired; 7 Associate; 17 Sustaining; 14 Corporate, 274 Fire Departments; 5641 Active; 2 Educational Entity; 16 Educational Active; 110 Juniors; 4 EMS Department, 52 EMS individuals; 0 911 Entity; 0 911 individuals.
Grant Oetting advised that he and Dylan Honea will be attending the Missouri Fire Chief’s conference in Branson in February. Jaime Miller advised she will be attending Winter Fire School Expo in February.
NVFC Committee
Keith Smith reported that January was Cancer Awareness month, but we need to make everyday cancer awareness.
NVFC ended 2024 with 37,390 individual members. 48 of 50 states are NVFC members.
They held 65 in-person training events in 27 states and dozens of webinars.
They were very successful in renewing ½ dozen major grants and secured new ones.
The temporary pause in all federal grants got everyone’s attention. While NVFC is very fortunate to have several diversified revenue sources including non-federal grants and partners, they have 5 active federal grants through FEMA, the US Forest Service, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and are a subrecipient on another federal grant awarded to NFPA’s research foundation.
NVFC Chairman Hirsch has sent a letter to President Trump requesting the proposed OSHA Fire Brigade Standard be reviewed. While the letter has not yet been made public, key wording of overreaching authority, burdensome regulations, billions in unfunded mandates and negative impact on volunteer recruitment and retention were included.
Everything is more expensive – NVFC has raised individual dues from $21 to $24.
The Spring meeting in Alexandra VA is coming up May 8-9-10.
Nomination Committee
Ken Hoover advised that the following positions are up for election at the 2025 convention: President, 2nd Vice President, District 2 Director, District 6 Director, District 8 Director, District 12 Director and the Sergeant-at-Arms and District 9 Director will need to run to fill unexpired terms.
Public Relations Committee
Jaime Miller advised that the next magazine deadline is February 28. She would also like to get individual director/assistant director photos and a group photo at convention. If you need a new shirt, contact her.
Scholarship Committee
Larry Eggen advised that the scholarship deadline is February 28.
State Fair Committee
RB Brown reported that he met with Jason Moore and a project manager about the new fire station. They are working on a design and will go out for bid in June. The building will need to be empty by the end of September so help will be needed. Work details will be posted on their Facebook page.
Discussion was held on purchasing a used Fire Pup costume. Rob Erdel moved to purchase a used Fire Pup costume from Savannah Rural FPD for $500. Terry Wynne seconded the motion and all approved.
Historian report
No report was given.
Fire Funeral Team report
Brian Zinanni reported that during 2024, the team responded to 9 LODD, 34 non-LODD. Of the LODD, four were assisting other states. So far there have been 4 LODD in 2025.
EMS Funeral Team report
Jaime Miller reported on behalf of Greg Wright – they had 2 Non-LODD call outs since the last FFAM Meeting.
They have been invited to participate with a booth at the Guardian conference in Quapaw Oklahoma later this month
The new web site is www.moemsfuneralteam.com
New policies and procedures were put into place January 1.
CEU’s and post have been approved for the 2025 annual conference. All are welcome-fire, Law, and EMS and their spouses are welcome to attend. It is October 17-19, 25 at the Camden on the Lake in Osage Beach. Registration starts June 1 on the new website. Sponsorships for the event are there as well. 4 instructors 3 different classes–self-defense for first responders, PTSD, and Sunday the program “Taking care of Ourselves” with nationally known speaker Dr. Barry Young.
Foundation report
Larry Eggen advised he was presented with a firefighter lamp and several other items that could be used as prizes for a fundraising raffle for the museum. He advised he is willing to take on the project if everyone will help sell tickets. Rick Dozier moved to proceed with the fundraising raffle for the museum. Terry Wynne seconded the motion and all approved.
Keith Smith reported that there was an internal election for Foundation Officers in 2025
Keith Smith Chairman for another year
Vice Chair is Chief Hoover
Secretary is Stephen McLane
Treasurer remains contracted with Melissa Old
Currently 93-non line of duty names for 2025 service Oct 4th & 5th. . We plan to publish the names of those who will be honored in the 2025 services in the next FFAM magazine, so be watching in case we missed someone from 2024. Non line of duty is calendar year so those passing in 2025 will be honored in 2026. Line of duty is an exception and case-by-case.
Old engraving forms – Please go to the memorial website for new forms, especially mailing address. Remove anything that has a PO Box, a Shelbina zip code and especially anything Fulton. 5550 Dunn Drive, KC 65262 is the new address.
Smith advised they must have more volunteers to shoulder the annual service work and have added more in front of and especially behind the scenes for the families and really need help.
The front double doors both have promotional clings in the windows with a QR Code if interested in making a donation.
One of the facility repair projects this year will be raising several sections of the stamped concrete that have settled. They have contracted for that work when the weather allows.
In the 1st two years of CoMoGives, we made some money. This past term they did not and will not be participating in 2025. There were 127 non-profits our first year, 151 our 2nd year and 181 this year..
The Foundation received a generous gift of $25,000 from Linda Coleberd specifically to museum construction.
Smith advised they continue to accept fire service memorabilia collections if period significant and maintained. They inventory, picture, pack and place into storage. They have turned some down, so if the subject comes up, we are always interested in a conversation, but there is no promise beyond that.
President Jennings adjourned the meeting at 11:10 am.
FFAM
